School is almost out and yea, we are talking about a whooping six to eight weeks away from school . That’s a long one really but it’s well deserved after a long academic year. However, a lot can happen during this period . Here are three things to avoid during the long holiday.
Summer Holiday Brain Drain
After six to eight weeks of the summer holidays, children quickly forget a lot of what they learnt the year before. Teachers observe a dip in all children who didn’t read or do any academic work over the summer.
Half an hour of school-related work a day can make all the difference. So insist on at least a half an hour daily before fun – and certainly before any screen-time.
Lack of Exercise
The summer slide doesn’t just apply to school work -it also applies to physical movement and exercise. A number of children tend to return to school less fit and chubbier from sitting in front of screens, parents’ reluctance to let them play outside unsupervised and eating lots of junk foods and sweets.
It is important to encourage any kind of walking, playing or running around during the holidays. So if they cant do much during the week, try and make up during the weekend.
Eating too much junk
Summer holidays means lots of outing, parties and unsupervised eating at home. The children are always snacking sometimes out of boredom. So holidays are usually packed with drinking lots of soda, eating candies, living only on pizza, cookies and chocolate. Studies show that children’s’ body mass indexes (BMI) increased by twice as much over summer vacation when compared to the previous school year.
Its important to maintain a consistent meal time and schedule during the holiday. Stock up the fridge and house with healthy snacks and limit the number of unhealthy treats they can take daily and weekly. On a final note, include your child in the planning process to ensure success.
