I literally run my bottom off everyday. With 4 kids, a job, a household, a husband, and school, it is no wonder I can find time to sleep, eat and breathe, and no wonder that my house looks like a cyclone hit it most days. This is not because I don't clean, but because the messes come faster than the cleaning does. I often wonder if I just stop cleaning, would it be any messier. Maybe, in theory the messing comes from the cleaning. Which if this is the case, than if I stopped cleaning completely then maybe the kids would stop messing; maybe it is worth a shot?
On a more serious note however, I am really cracking down on my kids this summer. I am already setting up many activities for them to insure that they are not too bored. For all of you parents out there who stay home with their kids during the summer, you understand, especially if you have a lot of kids like I do. Boredom just leads to trouble. This trouble usually manifests itself in endless whining about how there is "Nothing to do!" which I always make sure to offer my children that I have plenty to do, and if they are really that bored, they can do the laundry. The most common response to that is "You know what I mean, not work, fun stuff!". Well, quite frankly I am not so sure why it really is that they need to be entertained so much. I mean we live in a house with toys, books, movies, computers, video games, a big yard with balls, soccer equipment, baseball equipment, and even volleyball net. They claim to really not like to be in school, but it seems as soon as they don't get to go there anymore, the whining begins. And that is just the beginning because in my house the whining and boredom then turn into battles. They get so stir crazy that all they can figure out to do is to pick at each other until an all out brawl occurs. It is really very interesting how they want their time filled so much, that even spending it in a timeout chair nursing a bloody nose seems better than being BORED!
In any case, I am really trying to combat the boredom with some structured activities. I know that somehow my children are not the only kids who get all nutty come summer break, so I have encouraged my children to create a one day a week activity day and invite everyone they can think of to come out and chill one prescheduled day per week. For my son, I suggested a weekly soccer game, same field each week. He can invite anyone he knows who wants to come out and play soccer. We even offered to pick up a few pizzas and sodas for the boys and the parents can just drop off and pick up and we will watch them (just in case with a large group of preteen boys). For my daughter, I suggested putting together a girl at the mall night. One night a week, everyone can get together and go to the mall and hang out. They could make it a movie night also if they want since there is a theater right there at the mall.
Being a family with so many structured activities during the school year, when school ends and all the activities end, it makes for some really bored children, and I think rightfully so. We as parents can create our own activities for the masses and give some much needed structure and peer social interactions to the lazy days of summer.
Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2008 10:25 PM by Carol Ann