School holidays can be daunting for parents.

We all parent in different ways, so the ideas I present here are just ideas that you can adapt to suit your family and child. Hopefully these ideas will generate thought about how you and your children can best enjoy the school holidays. Throughout, I will refer to child and children interchangeably, so these are ideas for families with one or more children.

When I say 'enjoy' I don't mean that you all will be smiling and happy every second of every day! Let's be realistic. In any one day you may have happy smiling children enjoying playing at the park and then ten minutes later there might be a tantrum about the lunch that you thought they wanted to eat that day.

Plan:

- Think positively about planning some activities that both you and the children will remember and cherish. Also, plan some quiet, down time. It's always a good idea to plan to be indoors and have some quiet time when the sun is the hottest between 11.00am and 3.00pm.
- Having fun can be planned and may not happen unless it's planned. Children of all ages thrive with routine, so it's helpful to work out a timetable and calendar with general plans. You can also be flexible and if a wonderful opportunity turns up at the last minute, like a day out with the grandparents turning into a sleepover, try to rework your schedule and allow for the change.
- Take special care to plan for times when both parents will be working: as noted below, find suitable holiday programs and sports clinics and make arrangements with extended family or baby-sitters.
- Children like to be consulted. Check out ideas for activities you'd like them to do or do with them and ask them which ones they want to do.
- Brainstorm ideas with your children about what they'd like to do in the holidays:

• Things they can do at home or in their local community.
• How can they be a tourist in their own city? 
• Do they want to try a day hike, camping? 
• This is also an opportunity for you to share your passions with your children, teach them things you like to do and to encourage them in developing their own passions.                

- What activities would they like to do at home: gardening, cooking, baking, reading, drawing, craft, watch movies, play board games….?
- What's on at your local Arts Centre and museums? Are there special exhibitions, guided tours and/or activities for children? Check out local resources like free holiday activities/programs offered by your local council and library.
- Are there sports workshops/holiday programs: intensive swimming lessons, clinics for cricket/netball/soccer/gymnastics etc?
- Talk with family members such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles, about whether they'd like to spend some time with your children (one at a time or all together) or with you and your children. Work out which days suit them and you. Such family members may want to take the children to a paid event such as a concert or special museum exhibition. They may also just want to have them over at their place for a visit, perhaps overnight.
- Not everyone has family support. Plan things with your friends who have children who get on well with and enjoy doing the same sorts of things your children enjoy. Or even friends who don't have children, but love being with you and your children. It's good for parents to have adult company during the holidays, especially if you are taking it in turns with a partner to work and look after the children.
- Most importantly, organise play dates and activities with your children's friends, old & new (peers they will be with next year at school).

Sleep:

- Try to keep a regular night time sleep routine and organise the best fun for the daylight hours.
- If the sleep routine falls apart during the holidays, try to get things back on track starting two weeks before school starts again, so that by the time school starts, your children are rested and able to enjoy things from the first day.

Worries about starting school, going to a new school or just starting the year with a new teacher:

- To maintain continuity with the school year, read to your children regularly (every day is great) during the holiday and get them to read to you and to their younger siblings, younger cousins or friends /neighbours.
- Look through the 2023 school work books and talk to your children about what they learned this year. Praise their efforts.
- Do some writing during the holidays – perhaps letters to friends or family in another city/country, or a diary including drawings and some writing.
- If possible play in the school playground, walk in the area nearby. If that's not possible during the holidays, do this now, before the end of this school year – especially if your child is starting a new school.
- Talk to your child about what they are looking forward to next year and what they may be worried about. Encourage them to think about whether there are ways to sort out their worries - Are there things they can do about the worry? If the worry is realistic, re-assure them that other children probably have similar worries and share with them if you had similar worries when you were a child. We can all worry about how we will manage something new. Will we make new friends? What will our teacher be like?
- If you think your child is excessively worried: eg not sleeping well, having nightmares about school, crying a lot, behaving in an uncharacteristically angry/aggressive manner; it could be helpful to go to your GP and get a Mental Health Care Plan so your child can talk about their worries with a child psychologist. Sometimes a psychologist will ask a child to draw pictures and play with toys to communicate their concerns.

I hope you find these suggestions helpful and that you and your children have a great summer holiday!