Making memories for our children is so important. When I look back on my own childhood, summer is connected to a lot of my good memories. Playing outside with my siblings, cousins and friends in our pool, our house was always the favorite, thanks to my laid back & fun momma. Homemade popsicles, camp outs in the back yard, swimming at night, chasing fireflies, riding my bike, climbing trees, summer reading club at the library, taking walks with my family, watching some television before bed (Fraggle Rock, or the Muppet show were favorites) fresh from the bath, my long hair dripping down the back of my nightgown, feeling tired in a good way.
I see too many children today over scheduled during the summer, it is almost like they are still in school. When I had a career that revolved around children, it saddened me to see that imagination doesn’t seem to play a part with mainstream kids. If they aren’t doing one of their extracurriculars they are zoning in front of video games, IM, movies, and television. Of course we wanted to do that as children, but our parents didn’t allow it. We all had one choice for an extracurricular, and the rest of the summer was dedicated to play, imagination, and fun. None of us are worse for the wear because of it. This is what I want for my children, while I do understand the importance of a balanced life with some extracurriculars, I think down time is just as important.
