Good enough parenting is success as far as I'm concerned. When we started doing an easy process before summer starts to figure out everyone's stealth expectations and each pick one thing (including parents) to add to the calendar, it got more satisfying.
Sounds like a perfect recipe- a little bit of everything. Last night, our kids had a great summer day-playing with friends, pool time, trip to the arcade and then they were totally vicisously fighting all night...
I needed this right now! Summer is flying by (as usual) and I always put this pressure on myself to make DO ALL THE THINGS and make sure the child has the best summer ever even though I'm still working full-time and like you said, we could be enjoying all the things all year long! I felt extra pressure this year because the kid is off to middle-school in the Fall but maybe I should do less, make it extra boring, and he'll actually look forward to school starting!
Yes--extra boring is the trick for a smooth school transition. Shoot for mediocre summer, it will do wonders. Or maybe the goal is just do SOME of the things and it will be great.
What is enough? Enough according to whom? When my kids were little, summers were incredibly stressful, finding childcare for 2 working parents. Camps were expensive so we could only do so many. Now summer is like any other time of year, except with better weather. We go away some weekends, but there is never any pressure. So much better.
Yes--the summer camp situation is so stressful. The last couple of summers we have had more flexibility because I am not working full time but still finding that sweet spot. It's great to keep in mind that the pressue will lessen.
We're back in school now, so our summer break is over--even if our super hot days will keep rolling in until the end of September here in Arizona. Our summer was excellent, almost too busy! I looked back at my comment on your earlier post and we did well connecting throughout the summer with friends and family for the kids. I think I could have used some more kid-free time with my friends, though.
One thing that I think we don't always recognize is the amount of experience we bring to summers as a parent. Especially in places we may not have roots or connections, so are building all our traditions from scratch and on our own. Do we have very high expectations of success for people with little experience being parents [of babies] [of toddlers][of children][of tweens][of teens]? Figuring out what works for ourselves and our families is hard work. Good luck to all those who are still in the summer free-time zone!
First, I love that the earlier summer post was a way for you to document your intention. And yes, that is the trick finding out what works for ourselves and our families and sorting out expectations (which sometimes are hidden even to ourselves). You can report back to us from the school front. We have a few more weeks here.
Loved this one, Kathryn! I’m embracing Exhausted Mom Summer or Horizontal Parenting Summer or “What the Eff Is Going On” Parenting 😂
There is space for all the summers (sometimes they change daily).
Good enough parenting is success as far as I'm concerned. When we started doing an easy process before summer starts to figure out everyone's stealth expectations and each pick one thing (including parents) to add to the calendar, it got more satisfying.
Yes, I love that--"stealth expectations". I love choosing what to priortize, it's a great thing to model. You can not do it all.
We are having a screen time and sometimes swimming pool and occas soccer camp/tournament summer with side of screaming at siblings
Sounds like a perfect recipe- a little bit of everything. Last night, our kids had a great summer day-playing with friends, pool time, trip to the arcade and then they were totally vicisously fighting all night...
I needed this right now! Summer is flying by (as usual) and I always put this pressure on myself to make DO ALL THE THINGS and make sure the child has the best summer ever even though I'm still working full-time and like you said, we could be enjoying all the things all year long! I felt extra pressure this year because the kid is off to middle-school in the Fall but maybe I should do less, make it extra boring, and he'll actually look forward to school starting!
Yes--extra boring is the trick for a smooth school transition. Shoot for mediocre summer, it will do wonders. Or maybe the goal is just do SOME of the things and it will be great.
What is enough? Enough according to whom? When my kids were little, summers were incredibly stressful, finding childcare for 2 working parents. Camps were expensive so we could only do so many. Now summer is like any other time of year, except with better weather. We go away some weekends, but there is never any pressure. So much better.
Yes--the summer camp situation is so stressful. The last couple of summers we have had more flexibility because I am not working full time but still finding that sweet spot. It's great to keep in mind that the pressue will lessen.
I have decided that August is our reward for surviving June & July. All the obligations are done & we can just go to the beach.
That sounds like a wonderful way to spend August! Enjoy!
We're back in school now, so our summer break is over--even if our super hot days will keep rolling in until the end of September here in Arizona. Our summer was excellent, almost too busy! I looked back at my comment on your earlier post and we did well connecting throughout the summer with friends and family for the kids. I think I could have used some more kid-free time with my friends, though.
One thing that I think we don't always recognize is the amount of experience we bring to summers as a parent. Especially in places we may not have roots or connections, so are building all our traditions from scratch and on our own. Do we have very high expectations of success for people with little experience being parents [of babies] [of toddlers][of children][of tweens][of teens]? Figuring out what works for ourselves and our families is hard work. Good luck to all those who are still in the summer free-time zone!
First, I love that the earlier summer post was a way for you to document your intention. And yes, that is the trick finding out what works for ourselves and our families and sorting out expectations (which sometimes are hidden even to ourselves). You can report back to us from the school front. We have a few more weeks here.