Sometimes, especially with younger children, cries of boredom are really calls for companionship and attention—their friends may be away on vacation and without the structure of school they may find it difficult to keep occupied during long summer days. Prolonged intervals where the kids have nothing to do can be stressful . When bored, children often become whiny, cranky and demanding. Calendar-of-the-season-300×216

Here are a few easy tips to help au pairs and host parents combat summer boredom and help kids develop the internal resources that are important for developing creative, resource and time management skills:

Put a weekly calendar together so as not to overwhelm yourself with planning entertainment for an entire summer, just take it one week at a time—day trips, arts and craft activities, play-dates, reading time, nature hikes, picnics, bike rides, a trip to the movie theatre etc. This way kids will have something to look forward to during down time. A calendar also helps with getting kids prepared for what comes next.
Ask: “If you could do anything, what would you like to do?” Try and encourage your children to generate their own ideas for activities—they are more apt to have fun when they thought it up on their own! Reinforcing that children use their imaginations will also help them develop a sense of resourcefulness and get them in the habit of making their own choices about how they will spend their time.
Keep an “art box” handy full of supplies: scissors, fabric, felt, glue, paints and brushes, stickers, paper, markers, canvass, needle and thread, beads, yarn, picture magazines etc. Rummaging through a box of art supplies can ignite the imagination and occupy children for long periods of time. They could even begin an entrepreneurial enterprise and sell their wares at the end of the summer.
Inspire them to play with water. Water is very calming and soothing for children and they can while away many hours playing and keeping cool. Get them to wash the car, hose off the deck, or run through a sprinkler. Spend time together at the beach or pool

(Thanks to Jan Peedin, Annapolis Community Counselor, for the great posting!)

As we roll into the summer season and some very hot weather, it is a good time to remind au pairs of some safety tips. Most of the country, including the Twin Cities, has to endure high temperatures at some point over the summer. Here are some common safety reminders:

• Never leave a child unattended in a car, even with the windows rolled down.
• Always lock the car when not in use so kids can’t play in it.
• Always check the temperature of the car seat and seat belt before buckling a child in the car.
• Don’t keep a baby in the infant carrier for long periods of time on hot days. It can feel much hotter in the seat than out of it.
• Dress children in light=colored, loose-fitting clothing.
• Everyone, children and adults, should drink a lot of water every day during the summer.
• Reduce or eliminate strenuous activites during the hottest parts of the day. 

SWIMMING POOL SAFETY TIPS

• An adult should be at arms’ length of (able to touch) any child under the age of 5 in a swimming pool.
• Never leave any child alone in or near the water.
• Keep a phone by the pool at all times.
• Always check to be sure the gate is closed when leaving the pool area.
• Host families should review their own home and pool safety rules with the au pair.
• Don’t forget the sunscreen!

Winter is a great time to be a kid in Minnesota, but you need to take precautions.  Kids should be dressed for the weather, which includes some or all of the following:  mittens or gloves, scarves, hats, warm boots, and snowpants. For older kids in particular, it is a good idea to put layers on if you’re going sledding or skating, so that if they start to get warm, they can take some of it off without losing all their protection.

Little kids can have a blast just playing with snow, maybe learning how to make snowballs or even snow forts. You can put them on a sled with you to go down the local hills.  Keep an eye on them to be sure they aren’t getting cold – sometimes they don’t know themselves!

Older kids can do all the same things, plus skating or hockey on local rinks or ponds, riding big tubes down ski hills at places like Buck Hill, Afton Alps, or Theodore Wirth Park, and skiing.

The Twin Cities au pairs went skating in November to prepare for all of this. I was amazed at how quickly they caught on! I’ll be posting photos soon.

Remember, after an afternoon playing outdoors this time of year, a lovely cup of hot cocoa can warm anyone up!