We are halfway through our summer break and by now you have heard 1,000 times, “I’m bored!” from your kids! How do you survive the summer and keep your sanity? Follow these tips to make this summer break memorable and tackle the challenge of keeping your kids engaged.
Keep A Routine
Kids thrive with schedules. The idea of just lazing around all summer sounds great at the beginning, but it feeds the “I’m bored” monster. Having no routine or daily schedule leaves kids with no expectations of what needs to be accomplished for the day. I cannot count the number of times I’ve texted my children from work at 1pm, “Have you gotten dressed and brushed your teeth?” Set up a daily routine and post it in a well-traveled location in your home. Set up expectations for the day—make your bed, get dressed, feed the dogs, brush your teeth, put away laundry. Simple tasks give familiarity to the day and help guide them to productivity.
Water & Sun Safety
Teach your kids to always ask before heading out to the pool—whether it’s in your backyard, a friend’s house, or the neighborhood splash park. When they are in the water, make sure someone is watching. Among preventable injuries, drowning is the leading cause of death for children 1 – 4 years old.Drowning happens quickly and quietly—not like it’s portrayed in movies and on TV with lots of splashing and yelling. Keep kids in your sight at all times. Likewise, pay attention to applying sunscreen consistently. The sun’s UV rays can damage your skin in as little as 15 minutes. Apply sunscreen every hour and if possible, have your children wear UV protected clothing and hats.
Summer Bucket List
Make your “Top 5 Summer Activities” list as a family and schedule them! Maybe it’s to try the new snow cone shop around the corner or go to a special concert series in the park. Your community is bustling with things to do during the summer. Research what special speakers are coming to your local library, break out your list of favorite movies from when you were a kid and introduce them to your children (Space Camp, Neverending Story, Flight of the Navigator!), make slime! Making a list of these fun activities gives your children something to look forward to and work towards achieving.
Learn a New Skill
This summer’s skill in my house is learning how to type! I found a website that has free lessons and skills tests and my kiddos are completing modules of learning online during the day. Our hope is by the end of the summer, our teenagers can type using all 10 fingers! Figure out a skill that your children could benefit from learning and find a way to teach them this skill. It doesn’t mean you are now instructing them on how to play a violin, but if they want to learn, can you find a local music store that has some summer lessons? Or what about your friend’s artistic teenager who could teach your child how to draw anime or how to sing?
READ!
You knew that one was coming. We’ve all heard of the “summer slide” where kids slide backwards in learning during their summer break. Reading not only prevents this slide but can propel your child into success for the coming school year. Get to your local library and talk with your librarians about the latest book series that are on fire for your school-aged children. Read along with your kid so you can discuss the twists and turns in the books. Have your student draw pictures of their favorite scenes in their book. Get your noses in some books! Readers are leaders!!
With these survival tips you will be blazing the trails to a successful summer. Parents—you got this!
The world is connected nowadays through our screens. Whether it be email, texting, websites, FaceTime, or social media; we all use technology to connect us to others.
It’s a dilemma. On the one hand, today’s buzzing, multifaceted working environments challenge employees more than ever before. On the other, these same working environments are often also overwhelming and stressful. Sometimes it seems like success means mania—but this doesn’t have to be the case. More and more frequently, experts urge offices to focus not on performance but on growth.
Don’t lie–we ALL love gadgets. From the obscure (but hilariously reviewed on Amazon) Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer to the latest iteration of the Apple empire. Gadgets and technology can make our lives easier, make processes faster, and even help us get healthier. Businesses are now using the popularity of wearable technology to encourage employee wellness and increase productivity and morale.
According to a survey cited on Huffington Post, “82% of wearable technology users in American said it enhanced their lives in one way or another.” How so? Well, in the instance of health and wellness, tech wearers are much more aware of how much, or how little, they are moving throughout the day. We know that our sedentary lifestyles aren’t healthy and can lead to bigger health risks long term. Obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type 2 Diabetes are all side effects of this non-active lifestyle. But, these are all side effects that can be reversed with physically getting moving. Being aware of the cause of these problems helps us get motivated to work towards a solution.
Fitbit, Apple Watch, Pebble, and Jawbone UP all have activity tracking devices. Many companies are offering incentives for employees who work on staying fit and healthy by using this wearable technology. For example, BP Oil gave employees a free Fitbit in exchange for them tracking their annual steps. Those BP employees who logged 1 million steps in a year were given lower insurance premiums. These benefits for the employee are monetary but there are other pros to consider as well. The data collected with wearable technology is very accurate and can help the user when she goes to her physician for an ailment. The doctor can look at this data and it can help connect the dots with symptoms and then assist the provider with a diagnosis.
So, what are the advantages to the company who creates wellness programs utilizing wearable technology?
Job seekers have said that employee wellness programs like this are very attractive to them when looking for a job.
Millennials are already wearing these devices and say that employers who invest in their well-being increases employee morale.
The overall health and fitness of the company can be the driving force behind introducing wearable technology in a business but the benefits are so much more than that. Morale and productivity are intangible benefits but very important ones to consider. All in all, wearable technology is a great incentive for adopting healthy lifestyles and that benefits everyone—employee AND employer.
