For most parents June was a hectic month. There were dance recitals, graduations, soccer games and field trips as the school year wound down and extracurricular activities ended for the summer. While parents may have been with their kids often during this period, the actual communication time with them was limited due to all the frantic activity.
That’s why the summer is so important for families. Now is the time for parents to plan activites where communication with their children can actually take place. These are relaxed activites, mainly with just the family members, such as hiking, picnicing, biking and camping. Activites where you have the opportunity to listen to your kids’ ideas and plans and enjoy their company.
If you have teenagers in the family, they should be included in the planning of these activities as otherwise they may make plans on their own which might clash with proposed parental outings. Teens do want to spend time with their parents, they just need to have some say in the destinations and the timing of the events so that they feel that they are participating members of the family and are not just being treated like little children.
The summer can be a wonderful time for families if the time is used wisely. Otherise the two months will scoot by and the hectic pace will start all over again.