It’s summer holidays for us. This means no school or structured ‘entertainment’ for the children for an entire eight weeks (well, unless you put them into summer camps). Some really hands-on parents call them “the hell-idays”. Artsy, organised types go into Pinterest overdrive, excited about crafting with the kids. Still others charge up the iPads, download movies and obtain the latest Playstation or Wii games in fear of the kids boredom infringing their peace.
Me? I don’t yet have a plan. This end of year is more disorganised since we didn’t really know what we were doing (staying or leaving Shanghai) until a few weeks ago. It was a little late to book or organise stuff but we luckily managed to get almost a week in Thailand last minute. Living in Shanghai, I’m a firm believer in getting the kids what I call ‘nature injections’ whenever we can - fresh air, tactile nature (with at least toxins as possible), fresh food, swimming and just healthy outdoor fun. This we did for a week. What do I do with them for the next seven? I’m not sure if to be relaxed about this or stressed. Probably a little bit of both.
I write this as we are inflight Thailand to Singapore (my home) where we will spend the next month. I’m starting to stress a little as my husband goes back to Shanghai to start his new job and I will be solo parenting. Do I just let the kids play? Do I outsource them to camps? If so, what type? Athletic or academic? In Singapore latter types exist in abundance. Then there’s the question of logistics and costs – is it worth it?
Truth be told, I’m tempted to just let them do nothing. Sacrilege! I feel guilty with that thought but why? I mean aren’t summer holidays for doing nothing anyway? So you come back to school refreshed? I said that to some friends and one just shrugged, agreeing. “That’s what we do” she said. “Nothing, and its boring back home so we’re staying in Shanghai longer”. Some of my Singapore friends suggested ‘enrichment activities’ I could put the kids into “otherwise you’ll go crazy and so will they”. One said Mandarin immersion, but as I intend to let my kids enjoy their childhood (well, at least this summer), I’m vetoing this for now (with a caveat to maybe utilise this in the future). I’m also looking at my oldest watch a movie inflight and reading and she’s in her happy place. Why not do just that? Overstructuring stuff is not only stressful for kids, but for parents, right?
That gave me an idea - perhaps I should parent this summer like I’m inflight. Let them watch a few movies, read, eat, colour, fight, play with their stuffed toys and pillows.
Go basic. Sure, they’ll get outings (Singapore has no shortage of fun things to do with kids) and they’ll have playdates with those not back in school or travelling. It’s not that bad is it? And being bored. I’m going to put that back on the agenda as I’m rather intrigued inflight that there isn’t a child over 5 (including my own) who isn’t staring at a screen. In an environment where kids are taught in school how to ‘swipe up’ to remove excess apps from using up battery, I need to re-teach the kids it’s okay not to be attached to a screen, and its okay to be bored. Articles abound saying how this encourages creativity and independence in kids right?!
There you have it - I’ve arrived at my summer plan just as we are landing and it’s ‘If you can’t beat boredom, join it!!’.
Yeah, I know. I can just hear it now …..”Booorrrriinnggggg!!!!!”
For more Dragon Mama columns, click here.
