Summer holiday activities: how to entertain your child without breaking the bank
As the holidays approach, it’s time to start thinking about things your child can do over the next two months. As one Hong Kong parent says, activities in the city can be expensive. Here are tips for what to do from a former schoolteacher
I’m already dreading the long summer holiday, writes a Hong Kong parent. Keeping my Year 6 daughter entertained is difficult and expensive. She’s an only child, which doesn’t help, and I don’t want her on her phone or computer all day. Can you suggest some ideas?
As parents it’s tempting to try to over-organise our children. When we feel they are using their time productively, it may make us feel better; however, it has been shown that helicopter parenting is often counterproductive, and aggressively overscheduling children doesn’t give them the personal skills to organise themselves and their own time now or in the future.
However, the summer break is long, so best to strike a balance. Consultation is always useful. Ask your daughter to think about how she’d like to spend her time. Try to listen without being judgemental, helping to ensure she gets opportunities to do what she really enjoys rather than what you would choose for her. Try to pick the right time to have this conversation, preferably when she’s feeling open and chatty.
It can be positive and refreshing for children to have a completely different focus during this extended holiday period with enough unstructured time away from their normal responsibilities to recharge their batteries.
They should get plenty of sleep and relaxation, and time for activities such as listening to music and practising a musical instrument. It is an ideal time for your daughter to take up an instrument if she doesn’t already play one. Many children teach themselves using YouTube clips in place of expensive lessons.