Grand Master Edmund Ciarfella
Why Keep a Summer Schedule
Keeping Kids on a Summer Schedule…3 Best Reasons why is it importantSummer break is a time to just let loose and be free to explore. Without
the rigid structure of the school day, minds have the opportunity to
expand and find their own way. But sleeping until noon isn’t helpful to
anyone, and getting out of the summer cycle doesn’t have to be as
painful as you think. The key is to empower your children to see the
possibilities that this time has to offer them!
Here are three reasons to keep your kids on a summer schedule, then some tips on how to make it happen.
1. Reason #1 – Reality
This is the absolute number 1 reason to keep your kids on a summerschedule – reality. When kids are in their school years, we teach them
that there’s this magical three month space where you get to sleep all
day and play video games. Then when they get older, they’re hit with the
reality that life just isn’t like that. Most people get two weeks of
vacation per year, that’s it! Of course we want to let kids be kids, and
we certainly don’t want to ruin the magic of childhood by pushing them
all of the time. But realize that humans are creatures of habit, and
when parents allow their children to just go on without any structure at
all, they’re instilling a cycle that their children will really have a
hard time breaking when they’re older.
2. Reason #2 – Growth
There is something immensely satisfying to kids as well as to adultsabout accomplishing something. Success breeds pride and self confidence.
Setting a summer schedule means that your kids get to feel the
satisfaction that comes from being productive and engaged in the world
around them. While kids as they get older naturally need to sleep a
little later to be healthy – that doesn’t mean staying in bed until
11am. Our minds are at their peak in the morning, not at midnight.
Summer affords the opportunity for kids to learn about things that there
isn’t time for during the school year, particularly physical activities
like martial arts. Those are all more likely to happen before noon than
later in the day when it’s too hot or too dark.
3. Reason #3 – Preparation
Staying up late regularly and sleeping late regularly are a recipe for atough transition back to school and to the rush of afterschool
activities that come in the fall. Maintaining a summer schedule will
allow your child to have an easy time getting back into the swing of
things. Make it easy for your child! Give them a break by getting them
up early.
Painless Summer Scheduling
This doesn’t have to be that difficult. It sounds horrible, even painful
to most parents. It’s really not! And even if the summer is already
going, you can still get started with a summer schedule, for all of the
great reasons listed above.
Here are some tips:
Be open about the reasons it’s important
Get your kids input – empower them to want to wake up
Let them set their own alarm – don’t wake them up every day
Allow the occasional late night and late morning, but limit it to weekends
Set everything a little later (ie, 8:00am wake up instead of 6:30am)
Leave plenty of free time, unstructured but not necessarily screen time
Include daily training/physical activity in the schedule
Don’t watch the clock, allow for some flexibility
Be sure to include activities like your child’s United Martial Arts Centers classes in your schedule
When you get frustrated, remember how much this will serve them when
they’re in college or adults, and have a habit of getting themselves up
and being productive!
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