The Families of Character Show
We serve parents who want more for their family. Our show offers research-based parenting solutions to the most common family problems, real-life parenting stories, and authentic support. The host, Jordan Langdon, is a wife, mother, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker who validates what parents go through and offers practical actionable steps parents can implement today to transform their families in joy and unity. Guests are experts in their field of work and provide high-value material for parents and families.
The Families of Character Show
Ep. #151: A Summer Survival Plan {Rebroadcast}
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The summer countdown is on! Are you feeling excited about ditching the school routine, dreading the lack of structure, or somewhere in between?
Jordan shares a simple yet powerful exercise to help parents prepare for summer with kids at home, transforming potential chaos into a season of connection and enjoyment.
• Setting aside one uninterrupted hour to plan can dramatically improve your summer experience
• Start by listing all your children's typical summer day needs - meals, clothing, equipment, transportation, activities
• Identify past summer frustrations and brainstorm specific solutions
• The goal isn't perfect planning but bringing intentionality to create more enjoyable family time
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Welcome back parents, jordan Langdon, here again with you today to share a simple exercise to help you prepare for summer with kids at home. Listen, there's usually a few camps people land in when it comes to thinking about or anticipating summer and having your kids home seven days a week. Summer and having your kids home seven days a week. There's the camp where people get super excited for school to get out so they can kind of throw the routine out the window and just hang for a few months. I've heard moms say yes, no more carpool, no more packing lunch uniforms, no homework. They are ready for a break and are looking forward to it. There's another camp of folks who just kind of shudder a bit when they think about the summer because of the lack of structure with kids at home every day. They think how am I going to keep them off of screens all day? And should I let him sleep in, or should we keep to a regular schedule? And then what if I missed the deadline for summer camp for signing him up? Oh man, and if you don't really land in either of those camps, it might mean you've struck a balance over the years with how much structure your family needs and how much downtime and unplanned summer you need too. It's possible to be in that camp too. And listen, no judgment either way about which camp you land in. I have been in all three at different times in my parenting career, for sure, isn't it true? Just all families are so different. I mean, you might work from home and then the next parent works away at the office, and one family might have a built-in sitter because they have an older kid at home, and another might be looking for just a 12-year-old mother's helper a few days a week in the summer. And there are camps and like grandparent getaways, trips, daycare, swimming lessons, like it's just all very different for everyone. So with that in mind, I've come up with an exercise for preparing for summer, no matter what your family dynamics may be, and actually the same exercise can be used for long breaks or holidays too, not just summer.
Speaker 1:I like to think of parenting in seasons, and summer is obviously one of the four seasons, but it's definitely a parenting season too. Another season of parenting might be preparing to have a baby right, a new baby at home, adding someone to your family. Or another season could be having a child start kindergarten, when you're used to them being home every day. There's these different seasons in parenting, and preparing for a season of parenting is super helpful in mitigating anxiety, misunderstandings, scheduling conflicts. And if you happen to be listening to this and summer is already underway, don't worry, it's never too late to just kind of pull back. Never too late to just kind of pull back, prepare and take action.
Speaker 1:But, parents, let's keep it simple, because we need it. Simple, right, we're busy, we've got a lot going on. We're going to serve it up to you simple, right here. So how about starting by just committing to one hour of alone time for this exercise? I'm talking about going somewhere quiet where there isn't a possibility of interruption, and I know some of you are just laughing ha, good joke, jordan. But for some of you, this might be in your closet with the door locked, or it could be at the library or a coffee shop.
