The summer holidays are here! If this is a period that fills you with stress, relax – we have solutions to make the summer break into a pleasure for you, your children and your nanny.
Preparation is everything
Print out a calendar and go through it with your nanny. Work out which days you’ll take the kids out and which you’ll have fun at home. Plan play dates so that you can ensure favourite friends aren’t off abroad and build in your own travel if you’re going away. This doesn’t just help everybody see what’s happening when, but also allows you to budget because we all know how expensive summer holidays can be!
Be boredom busters
You can make a jar or box with a bunch of ideas that will help your children break through the boredom barrier. One of our favourite approaches at the Elite Nanny Company is to make up boredom buster bags which contain a kit to undertake a specific activity – for example
- a blank jigsaw with crayons or paints and a couple of images of your child’s favourite ‘thing’ (dinosaurs, penguins, robots, flowers etc)
- some modelling clay with tools
- a soap making or cake kit (check how much adult supervision is required)
Working with your nanny you can create kits appropriate to your children’s ages and interests and even support National Curriculum subjects without them realising.
Maintain routines
Especially when you’re travelling, routines can break down, but ensuring you stick to meal and bedtime rituals as much as possible can help everybody have a better time.
Find out what’s local
We’re London based and there are many great resources for parents or a London-based nanny to plan exciting London days out. Here are some summer events that we think worth travelling to!
- Food Forever Kew Gardens until 18 September – the price for this event is included in your entry ticket and it shows how food affects the planet including a new garden trail, talks, films and immersive events.
- Not outdoorsy? Apple Summer Camp is much better than it sounds – local Apple Stores are offering free sessions in art, coding, design, music, photography and video. And if you don’t want to go to a store there’s a free downloadable Summer Camp Field Guide that can be done equally well at home.
- The Tower of London is in Superbloom until 18 September, with the moat filled with flowers – great for photo opportunities, maybe not so great for hay fever!
- Between 4-20 August you can do a Midsummer Night’s Dream family workshop at the Globe Theatre, bringing the play to life with child appropriate games and activities.
Photo credits: andy kuzma – teddy bear story.