School’s out for just three months, and there is so much to do I could spend that long just planning summer adventures with my family. While I’m all for the freedom of having unscheduled days to relax, as a family I think it’s also important to plan a few summer adventures in between. After all, epic days don’t tend to just happen to us, right?
Summer adventures with kids can be the perfect opportunity for enrichment and family bonding — or it can be a complete nightmare. As a work from home mom, I’m fortunate to spend a lot of time hanging out with my favorite adventure buddy and I’ve learned more than a few tips for successful summer adventures with the family.
5 Tips for Successful Summer Adventures with the Family
Let the Kids Plan Your Day
What is more incredible for a kid than getting to plan how they spend their entire day with mom and dad? Just give them a budget and guidelines for planning your day out and then let them know that they’re in charge (within reason). Encourage them them plan your destination, itinerary, places to eat and more, offering help and some reasonable guidance, of course. Your family will have a blast and your kids will learn valuable lessons, be more interested in completing the day happily and feel a great sense of accomplishment and pride.
Capture the Moments
With cameras on just about every device we own, there’s almost no excuse not to capture your memories this summer – even during some of the messiest adventures. My Galaxy S7 is my go to device thanks to its water resistant design, 12 megapixel camera, and 5.1″ screen. BUT, even though the S7 is water resistant, that doesn’t quite mean you should submerge it under water and it definitely doesn’t apply to saltwater and its corrosive qualities. When you live in sunny SoCal and spend the majority of your days at the beach, that can be a bit of a problem. Even if your device is water resistant or even “waterproof”, it’s always best to protect your device when in the sun, sand and water with a case like the Lifeproof Fre. It’s fully sealed with a built-in screen cover and a dirt proof, drop proof, snow proof and waterproof design. And as we learned during our adventure, hermit crab proof as well!
Make Time for Rest
When it comes to planning summer activities, it’s easy to get carried away trying to fit as much into your day as possible. The days are longer and the sun is shining but family activities can quickly spiral downward when kids are overly tired or overly hungry. Be sure to make time for healthy, nutritious meals and for rest in the afternoons when the day is hottest.
Pack a Picnic
Ever since my son started eating solids, I’ve always carried a variety of snacks in our diaper bag. Now that he’s 7 and we’ve long since ditched the diaper bag, I still find myself packing day packs or picnics depending on our activity. Be sure to pack a variety of healthy snacks that you can eat individually or combine for a meal on the go. Water, sandwiches and fruit pouches are our tried and true go-to snacks.
Be Flexible
The key to successful trips with kids is to be flexible. Trying to stick to strict schedules and pushing your kids beyond their limits sets up your entire day for disaster. Instead, plan to spend more time doing each activity, factoring in enough down time for rest and enjoy the activities you do get to do. Remember, the journey is half the fun!
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The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.
Great tips. There are so many activities we have in mind for the summer! Thanks for sharing these tips to make each and every summer escapade a memorable one for my family.
I used to hate having rest area picnics. I’ve since grown to look back on those days with nostalgia, and I look forward to introducing my daughter to them someday!
The less you strict you are when it comes to following the vacation “plan” the better the vacation turns out. I think these are all great tips!
Can’t wait to start our summer adventures. I’m going to let my children plan the day this time. It sounds like it’s going to be fun for them.
I really do enjoy summertime with my family and going on adventures. Your tips are great ways to ensure that the time is enjoyable. I especially follow the being flexible tip as my two are still quite little and things go much smoother when we follow cues from them.