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Summer

Girl baking in kitchen

By: Nicole Rodiles, Psychologist, full time professor at Imperial Valley College.

Around May, the anticipation of summer starts everyone talking about their plans for the break, especially if you’re a student or an educator.  You talk about the places you want to go and the activities that you plan to participate in.  Then reality sets in, especially if you’re a mom and/or you live in the Southwest.

The majority of our days are spent at home with our kids, if you’re a mom, and you quickly find yourself feeling irritated and over whelmed with the constant work, that being a stay at home mom entails.  The reality is when our kids are at home, all day long, our work increases. You clean up one room only to turn around to have to clean up another.  And you decide that your kids are going to help more this summer, and are going to clean up after themselves, only to find that you’re tired of hearing your own voice, requesting the same thing over and over from your kids.

Then there is the constant “I’m bored” you hear from your kids, which you can’t blame them. It’s so hot that many do not want to play outside and there’s only so much you can do inside, day in and day out.

It does get a little better when your kids become teenagers, except that now you want them to do something productive.  Sitting on their bed, on some app, all day long, does NOT qualify as activity or productivity.

So what is a mom to do!  We want our kids to be active but we don’t want to spend too much money, especially if you’re an educator and off for the summer.  So you have to get creative.  Look into camps, through one of the city’s parks and recreation programs that are offered.  There are sports, music, art, and drama camps, to just name a few.  Talk to other moms to see what their kids are doing for the summer.  Maybe even set up “play dates” so that the moms take turns having the kids over.  That way moms get a few hours to get chores or errands done and/or have adult conversation.  Win, win!

So Moms, you are NOT alone.  We have all felt the sting of the summer break, a few weeks into our summer “vacation”.  We love our children and want them to have fun but we also value our sanity.  Talk to one another and share ideas.  We moms need to stick together.

 

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