Children of nowadays seem to be busy, even busier than adults. Over the course of the year, they spend about 75 percent of their time at school. Even outside the classrooms, they learn and engage in many other educational activities that keep them pretty much occupied for nearly 100 percent of that 75 percent time slot. So during the holidays, having absolutely nothing to do could come as a bit of a shock to them, especially if they really enjoy the time they spend at school or doing their extra activities over the course of the academic term.
So what should parents do with them during the remaining 25 percent of their time? This is an area where anxiety may begin to creep in for parents because, as much as they may want their children to enjoy the break over vacations, particularly the summer holiday, which could last over two months, idleness may set in. So they have to find ways to keep children engaged while they also enjoy their well-deserved rest.
The norm for middle-upper class families is to travel abroad for the summer holiday. However, since economic conditions may hit bank accounts, many of parents are beginning to rethink their children’s summer time activities. Fortunately, there are many creative and inexpensive ways to engage children over the holiday.
For instance, many schools run summer school or summer camp programmes. The great thing about these is that teachers are really beginning to think outside the box and coming up with fun, creative and educational activities; such that summer school offers something different from what the children would normally get from the regular school curriculum. Many summer schools offer a broad range of activities that span from literacy to languages and cooking; while others specialise in specific areas such as science or specialised languages (such as Yoruba, Igbo or even Mandarin). Parents have many options to select from…and what makes these programmes even more attractive is their affordability, as they would not cost as much as logistics for travelling abroad or the equivalent of school fees (at private schools) for that period of time would.
If parents want a little more flexibility in their children’s schedules over the long summer holidays, they could actually plan fun and educational activities for them. Fortunately, Lagos State is packed with a lot of recreational activities that many people may not even be aware of. It is a State bursting with a lot of history and life, so parents could arrange for visits to sites such as the Slave Museum in Badagry and the Museum in Onikan. Such visits would expose children to some of the history of Lagos State and Nigeria. Other recreational activities that parents may consider are visits to art galleries and recreational centres such as the Lekki Conservation Centre.
Parents may also consider building specific skills in their children over the summer holiday. So they can enrol them in sports lessons (e.g. swimming, golf, tennis) at various gyms and country clubs around them; or even some other alternative arts which are becoming more popular such as painting, acting and music.
Another way of engaging children over the holidays is through volunteering or giving back. Getting them involved in some light community development activities could go a long way. An example is visiting homes of the motherless and less privileged. They could even get directly involved by coming up with initiatives to help out: it could be something as simple as getting old books, clothes and shoes together and giving them away to the less privileged. This is a good way to instil some values in the children and also exposes them to the realities of the environment that we live in.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that children should get some free and quiet time over the holiday. Some of this time should be allocated to free play, thereby allowing children to be children and really just enjoy themselves while they are young. The other portion of time should be deliberately planned, such that children engage in light activities such as reading, which would allow them to reflect and build some discipline and character.
Putting together activities for our children during the holidays may seem like a daunting task, but with careful and deliberate planning, we can make the most of the free time they have before going back to school.
OYIN EGBEYEMI