Speaker 1:The idea behind this is just to have some intentional time to think, reflect, to plan and then to walk away feeling more prepared and positive about summer. So, once you're ready and you've got your favorite beverage and some pen and paper ready, and you've got your favorite beverage and some pen and paper the first step is just to simply start thinking about a typical day in the summer when all your kids are home, and what I want you to do is identify their primary needs. Just start with waking up in the morning and then just moving throughout your day until they go to bed at night, and just think about what it is your kids need on a typical summer day. Think three meals, snacks, appropriate summer clothing, transportation to and from activities, sunscreen, sandals, hats, water bottles, life jackets, bug spray, swimsuits, books, babysitter backup, babysitter equipment for sports, camp waivers all the necessities. And as these things come to your mind, just simply jot them down in a list on your paper. You can make one general list for all your kids as this stuff comes to mind or, if you prefer, you could write down each name of your children and then make individual lists. I personally prefer one general list where I'm just dumping things that come to my mind and then, towards the end, I think specifically about each kid and if they have different needs. Maybe one of them needs to take an allergy medicine every day in the summer, and so I make sure to put that on the list, on the general list. But simply make a list of all these necessities on paper or on your phone. Externalizing this information helps you get it out in front of you so you can make a plan to manage it all.
Speaker 1:Simply just kind of thinking about it. I call it like putting it in the rock tumbler when it stays in my brain, or venting to your friends about all the things of summer. Those don't actually help you move to action, to properly plan for an enjoyable summer. It just keeps you in that cycle of worry and anxiety to just think about it or vent about it. So skip all that and just go straight to pen and paper or your notes app on your phone. This might seem overwhelming at first. You might be thinking, yeah right, jordan, I have five kids. There's so much there. It's often a long list for even the most basic or simple family situations. But Just do it, because without recognizing the needs, without dumping all this out on paper, you simply cannot meet the needs of your kids and besides, you're going to need to meet these needs at some point when summer hits. So it's simply just good planning versus being forced to react when the need arises, in the moment when they can't find the sunscreen, when you've forgotten to sign them up for a camp and you have it on your calendar and they don't have your kid on the roster.
Speaker 1:We want to think ahead, even though it seems like it will take more time away right now. So, no matter how long you anticipate the list might be, just keep jotting down the necessities for a typical summer day. Trust me, it'll be super helpful. And then, once you've made that list, just set it aside for the time being, because you're going to come back to it. Okay, so next step I want you to spend some time just reflecting on past summers and some common frustrations you've experienced and then write those down. I mean we don't have to plan for all the fun and awesomeness we're going to have. I mean we do have to put it on the schedule, but we don't really have to plan and think about that. But we do need to anticipate the bumps in the road.
Speaker 1:So some examples of frustrations you know chronic frustrations every summer might be water balloons in the grass when it's time to mow. You know you like having a water balloon fight and it's all fun until it's over, and then your yard is full of colored. You know rubber balloons everywhere and you're going. Why did we do this If that causes you a lot of stress. Write it down. How about kids using 14 cups a day for drinks and leaving them all around? What about their path of clothes? They leave on the floor when they change into their swimsuit? It's melty candy or popsicles that attract ants on the patio. Or never being able to find the goggles when it's time to head to the pool. Another frustrating thing might be kids accessing inappropriate things on TV or the internet while they're unsupervised in the summer. Those types of common frustrations. That's what I want you to write down. Whatever those things are for you, just jot them down and, again, don't worry about organizing them in any specific fashion. Just dump them out. This gives you an opportunity to avoid some of those chronic frustrations from the past this coming summer.
Speaker 1:Now, for each issue or frustration you've written down, you're just going to brainstorm a situation. You're just going to look at that. One thing broken water balloons. If that's the thing that sends you over the edge, or your husband over the edge, maybe you just make a quick decision right then no water balloons this summer, we're going to do water guns. It'll still be fun, they can still get each other, so to speak, but there's less mess. So you just make that decision right there, write down water guns, cross out little balloons Easy fix.
Speaker 1:If kids using 14 cups a day is on your list, just consider having each kid pick out their favorite water bottle and then make a routine of filling their water bottle at night and putting it in the fridge so it's ready to go every morning. No cups needed. Maybe just hide the cups for the summer. Don't need them. You're responsible for your water bottle and that's it. Make it simple. And if you can't ever find the pool supplies you need when you're heading out the door, maybe you need to set up a little summer zone in your house to help with organization, putting all the sunscreen, the goggles, the sunglasses and hats in one particular bin near the door you pass by to go to all your water activities, whether it be near the back door because you're doing, you know, sprinklers in the backyard or playing in a pool in the backyard. Organize it wherever it's most convenient. For screen time issues, consider setting limits on what they can access and what hours of the day their device will be available to them, and take a minute to Google something simple that you could implement or maybe just change in the settings on their iPad or their tablet or a phone or whatever device it is that they're using and just simply write it down. It's not for you to do anything with now, but you're really just dumping it on paper at this point. Okay, you see why doing this planning is most effective.
