Summer holidays are undoubtedly the most awaited time for a child — after all, it is an escape from the year-long drudgery of heavy course loads, examinations and stringent routines. While the holidays can seem all fun and games at first, the sudden absence of a structure that the child is accustomed to all year can cause a sense of boredom and gloom to creep in. This makes it important for the parents and carers to incorporate some sense of routine into the child’s day by engaging them in summer hobbies and activities.
Tackling summer holiday blues
Children are not the only ones who tend to get inflicted by holiday blues. Parents also bear the brunt, as they may be forced to rearrange their busy schedules and squeeze time to cater to the child.
Additionally, intensive family time during summer holidays can also cause friction between the parent and child.
Deepali Batra, senior clinical psychologist and director, of Psychological-Academic-Learning Services (PALS) for Children & Adults, Rajouri Garden, Delhi, says that the parents may become increasingly critical of the child, frequently providing instructions and behavioural corrections, which can irk the child.
“During summer holidays, parents are often concerned about the child’s increased screen time, poor sleep schedules, not eating on time, and neglecting personal hygiene,” observes Batra.
Why are hobbies important during holidays?
Besides being fun, summer hobbies, and camps instill a structure in the child’s day, offering avenues for them to garner new skills and hone existing ones.
According to Dr Rahul Verma, director of neonatology and general pediatrics, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai, summer holidays are an opportunity for children to develop holistically and veer away from the often myopic approach to learning prevalent in classrooms.
“Group activities can boost mental agility, promote personality development, improve skills like leadership, communication, problem solving and sociability,” says Dr Verma.
According to Batra, activities like arts and crafts can enhance creativity and help deal with stress and difficult emotions better. Physical activities like play can boost confidence, mobility, and flexibility.
Batra stresses the importance of imparting life skills like cooking, cleaning, making their bed, and organization.
She adds an hour or two needs to be dedicated every day to academics along with the summer activities to ensure that the child can resume school seamlessly after the break. “The child can be rewarded and reinforced using verbal praise.”
Assess the child’s strengths and weaknesses
Balaji P, a 45-year-old project manager in Chennai, keeps his 9-year-old daughter Avni busy almost every summer. “Most summers, we enroll her in summer camps, especially swimming classes, but in recent years, we’ve been enrolling her in vocational classes too,” he says.
To make math more interesting and different, they have enrolled her in a Vedic math class. “Over the break, we wanted her to remain connected to her school curriculum, so we enrolled her in classes where she can learn a bit more from her formal education,” he says.
She has greatly benefited from learning something new over the break. “She has not only met peers outside of her classroom but also returned to class with additional information on the topic,” says Balaji.
He also mentions that he enrolls her in summer camps that host art and craft activities. “She not only enjoys creating those projects but also, it’s an addition of skills she’s learning,” he says.
Batra emphasizes that parents should assess a child’s strengths and weaknesses and choose their summer hobbies accordingly.
“Not every activity needs to be professionally oriented. Some can be chosen merely as a passion,” says Batra.
Further, she says that children shouldn’t feel pressured into doing too many activities, as having too many things on their plate may stress them out, leaving them with little room to enjoy these activities.
Precautions to take at summer camps
Before enrolling kids for summer camps, Dr Aravind A, consultant – pediatrics and Pediatric Intensive Care, Aster Women and Children Hospital, Whitefield, Bengaluru, stresses taking certain precautions from health risks like heat strokes, allergies, viral and bacterial infections and waterborne diseases that can crop up. “Ensure your child is carrying a water bottle at these venues as the peak summer heat can leave them dehydrated, making them susceptible to infections,” he says.
Dr Aravind mentions always wearing protective gear and carrying an emollient can help protect the child from risks. “Parents must also have transparent communication with the organisers/administrators of the camp if the child is facing any medical conditions like asthma, allergies or diabetes,” he says. Besides, he adds that additional assessments should be carried out and specific services provided for any child with special needs, this may include accessibility, trained staff and medications.
Takeaways
While children look forward to summer holidays, extended periods of inactivity and screen time can pose negative effects and increase parent-child friction. Summer hobbies and activities and partaking in summer camps can help instill structure, develop skills and break the monotony of holidays.
