Teens & Tweens: Summer holidays & other thoughts

Photo credit Liberty on the Lighter Side

We spent several months together at home with our tweens and teens during lockdown, and now we are anticipating spending a summer holidays with them too! This may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your situation at home. I have collated some posts here to help guide, inspire and encourage you through this coming summer season.

Becoming an adult in lockdown

While nothing much seemed to happen during lockdown this spring, a few things actually did happen. My eldest daughter became an adult! How did that Happen? I know we spend their entire childhood preparing for this and the arrival is anticipated day by day, but turning 18 happens over night and I felt unprepared for the changes I have to make as her parent.

Missing friends during lockdown

Our teens and tweens are real socialites and this is the age when their identity outside of the home is being formed. This has been such a difficult time for our kids as being kept at home goes against their natural grain. Jo from Mother of Teens writes about this in Missing friends and Freedom in Lockdown

It is amazing how brilliant our grown kids can be at times when they fulfill the expectations we hope for. I loved Sarah’s (from Mum of Three World) heartwarming post about how her parenting hard work has paid off in My teenagers stepping up in Lockdown

Alternative lockdown

Have we been living in an alternative reality? What if Covid-19 never happened, what would you be doing right now? Cheryl from Time to Craft explores this intriguing concept in her thought provoking piece Alternative Me.

Homeschooling

Homeschooling or even unschooling has been a source of stress for many of us unprepared parents, especially if we have also been trying to work from home. Jo from PinkOddy has been home educating for 2 years and describes her journey. She also provides us with some helpful advice in Getting the homeschooling balance right.

Anticipating summer holidays

Now that the summer holidays are imminent, we anticipate even more time with our children after just spending three undiluted months with them! Many camps and activities have been cancelled but our kids are keen to get out to spend time with their friends. Trying to figure out how I am going to adjust to this new normal sent me into a slight panic and I realised I need a a plan to cope! So I formulated My summer survival strategy. Maybe you can relate?

Still on the theme of the summer hols, Sarah from Mum of Three World writes about how her kids will Never be bored in the school holidays again after learning how to entertain themselves at home all these months. It just goes to show how lockdown has given our kids some valuable insights, and hopefully has taught them to appreciate their freedom more!

Are you looking forward to the Summer holidays? Have your tweens and teens got plans? Or are you planning a staycation? Everything has changed this summer and we are needing to adapt to the changes. It certainly hasn’t been easy but the sense of solidarity through this time, knowing we are all in this together has made us stronger and this time easier to endure.

Thank you for reading and do keep in touch, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Take care and stay safe.

Liberty xx (Liberty on the Lighter Side)