+17 votes
by (1.8k points)
Happy first day of summer vacation for the kiddos! To the parents that are currently working from home, how are you planning to structure the day for your kiddos so that you can also fulfill your work responsibilities? I'm so guilty of letting my kids watch way too much TV and spend too much time on their tablets watching Youtube the last 2 months so I could work. I know I can't let this continue all summer and would love some ideas!  
Happy first day of summer vacation for the kiddos!

14 Answers

+4 votes
by (1k points)
 
Best answer
We have used this in the past.  
by (1.8k points)
Love this! Thanks for sharing your ideas.  
+13 votes
by (1.7k points)
Following for ideas! My son has been going part time to the babysitter. Sometimes when it’s nice and I need to work while he is home, I sit outside and work while he plays in the backyard
+13 votes
by (2.1k points)
I have my sister come and play with my two year old from 8-11 every morning. Maybe you can find a JH or HS kid to be a mother’s helper and keep the kids occupied?  
+15 votes
by (710 points)
Following! Since it’s only my daughter and I at home. I need ideas! I let her FaceTime her friends during the day. but she’s getting too much screen time
+4 votes
by (870 points)
I always take an hour lunch and take them for a bike ride, walk, roller blading, swimming, anything outside. I allow them to use their iPads as long as they listen.  
+10 votes
by (1.1k points)
‍♀️ Now that its nice I've been kicking them out to go play outside.  
+1 vote
by (910 points)
Just some ideas for now until things open up. My boys enjoyed the structure when they were younger as well. Depending on the age, have them read with you or record their reading and send to relative, write to a friend and make an outing of it while dropping it in their mailbox, have them journal their day, write to them at night, and then have them respond to you- this is fun to look at at the end of the summer and they are working on their writing:) I used to say no tech til they earned it( working on facts, reading, or writing). I think all kiddos have been on tablets a lot. It’s a hard time right now to encourage much. Have them also help with some chores, encourage family work outs, any outdoor activities to run around, let them help with lunch and clean up, and in the afternoon a break from the family:) my little one is nine but still will head to his room to just relax and this is time for us to relax. My boys also enjoyed fishing, walking or hiking, and then ice cream after. If we did these activities with them, they of course bought into them way more.  
by (1.8k points)
Wow, love all of these ideas! Thank you
by (910 points)
The journal back and forth is really fun:) I left letters out at the breakfast table if I was going to be gone. They loved it.  
by (110 points)
@pullen curious with out getting to personal what type of stuff do you write in the letters. I think this is cool.  
by (910 points)
@yseulta6867 we did this when boys were learning to write so it was not super detailed, handful of sentences. My little one would write about his day and I would mention stuff such as what we would do the next day, what book we could read, what was for dinner, something super simple. If I was going to be gone in the am, I would leave it for him to read where he eats  it started as more so he needed practice with writing so I wanted to make it fun. It was cute for his age since he was just learning to read.  
+14 votes
by (3.5k points)
I’m just not worried about screen time at the moment.  
by (3.5k points)
I will say, when I feel like they’ve been on them too long, I make them take a break and do something else.  
by (1.8k points)
@gobetween6193 I agree and wasn't really either until my son started throwing temper tantrums when it was time to put the Ipad down and when he refused to go ride his bike/play outside because he wanted to watch Youtube. Now, I'm like okay there needs to be limits lol
+14 votes
by (3.9k points)
Are you able to modify your hours a bit? I have been starting my work day between 5-6am, and working till after breakfast, then mostly breaking till nap time when able. My kids are both under 4 and I’ve been working from home with them here since march
by (1.8k points)
Yes, I've been able to be pretty flexible with my hours/job. I do a lot of work early in the morning and in the evening when they're less active. However, I've still been using the tablets as a babysitter quite a bit lol. I wasn't too worried about it until my son was becoming obsessed with the tablet.  
+3 votes
by (920 points)
I tell my kids that they have to play outside until a certain time to earn screen time. If they come in before hand they have to find something to do that’s not electronics. The one day they couldn’t come back in until 5pm (went out at 3pm) and I caught them digging in dirt making a “home” for worms. I heard the little one counting down asking how much longer they had  My kids are 6 & 10
by (1.8k points)
Love this idea! Thanks for sharing :)
+2 votes
by (2.6k points)
I have to force my daughter to go out and garden with me after work. But during work, I feel terrible that's she on electronics for hours.  
by (1.8k points)
It's hard! I'm hoping the weather will get nice and stay nice and then that will help. Goodluck!  
+6 votes
by (6.1k points)
Maybe make a list of activities and assign each a point value. If the kids reach 100 (or some decided total) point by 4pm on friday they get some sort of reward. possible rewards could be carry out dinner or drive, a special desert, double feature movie night . ideas for activities could be found on pinterest and just bagged up. or like silent reading 30 min = 5 points. ride bike around the block = 1 pt for each lap, play board game with sibling without fighting = 7 points, clean bathroom =10 points. the key is to have a bunch of ideas so that there is choice.  
by (800 points)
@isosceles150 sounds interesting.  
by (1.8k points)
Love these ideas, thank you! I'm so not creative like this :)
+5 votes
by (3k points)
Perhaps some high school kids are looking for a summer job to help? Maybe even for a half day!  
by (1.8k points)
That's a good idea, my son plays a lot with the neighbor that's in junior high and loves him! I did just find out today we have to head back into the office very soon so now I need to find some type of childcare situation soo we'll see? I'm kind of panicking about that as my normal childcare isn't yet in operation. Ugh, this whole situation is so crazy!  
by (3k points)
@beare Jackson It is insane! I can’t even imagine how working parents are making due right now.  
+4 votes
by (4.7k points)
What are the ages? Makes a big difference in abilities. Mine are 3 and 6 and can only have so much unsupervised play time. Mine are constantly fighting, and the little one tattles on her brother for so much as looking at her, so iPad time and Tv is sometimes the only peaceful time I get to work. Shocking they don’t fight over those things!  My mom comes over to help so I can work. Mother’s helper or sitter even for a couple of hours isn’t a bad idea!  
by (1.8k points)
Mine are 5 and 8. My 8 year old is pretty good, it's my 5 year old that I get really concerned about. He's the one that is becoming obsessed with screen time and I need to find alternatives for. I've tried a few things, but they last for a whole 10 minutes lol. I'm going to have to look into alternative childcare here soon as it sounds like my office is reopening, so I will definitely look into those options. Thank you
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