Allow your kids have a break this holiday

One major feature of the August break season is that parents put their kids in summer school, which for the most part is still an extension of what happens during the school year, says parenting enthusiast and founder, Cuddle Mums Blog, Tomilola Olatunde.

Even though it is totally understandable that while schools gets holidays, parents don’t necessarily get holidays and still have to think about childcare. Although it can be a difficult time to manage, there are a few reasons kids should be allowed to have a break this holiday:

Rest: While children can be very resilient, after a long term, it’s important kids rest. They should be allowed to rest from waking up early to beat the rush hour traffic. Letting them have days where they get bored, bored enough to let their creativity be sparked or just be.

Understand that life isn’t all about academics: In our children’s world life will be so much more than academics and I dare say even more than the extra curricular activities we tend to focus on. We have an opportunity during these breaks to develop more things that will matter in their world; critical thinking, adaptability, communication skills and more.

Deeper bonding experience with parent: A deeper bonding experience with parents can also be achieved. A time where everyone is not rushing to get to somewhere and there is time to just gist, talk and create a deeper bond.

Help them see their identity outside school: One of the things that happens at the end of each school year is a prize giving day and your child might either have gotten a prize or not. Whatever the side of the coin they fall, it is important for us as parents before we plunge them right back into the cycle of summer classes there’s need for them to understand that they have an identity outside of school.

Free play: Its importance can never be over-emphasised; a time where your child is making the choice themselves of what to play with or how they want to play through out the day and this is within the parents’ boundaries.

Chance to see the world: The holiday is a great opportunity for you to help your kids see the world. The world is anywhere outside their normal life, as close as the next local government and as far as another country. Think of the different places you can take your kids too, there are a number of places within our country that are affordable and accessible. It helps broaden their horizon to experience life in another local government/city/state/country.

Childhood is only once: Childhood is lived only once and we don’t want the only memories from our children’s revolving around only school.

Olatunde added, “I understand that the realities of most parents might be inconvenient but we can always try to find a compromise by taking your annual leave during the holiday or hiring a temporary minder and hopefully it will be a different and unique holiday that will be memorable for you and your children.”