The golden days of summer are upon us and with them come beautiful images of running through sprinklers, days at the lake and enjoying the weather. This idyllic picture is often shattered by, “Mom, I’m bored!”, “Are we there yet?”, “Honey, is the camper ready?” interspersed with juggling all the scheduled commitments, neighborhood potlucks and back yard barbeques. Sometimes it feels like it will be easier when everything just gets back to ‘normal.’
Never fear, the following tips can keep the summer holidays enjoyable and stress-free for every member of the family:
Prioritize. You can’t do everything. Decide what is most important and make decisions on what you do based on this. This includes decisions about summer camps, day camps, road trips, work schedules, summer school, house renovations, garden plans, visitors, etc. What will your family do this summer? Be clear in these priorities; it will allow you to avoid being overwhelmed by commitments you ‘fall’ into.
Maintain a regular sleep schedule. If you want to feel stressed out, deprive yourself of sleep. If an entire family has their sleep schedule skewed, watch out! Especially while the kids are out of school, it is easy to fall into abnormal sleep patterns.
Furthermore, with the long daylight hours during the summer, it can be more difficult to fall asleep at night. Melatonin, the hormone our body produces to regulate our sleep/wake cycle, is highest at night when it is dark. Being exposed to light actually decreases our body’s ability to produce melatonin. For this reason, make sure that bedrooms are as dark as possible at night and remove electronics that emit light. When traveling, supplemental melatonin can be useful in normalizing sleep cycles. I have also had good feedback from parents using Quietude from Boiron with small children and infants when traveling.
Allow free time. This means giving children time to play and create on their own. We have a tendency to overly-structure our children’s recreational activities. Not only does this over-structuring add to your stress through the scheduling and logistical nightmare that ensues, it prevents our children from developing their imagination and learning to entertain themselves.
Child psychologists have found that through imaginative play, children improve cognition, language skills, and their ability to integrate emotions and learn how to relate better with others. While ‘make-believe’ appears to be pure fantasy, real cognitive development is occurring. This also gives you time to either let loose yourself and take part in the imaginative play, or step back and get some tasks completed around the house while the kids entertain themselves.
Have ‘relaxation rituals.’ This can be anything from making a nice cup of herbal tea (passionflower, lemon balm, holy basil and chamomile are some of my favorite stress-relieving herbs), to taking a lavender-scented bath.
Breathing exercises are helpful on the go and have been shown to reduce blood pressure within minutes. It is important to build these rituals into your day so that you give yourself a few minutes (or even seconds) of reprieve from the potential insanity to keep yourself calm and grounded. We make much better decisions in this state and can prevent escalating situations by maintaining our calm from the beginning.
A calming essential oil blend with lavender and geranium can also create a calm atmosphere for the entire family. In addition, there are many natural products that help with stress if you find you need more support. One of my favorites is Pascoflair by Pascoe. This can be taken as needed to reduce stress and anxiety within minutes.
Enjoy the summer with your family!
Dr. Stephanie Andrews, ND, is a licensed naturopathic doctor with an active family practice in Calgary. She provides wholistic and natural treatments, through individualized care, that focus on prevention.
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