COLUMN: Summer days and why kids don’t need to be entertained

  • Melissa Herrera (COLUMN)
  • July 9, 2014
  • 379
                        
When my kids were small I thought the summer days would never end. Let’s be honest. Sticky afternoons filled with popsicles and mini-pools set up in the backyard. Fun, crying, fighting, and sprinkler running – there was both good and bad. I look back now and see what a young mom I was. Turning twenty-two when your eldest is born makes you a young mom, not as young as some, I know, but young nonetheless. I believe I didn’t have as much patience as I do now, which would make me a candidate for being a fab grandma. I digress, though, because I am NOT ready to be a grandma just yet. Please, folks, I am just now ready for ADVENTURE with my husband. Traveling, living our dreams, etcetera – you know the drill. I think about all those summers spent with tinies and I remember wracking my brain for things to do with them that didn’t cost one million dollars. I wasn’t a mother that felt they needed EVERY SINGLE moment and second’s attention from me. I wanted them to entertain themselves and feel independent. There is no reason to be within arm lengths of them at all times – we must separate so they learn to grow without us. Of course there were many moments of reading, watching the Disney channel and all those great movies, and cries of, “Come watch me, mom!” as they jumped off the swing set or rode their bike. Each moment of tucking them into bed and reading the same story countless times, holding them just because they needed a moment with me, or mixing up a milkshake at 8 A.M. because it would taste good – these are moments I savor. There are so many affordable and dare I say “cheap” ways to spend time with your kids. Some might see waterparks as fun, where I see dollar signs. Our local pool was (at that time) $1 for kids to get in and $2 for me. Pack some sandwiches and Capri Suns, throw in the cheapy pool toys from Dollar Tree and you have a day out. We did this countless days in the summer. In the mornings I would throw some meat in a marinade, wrap potatoes in foil, and when I came home I would have supper near to ready. Libraries have reading hours for kids which are always free and great entertainment. We used the library endlessly when they were smaller. We are a movie household, so free movie rentals meant good times for us. Also, we frequented the dollar theater ever since it came to be. How about a family of five hitting the theater for a whole $5? You can’t beat that, and taking them young teaches them how to be quiet when needed. Parks with lots of play equipment are always free, so many days were spent on a park bench watching them tumble and fall, just to get up and go again. Many a Sunday afternoon we would also pack everyone up and head out to the Mohican River for them to splash around in – we have so many pictures of them laying on rafts and finding crayfish. Ice cream cones were bought for the ride home while heads nodded in sleepy contentment. Like I said, I’m not an “entertainment” mom. I always felt, and I still do, that kids do not need to be entertained. We stick to their sides like glue and in doing so it doesn’t let them be kids. They need imagination, creativity, and a thought-process that doesn’t involve our input every second. They must be able to run free and without hindrance because we don’t want them still living at home when they’re adults. We raised them, found fun and affordable things to do with them, and when the time comes we kiss them goodbye. We cry a few days, brush ourselves off, and move on the dreams we left behind. Now comes the time to find cheap and affordable ways for mom and dad to have fun. And we’re off!


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