Whether you’re at home, at the beach or elsewhere, July is a good time for activities with your children that tend to get crowded out during the school year. Here are a few good suggestions.
This article in USA Today sets the bar high. To parents who “often find themselves racing to work, camp, swim meets and ballgames, . . .” writer Nanci Hellmich suggests they “consider setting aside an hour a week for ‘special time’ with each child.” Even if you can’t find an hour a week, your relationship with your child will improve with the focused time you give it, and this article is a good review of how to spend that time with children of all ages, including teens.
One place to spend time with your children is the kitchen, where you can also begin to teach them how “to be self-sufficient eaters when they are own their own,” says Aviva Goldfarb in this Washington Post article, complete with easy starter recipes.
I’d be willing to bet that every parent sooner or later comes to the place Jessica Lahey describes: “I taught the 11-year-old owner of these jeans how to use a washer and a dryer years ago, and yet here we are again, right where we started.” In this lighthearted blog post, Lahey shows you how to teach Laundry 2.0 visually, using your washer and dryer.
Looking for a free, hands-on, family fun outing? The D.C. Ladies tell you what’s cool about the United States Botanic Garden.
Let’s face it, encouraging your children takes more energy than simply handing out praise treats. Can’t think of enough encouraging things to say? You’ll find 25 of them here, categorized and then listed on a colorful poster at picklebums.
Compiled by Trish Pannuto, PEP leader and past president of PEP’s board of directors.
Parent Encouragement Program
10100 Connecticut Ave.
Kensington, MD 20895
301-929-8824
office@PEPparent.org
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