Jenny Shelton is manager of Child Life at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. She gives parents some helpful advice for spring break, which many of us have on our calendars this time of year.
Spring break is a great time for families to re-connect and spend quality time together before the summer months arrive. One piece of advice that I would give families during the week of spring break is to attempt to maintain normal routines, so going back to school the follow week is less stressful.
For families that will be spending the week together, I would recommend exploring local events outside of the home such as library reading times, an IMAX theater or a children’s museum and having arts/crafts activities. Michaels & Hobby Lobby have great kits that the children can work with.
Since spring in the air, it’s also a great time to build a bird house or plant flowers together outside. If you and your children cannot be together during the day, I would recommend having several activities set out each day for them to do and then plan together time in the evening like cooking dinner together or going to a local event.
