We have almost survived one week of summer vacation.
The great problem of summer vacation is the draw of various devices/computers/videos/TV/etc. Given the chance I think my kids would spend 100% of their time playing video games. So this summer we have a rule that there are no screens between 9 and 4. The ban includes playing games, watching videos, and reading random websites. The ban does not include writing or researching, so I am legal right now.
Along with this is a rule that you need to practice, do one chore, and do 3 other useful things each day. "Useful things" are very broadly defined and include playing games with your sibling, cooking (one sweet per week), making a craft, bike riding, going to the pool, reading... They do not include bothering your mom, pestering your siblings, or complaining. If there is too much non-useful stuff going on, I will then assign useful tasks like dusting or cleaning bathrooms.
We will see how this goes. I also am tied to this schedule, so writing a blog post counts as one of my three useful things. When I was a kid I spent too much time watching television, cooking foods that were bad for me, sleeping until noon---my time could have been used better. On the other hand, I also read (a lot) and biked to the park, pool and library a few times per week. It seems good to have a plan for relaxing rather than letting the summer slip away----although I confess I am a bit conflicted. Maybe when the kids have their own kids they will let me know if it was a success or failure.
The great problem of summer vacation is the draw of various devices/computers/videos/TV/etc. Given the chance I think my kids would spend 100% of their time playing video games. So this summer we have a rule that there are no screens between 9 and 4. The ban includes playing games, watching videos, and reading random websites. The ban does not include writing or researching, so I am legal right now.
Along with this is a rule that you need to practice, do one chore, and do 3 other useful things each day. "Useful things" are very broadly defined and include playing games with your sibling, cooking (one sweet per week), making a craft, bike riding, going to the pool, reading... They do not include bothering your mom, pestering your siblings, or complaining. If there is too much non-useful stuff going on, I will then assign useful tasks like dusting or cleaning bathrooms.
We will see how this goes. I also am tied to this schedule, so writing a blog post counts as one of my three useful things. When I was a kid I spent too much time watching television, cooking foods that were bad for me, sleeping until noon---my time could have been used better. On the other hand, I also read (a lot) and biked to the park, pool and library a few times per week. It seems good to have a plan for relaxing rather than letting the summer slip away----although I confess I am a bit conflicted. Maybe when the kids have their own kids they will let me know if it was a success or failure.
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