3 Ways to Keep Your Parenting Cool

Has this heat melted us all away? I feel fried and refried. Body and soul. I can’t be the only one. And, I’m a stay-at-home parent; I don’t want to even begin thinking about bosses, commutes, and demanding deadlines all in the proper (un-summer friendly) work attire. Popsicles and flip-flops have become more my style. But, I have to think about parenting my kids through the summer.

Even with this laissez faire lifestyle, I’m struggling a little bit with the overloaded kitchen sink, sticky fingers, and the constant clutter and chatter that goes with summer-at-home kids. So, I’ve spent a few minutes brainstorming some ideas that should help me, and hopefully you, through the rest of these sizzling summer days.

Here are some fun “one size fits all” ideas:

1. An at-home water park.

Remember sprinklers and slip and slides? Remember squirt guns and water balloons? These are things that we filled our days with, and they are still super fun. Some of the needed items can be found at a dollar store, buckets are probably under your sink, and you might even have some leftover balloons from a birthday party in with the wrapping paper stuff. Get your kids dressed, put the towels on the back porch, take a trek out to the backyard, and let loose for a couple hours.

2. Movie Mania.

What about renting ol’ Superman, Herbie, and The Goonies (for some adventure and buried treasure)? These movies are cheap, or even free on certain streaming services. Have some popcorn, jolly ranchers, and some fruit juice and seltzer on hand to perfect this afternoon rest time. You can either kick up your feet with the kids or use this time to stuff the dishwasher. One of the best things about streaming? You can search thousands of titles with a few clicks, and there they are—at your fingertips—to surprise the kids.

3. Reading is fun.

Whether the kids like it or not, school is just around the corner. Build a little bit of structure into their bedtime routine to help get them ready for the transition. Reading out loud has invigorated our nighttime routine. I suggest My Friend Flicka and How to Eat Fried Worms. You should be able to get through those by the end of the summer by reading a chapter a night. Both stories have been made into movies. Your kids will never thank you, but you might overhear them telling their friends all about the plot line and characters when they have a movie night. That’d make me smile.

4. Especially for parents

So parents, you can do three things at this point:

• Melt away—and really, only witches do that.
• Brainstorm some ideas of your own, embrace them, and be happy in the fact that you’ll be armed for next summer.
• Do something else.

Before I brainstormed, I did “something else.” I got upset about not being able to keep up with June Cleaver. I was worrying about handprints and crazy days until it dawned on me how absurd the heat was making me. June Cleaver did not have girls. I never saw an episode about potty training. I never saw the Cleavers go to the beach. I don’t recall an episode that wasn’t during the school year, and the kids were always school-aged. The episodes are black and white, so you really don’t know if June’s house was dusty or not. For that matter, she may have had purple curtains with a black and red checked couch. That’s just a short list. But, they re-set my frame of mind and inspired me to choose someone more “Peg Bundy” for comparison in the future.

Have fun coming up with some “truisms” of your own. Share them with your friends, have a laugh and a popsicle, and above all, keep your cool. School is just around the corner.