And when I say "hold me to it", I mean they beg and whine and cry if things don't go exactly as we planned. And they ask "is it time yet? is it time yet?" on the day of any plan.
I don't do well with "summer bucket lists" or "summer activity charts". I don't know why, but I just don't. They give me anxiety and make me feel too much pressure. Sure, I like to give my kids fun things to look forward to, but I think last summer I had my expectations too high. I ended up feeling like I failed my kids at the end of the summer because we didn't go to the library every Monday and all the other stuff I envisioned.
So I decided this summer that we would make no plans. The Low Expectation/No Guilt Summer!
We would just enjoy the laid-back months and fly by the seat of our pants when we felt like it. Sure, we have a few things on the calendar, but for the most part we are wide open.
Besides ... look how perfectly they get along! *wink*
I think back to my own childhood summers. My mom was around, sure, but she wasn't entertaining us every day. I basically played with friends, or my brothers, or by myself. It was unstructured. It seems like most of my memories involve just playing with friends and finding something to do. Good old-fashioned fun. So ... our summer is pretty chill with HOT temps hovering around 100 degrees! And the best part about no plans is when I tell the kids "ok we'll go to the splash pad (or whatever) once the living room is picked up!" You should see how quickly they move.
Low expectations = less mom guilt!
Plus I think the kids are still perfectly happy.
How's your summer going?
I love this! Favorite memories are four-wheeler tag, (David can explain) but we certainly didn't have mom there to direct our fun, heck I barely remember going to the pool.
ReplyDeleteAnyway this is a great idea and although mine are too young to notice or care that it is summer, we are still low key. With an occasional splash pad trip!
All that said, I do think a bucket list is a cool idea, but with like 5 items not 25.
ReplyDeleteAmen! Amen! Amen!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI say this all the time and people think I'm joking, BUT I'M NOT. My parenting philosophy is this: set the bar super low. Keep expectations at a minimum-- only then will the kids be pleasantly surprised when something cool happens. They entertain themselves 95% of the time and I think that is such an important life skill. Mom is not going to be there to entertain you your whole life! Figure out how to be happy and productive!
That being said, our summer has been insane, but not with stuff my kids would call outrageously fun (except maybe our family reunion). And they're so busy with gym now (the girls), that an afternoon home sounds divine to them! We do need to get to the splash pad, though!
I agree! My three-year-old is only just beginning to remember when I say that we're going to do something. Gotta remember this for next year!
ReplyDeleteI have a bucket list, but we dont do everything on it. We just took stuff off last years we didnt do and added it to this year. When my kids are whining about something to do, I pull out the list. Or if they whine too much, I send them to their rooms. :) Admittedly so, we havent done nearly as much this summer... pretty much lazy days and its a lot less stressful and a lot less of Mommy upset. The kids are actually happier when we do less.
ReplyDeleteYay you! I think that is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThose kids of yours are so beautiful!
xo -E