Watching Price is Right every day is not a bad way to spend a summer.

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Anonymous wrote:Bike, draw, read, watch TV, chores, water the lawn, mow the grass, more biking, drawing, reading, TV, and chores. They could try cooking. And there's this magical, popular thing called the Internets - which is endless!

That sounds great but my daughter is 10 and both parents work, so.....

Way back in 1988 I was 10 and my newly single mom worked and I was home and summer was fine. A little boring. Probably watched too much TV, including a lot of bad TV, like the Price is Right and Brady Bunch reruns. We didn't even have cable, the horror. But I also did lots of reading. I cleaned the house. I lived to tell. Who knows... daughter might even end up being better for the experience.

This was every summer of my childhood past the age of 8. Every day started with the Price is Right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're thinking of buying an above ground pool for the backyard.

Ha! I told my husband I wanted to do this as well. He’s adamantly against it saying that it’s way too trashy. Frankly, I don’t care at this point because my kids need something to do other than online classes and video gaming and movies all summer long.

This is my plan too, but I can't find one anywhere. They are all either sold out or not in stock.

Anonymous wrote:We're thinking of buying an above ground pool for the backyard.

Ha! I told my husband I wanted to do this as well. He’s adamantly against it saying that it’s way too trashy. Frankly, I don’t care at this point because my kids need something to do other than online classes and video gaming and movies all summer long.

I remember basically sinking into a depression every summer. (I was one of the kids that didnt go to camp, and probably read about 10 books a week, but even though I love reading, it makes me depressed to do too much of it.)

I hope the libraries at least open up. We're spending a ton at Barnes & Noble and Amazon now and the older ones are re-reading everything. We're doing some overdrive books too, but it's hard because everything else is on the screens so it would be nice to have some things that arent on the screens.

Make friends with someone with a pool?

Older mom here. Structured camps are overrated. Your kids crave the down time. Let them enjoy life. For the first time in their entire lives, every moment of their waking day is not planned for them by some adult. They are able to relax and play creatively. Let them.

Tell the kids they can choose between sitting silently in their rooms or doing yard work all day. If they complain, tell them they're having a summer just like Harry Potter! Instant fun.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bike, draw, read, watch TV, chores, water the lawn, mow the grass, more biking, drawing, reading, TV, and chores. They could try cooking. And there's this magical, popular thing called the Internets - which is endless!

That sounds great but my daughter is 10 and both parents work, so.....

Way back in 1988 I was 10 and my newly single mom worked and I was home and summer was fine. A little boring. Probably watched too much TV, including a lot of bad TV, like the Price is Right and Brady Bunch reruns. We didn't even have cable, the horror. But I also did lots of reading. I cleaned the house. I lived to tell. Who knows... daughter might even end up being better for the experience.

She is leaving her kids alone during the day with a nanny for a life guard? Also, no HOA will allow an above ground pool as they are tacky and ugly.

Not everyone lives in the ex-urbs and belongs to a HOA. I can put what I want in my own backyard where I live.

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in late elementary school and middle school. Sleep-away camps are starting to be cancelled this week. Girls scouts just cancelled the entire camp summer. My daughter's Vermont sleep-away camp just canceled the summer. Pools are also announcing that they won't open.
My kid are old enough to stay at home when I work but what the heck are they going to do home alone for 14 weeks? What about families with young kids? I suppose it will be a terrific time to be a college babysitter.

And be read through these replies and I see a list of lovely activities for stay a home parents, albeit a heavier lift than normal. And I see the full time parents getting suggestions to go part time or take off. My workplace isn’t one where you stroll in and say - hey, I’m going part time till September.

Camps, whether we like it or not, are part of child care. Like it or not, there are families with 2 parents working full time. (This doesn’t mean they are pulling in enough to hire a nanny).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They will do what poor kids do every summer.

TRUTH.

You all really need to adapt and overcome. Use your bootstraps to pull out ideas for kids!

And if you work in an office which re-opens?

Anonymous wrote:Bike, draw, read, watch TV, chores, water the lawn, mow the grass, more biking, drawing, reading, TV, and chores. They could try cooking. And there's this magical, popular thing called the Internets - which is endless!

That sounds great but my daughter is 10 and both parents work, so.....

My kids still go out and play and ride bikes. I don't hover. Age 8 and up is old enough.

Also: sprinkler in the backyard.

Also: learning to garden, weed/ mow lawn etc -- both son and daughter

Also: learning to sew --both son and daughter

Also: learning to do their own laundry

Also: learning to cook

Also: allowing them to paint their own room., any color, any style

The list for summer activities is endless. Just adjust for age appropriateness.

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Anonymous wrote:We're thinking of buying an above ground pool for the backyard.

Are you going to hire a full time life guard? We have an inground pool and when my husband or I are not at home, it is covered and locked. When we have a party, we hire two Red Cross lifeguards.

Haha, no. I won't be having parties and I'm capable of watching the kids even they're swimming.

Hiring lifeguards is smart. Drownings DO happen during parties because parents figure there are lots of parents around and someone is watching... but no one notices the little kid who falls in.

This is more of a concern if you have a home in-ground pool. Most people who have never had one in their backyard don't think about these things. The owners could get sued by angry parents whose kid drowned at a party...

There will be no lifeguards to hire, even for HOA/club pools. No certification classes are being offered.

My daughter is a lifeguard and her certification expires in May. They were just granted a 120 day extension. Current lifeguards should be ok. Having new ones certified will be an issue.

Okay, so not NO lifeguards, but a big shortage. And for reasons that I don't understand, most of our HOA lifeguards come from Eastern Europe. Guessing that won't be happening this year. Our pools are managed by High Sierra.