Sow a peaceful summer for children

Summer is always the most anticipated time of the year for children. However, this is also the period that makes many parents confused when they have to balance between work and the responsibility of caring for and guiding their children at home. In the current context, organizing a summer vacation that is both safe and beneficial, while helping children develop their abilities and form their personalities is becoming an urgent requirement for every family.

Many young families today have difficulty organizing summer activities at home for their children - Photo: TRAN TUYEN

Worry when children are absent from school

Summer vacations, which last more than two months, often leave a big gap in children’s schedules. When schools are closed, children spend most of their days unstructured. This is a precious time for children to rest and relax after a stressful school year, but it can also lead to boredom, dependence on electronic devices, or a gradual loss of control over their lifestyle and behavior.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha, a civil servant, currently living in Dong Luong Ward, Dong Ha City, shared: “I work office hours, my husband often goes on business trips. Every summer, I start to worry, because both sets of grandparents are old and cannot look after the children all day. Sometimes I feel uneasy while working, I keep calling home to ask if my children have eaten, are they home, have they been sitting in front of the screen for too long...”.

Not only Ms. Ha, reality shows that many young families today have difficulty organizing summer activities at home for their children. Lack of support, financial pressure when registering for summer camp, safety concerns when leaving children home alone... all create a spiral that makes many parents feel tired.

Mr. Tran Van Duy - a shift worker at Nam Dong Ha Industrial Park, said: "I want my children to have a useful summer but my family's income is not high, every time I think about registering for a summer camp, I shake my head. I used to hire an hourly babysitter but I'm not very comfortable. When I go to work, I'm always worried about what will happen at home."

Summer is an opportunity to nourish the soul

According to Ms. Dinh Thi Hong Van, lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology andEducation , Hue University of Education, summer is a time for children to rest and recharge after a stressful school year. However, this is a period that requires appropriate support from parents to help children maintain a reasonable lifestyle and develop healthy living habits. Ms. Van believes that summer is not only a time to relax, but also a valuable opportunity to cultivate life skills, enhance social interactions and strengthen children's emotional foundation. Taking a break from school does not mean stopping learning, but learning in more flexible ways, suitable for children's psychology and development.

Ms. Van shared: “Currently, many parents tend to fall into two extremes: one is being too lax, letting children be free without clear guidance, the other is imposing a dense summer school schedule, almost no different from the regular school year. Both of these approaches can lead to undesirable consequences, making children feel stressed, tired or develop psychologically inharmoniously. Therefore, the important thing is the adequate companionship of parents, with a guiding role but not a controlling one, to create space for children to explore , experience and grow from their daily activities.”

To help parents partly resolve their concerns during the summer, many practical solutions have been proposed by the community, schools and education experts. First of all, it is necessary to proactively make a scientific plan, including harmony between study - play - rest. A specific schedule not only helps children maintain a routine but also helps parents manage their time more effectively. Choosing summer programs and skill camps that are suitable for age, interests and financial conditions is also a direction to consider.

In case parents are too busy, they can completely exploit available resources at home such as books, comics, educational games, learning videos... to create a healthy self-study environment for children. Assigning children some simple housework such as watering plants, clearing the table, folding clothes... is also an effective way to practice life skills and sense of responsibility.

Spend quality time nurturing bonds

One of the most important factors during the summer is maintaining the bond between parents and children. According to psychologists, no matter how busy you are, spending quality time with your children every day is indispensable. Dinner together, reading before bed or a light conversation after a long day all contribute to nurturing emotions, helping children feel loved, understood and have a solid spiritual support. This is also the time when parents can easily detect psychological changes in their children to intervene and provide timely support.

Summer vacation is not a “learning gap” as many people think, but a “development gap” - a time for children to rest, be calm and nurture important life values ​​and skills. Each family is a “miniature educational environment”, where children learn to live with their relatives, be independent, share, love, be creative and mature through real-life experiences. From this perspective, taking care of children during the summer is not simply “looking after” to ensure safety, but also a process of accompanying, guiding and creating a foundation for the comprehensive development of children.

If prepared carefully, flexibly and with love, each summer will become a beautiful milestone in childhood memories, where parents not only follow but actually walk with their children through days filled with laughter.

Tran Tuyen

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/gioo-mua-he-an-lanh-cho-con-tre-194168.htm