The long holiday is here again, with children jumping for joy while parents thinking of how they can keep their children busy. Holiday is a time of relaxation, but for parents of young children, without school activities, it can seem like a chore instead of relaxation time.
For the children, it is a time to play and relax after the stress of the school year. For them, it is a period they can enjoy their sleep without mummies or daddies coming to wake them up early. For some parents too, it is a temporary relief from the burdens of schools runs. However, the holiday season comes with its challenges, especially for working class parents.
To help children have a sense of fulfillment, parents can offer them many opportunities to become involved everyday in one activity or the other during the long holiday to help occupy them till the school resume.
Holiday can be a great time to bond with your children and may even let your own inner child come out to play, but it can also be stressful when kids misbehave because of boredom.
It is best to start planning in advance for the long holidays and prepare yourself with varieties of activities to keep your little children out of mischief. If the kids know they have things to look forward to, it will make them more relax and happy.
While planning for these activities, get the children involved so that the will be less likely to complain about activities chosen.
In order to keep them this period busy, below is the positive ways to keep the children out of mischief and trouble while the holiday lasts.
- Occupy the home with books: without much argument, the easiest way to keep your children brains active is to encourage reading. This can be achieved by having them set aside designated reading time each day.
- Register Them For Holiday Classes: Nothing creates more brain drain than sitting at home watching television for the entire holiday. Parents should look for where holiday classes are organized to enroll their children. them staying at home during nothing during holiday.
- Do some outdoor Activities: Be it swimming, camping or movies, outdoor activities help children develop their social skills. Swimming is a great activity for children to stay busy during the holidays as they get to exercise, have fun and stay cool. Swimming and cycling is master by children to adult, it can be of help to them because, swimming and cycling this day is a lucrative activities which can pay off their bills in future.
- Arts/Crafts: With the situation in our economy today, we don’t have to wait for white colar jobs anymore. It is encouraged to be self employed. If the children can be given the opportunity or can be engaged during holiday in arts/crafts which can be a major project that is taken throughout the holidays period, it can go a long way to ease the stress for searching for white colar jobs tomorrow.
- Get into Jewellery Making: Special attention should be given to girl children because an adage says, “train a girl child and you have train a nation”. Nigeria needs responsible mothers and leaders of tomorrow. If a woman is well trained, her home will would be center for excellence. During the holiday period, parents should not neglect the activities that will help these young mothers of the future. Take the children to a bead shop and stock up beads, wire and clasps, and get them busy by making their own jewelleries. This activity can be done with the smallest of children, just be sure to get the appropriate bead sizes for different age groups. The children will be so proud to wear the jewellery that they have made. By engaging them during holiday period for beads making, it can be part of them in the future for economic purposes to keep the home running.
- Children Should Spend Time With Extended Family: Holidays are a great time for children to meet and spend quality time with grandparents, aunts and uncles, so take your children to meet family and friends during the holidays. It is especially interesting if they live in another state because children look forward to traveling, seeing new places and meeting new people. Such an outing is sure to be an enriching experience for your children and it also help strengthen bonds among family members.
Finally, children are full of energy and curiosity. Keeping them engaged in different activities help divert this energies in a positive and healthy manner. When children learn, make friends and things they enjoy, they automatically become amicable and holidays become a fun time instead of one wrought with tension.
Parents must ensure that their children are engaged meaningfully otherwise, they could use the period for destructive ventures because as the saying goes, “the devil finds work for the idle hand”. ###
Women Focus wishing happy holiday to all our wonderful children.
EDITH NSE FRIDAY
08025293937
