Winter break and the holidays are fast approaching. For many people, this is an enjoyable time to spend time with family and friends, get a break from school and work, and relax. For others, it can be a stressful time for different reasons. For those of you who are thinking about how to navigate winter break with your kids at home without structured activities for over a week, here are some tips to help and make it as fun of a winter break as possible.
- Maintain general structure of certain routines such as bedtime unless there is a special event that makes sense to deviate.
- If there are certain things you want your child or teen to do over break, such as SAT prep, organizing their room, etc. sit down with them and map out a schedule around other activities that works for them to do these things.
- Adjust rules regarding technology use during winter break and holidays as needed, but keep some regulations in place if necessary. Additionally, by creating opportunities for activities at different times during the day, (i.e., family outing somewhere, going for a walk, family board game time) screen time can be weaved in naturally during free periods.
- Winter break can be a good time to tackle projects at home that you and your family haven’t had time for at other times. At the start of break, or even before, identify any ones that you want to do (i.e., rearranging family room, organizing toys, reorganizing bedroom, day trip somewhere) and allot specific days and general times to complete these projects or do these activities.
- Make a point to do activities for fun together like playing sports together, a board game, family movie time, or something else and take advantage of the extra time that you may not get on a typical weekday or weekend.
The bottom line is that by planning ahead a bit, it can help you make the most of winter break and make it an enjoyable experience for everyone.
Happy Holidays!
