Looong Summer Hols……

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I’ve been asked by BBC Radio Wales this week to comment on some ideas to make the looooong summer holidays more fun and enjoyable and it got me pondering about the language we use to describe the summer hols.

If you think it will be looooong, full of whining about “being bored” and stressful …… guess what … it will be . Just as if you think it will be fun, exciting and an opportunity to create lasting, long term happy memories for your children to grow up with ….. it will be too! It’s a choice!

Just take a moment to ponder their wedding day one day and the memories you have built, nurtured and created for them throughout their childhood – how do you want them to describe growing up with you and the summer holidays?

It’s all about your mindset as your children take their cue from you.

This time can be an opportunity, not something to be endured,  and if you take yourself back to the vision of why you wanted to have children in the first place  it will make you connect to the bigger picture again and get you focusing on the love you have for them.

But while you are pondering that bigger picture here are some practical ideas to make life more fun in the mean time!

Enjoy!

Have your very own Pizza Party at home – buy or make the bases, explore a whole range of your favourite toppings, invite round a few of your friends and pop a picnic rug in your sitting room to make it fun to sit on and pop on your favourite music or Singstar !

Have a car picnic when you are out and about that you pack yourself to save money and pop the radio on to liven things up a bit!

Play Around the Table games to get you all chatting, laughing and learning new things about each other . http://www.aroundthetablegames.com/about.php

Make cards, paint mugs, plates or oil and vinegar jars with special paints that you can buy from your local craft shop or online from http://countryloveceramics.com/

Get your older kids volunteering in your local charity shop, or clearing an old person’s garden or garage – teaching the value of serving others is a really valuable and fun lesson to pass on.

Listening to Chris Evans great BBC Radio 2’s Show last night while I was stuck on the M25 was a guy who has started his own business called Super Jam,  wonderful jam without all the sugar so why not grab a bowl, go out into the garden or local “Pick your own farm” and pick some fruit and have fun making your own jams with unusual combinations of fruit? who knows you may be the next entrepreneur!

This is a fun game I used to play with the kids when I was teacher. Throw all your shoes into the middle of the room into a Shoe Minefield and then blindfold one person to walk across the minefield while the other person has to guide them across using only their words to get them across! Great fun, but also a brilliant way to improve your child’s language skills.

Get your digital camera out, or borrow a friend’s video camera for a day, and have fun making your own video or musical and load the results via your computer onto your own CD. You can even make and design the labels then send them to Grandma and the video will be a valuable treasure trove of memories to keep for the future.

There are hundreds of different things you could do – lighten up, get away from the telly and build some happy, funny and memorable memories!

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About the author

Sue Atkins is a Parenting Expert who offers practical guidance for bringing up happy, confident, well behaved children. She is also the author of “Raising Happy Children for Dummies” one in the  famous black and yellow series published worldwide and the highly acclaimed Parenting Made Easy CDs. She regularly appears on BBC Breakfast and The Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 and her parenting articles are published all over the world.

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  Sue Atkins the Parenting Expert
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