Too much togetherness is rarely a good thing, so set your kids up for success with realistic expectations for the summer. Follow these steps to build a plan that works for your family to ensure a happy summer…for everyone.
- Provide some structure. Going from scheduled school-time to no schedule can be a real challenge for many children. Without a schedule, they feel no sense of control and will therefore fight—for control over anything. As soon as there is some predictability for the day, the need to control everything seems to decrease. It can be as simple as reviewing when meals will happen, along with quiet time, errands that need to be run, etc.
- Expect that your kids will need a break from each other. Rather than waiting for a fight to break up their together-time, help them to plan when they will spend time apart. At the very least, teach them how to ask for it:
‘I need some time on my own,’ rather than, ‘I hate you! Get out of my face!’ - Help them to figure out sharing. If there is one toy/technology device/basketball hoop, how do they use it together? Kids (4 and up) are great at coming up with solutions to these kind of problems so ask them to help figure it out. Some ideas:
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- Odd days one child chooses the game, even days the other chooses the game
- Taking turns
- Scheduling individual time on the device/toy
- Set clear boundaries. Set boundaries for what can and cannot be done, along with when and for how long. Provide limits and consequences ahead of time so that things feel fair.
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Tagged under: summer,fighting,sibling fights,how to keep kids from fighting,how to keep siblings from fighting,summer parenting solutions
Category: parenting