Speaker 1:If you can have time away from your kids. You want to be able to have that clear mind, to brainstorm and even do a little research if you want, like jump on Pinterest or Google Ideas or whatever that would work for your specific family situation. And I'm just going to say it right now. If you can't imagine having that time away an hour or hour or two, and you're kind of dismissing this exercise as you listen because you believe it's just not humanly possible to not be interrupted and be able to reflect and plan, I'm just going to challenge you, I'm going to push you a little bit and I'm going to challenge you to advocate for yourself and to use your resources. You may have to really muster up the courage to ask for the time from either your spouse or a sitter or a neighbor, or even offer to trade with another mom so she can get away and plan too. If you do this. It'll be well worth it.
Speaker 1:Okay, so let's get back to the exercise. So, once you've written down the necessities for a typical summer day, you've reflected on past problems and brainstormed solutions to those and written them down. You're simply going to make two master lists from that brain dump. Okay, you're going to make a list that says to buy and one that says to do. Simply go down through what you've dumped on paper and put each item in one of those two lists so you realize you need to buy specific snacks in bulk for the summer and you need to buy two more pairs of goggles. Write those on the list that says to buy your shopping list. And then you realize oh wait, I need to find a backup babysitter and I also need to put the winter gloves and hats away and fill that supply bin with swimsuits and towels instead. Write those down on your calendar to take action.
Speaker 1:So before you go rushing back to, you know your duties as a parent, or you know you come out of the closet and enter into reality in your family again, or you leave the coffee shop, stop and put a date on your calendar where you can actually do the things on your to-do list and shop for the things that you need to buy to make summer smoother. And, again, take a few minutes while you're looking at your calendar to really assess the best day and time you're going to do this so you don't get interrupted or something else bumps it to the back burner and then it never happens. You just have this list, but you haven't done anything with it. Have a chat with your spouse about this process and ask for what you need in order to complete this exercise. I can't stress this enough.
Speaker 1:Advocate for what you need, this planning time, and then, when the day comes and it's time to take action on your preparing for summer lists, follow through, no matter what. If you're dreading it or you feel like it's too big, it's too much, just simply start at the top of the list and put on the mindset that this summer is going to be different because you took intentional steps to plan and be prepared. And, like I mentioned earlier in the show, this same exercise can be helpful in any season of parenting Simply reflecting back on another time that was similar to this season, what worked, what didn't, anticipating any problems and then coming up with solutions, what you can do, what is in your control to make the next season different. Parents, when we take time to plan, we are bringing the future into the present, so we can do something about it now. I totally encourage you to do this Make time.
Speaker 1:Summer is supposed to be fun and enjoyable, whether you're working or you're home. Planning and preparing can make summer so enjoyable and such a connecting time for your entire family. So do whatever it takes to complete this exercise, plan and prepare and then rock summer okay, and stay tuned for another episode, because we have crowdsourced tons of helpful ideas for managing summer. Guys, we cannot parent in isolation. We need a community of like-minded parents who are passionate about sharing resources and learning from each other. So be sure you're subscribed to receive our weekly email newsletters. Simply go to familiesofcharactercom and hit the subscribe button at the top to enter your email address.
Speaker 1:And speaking of summertime and breaks, who wants to think about running out for a last minute birthday gift when you could be sipping a drink by the pool? Grab a few copies of our kids journal called the Best Me I Can Be. It is perfect for kids from first grade all the way to sixth grade. It's packed with awesome fun activities, great diverse stories and it helps them reflect and plan ahead, just like you're doing. It's getting five-star reviews with our customers, so head over to familiesofcharactercom to grab your journals today. Parents, if you enjoy our podcast, help us get the word out by sharing our show with your friends and family. Thank you so much, and remember we are always in your corner.
