I’m Bored! 6 Tricks For Beating Summer Boredom

Summer is here! But that doesn’t mean you have to entertain your kids 24/7. Beating summer boredom is totally possible with these simple tricks!

Beating Summer Boredom | This Time Of Mine

When summer break finally hits, kids are so excited to play that it’s hard to imagine they’ll ever get bored.

Yet inevitably, they always do.

Summer break brings a much needed change in pace, but I think we can all admit that certain days are more challenging than others. Days where we hear “There’s nothing to do.” and “Can’t I just watch more TV?” more times than we’d like.

Over the past few summers, I’ve found a few tricks that help. They keep the days from dragging without over-filling them, and they help keep us all sane (well, most of the time!).

I hope they help you too!

6 PARENTING HACKS FOR BEATING SUMMER BOREDOM

These tips have been life-savers for me during summer break. Some summers are busier than others, but we still include all of these each summer and they have made a huge difference for all of us.

1. MAKE A PLAN

Routines and plans are easy during the school year. We have school, activities and defined weekends that keep us on track.

But summer is a little different. Even with summer sports, camps and activities, it’s easy to let go of regular, day-to-day routines. Try including these 3 things in your summer planning:

Keep a family calendar. Print out a blank calendar for the summer months. Put everything in them so you know what’s coming and can plan accordingly. On a separate page, write out recurring weekly activities (weekly library trips, Tuesday soccer practices, daily swimming lessons, etc.) so you can create a daily routine around them.

Create a daily routine. Learn how to create the perfect daily routine here. In the summer, I also like to have a laminated list for each of my kids that they have to complete before playing with screens or friends (reading, cleaning their rooms, getting ready for the day, etc.)

Make plans together. Include the kids on this one. Do you want daily activity themes? How about a summer family bucket list? Are there any city events coming up? Have a family meeting to decide on some fun, memory-making activities your family can do together.

2. MAKE CHORES AN EXPECTATION

Getting kids to do chores in the summer might seem like an easy idea. After all, we have more time, right?

But when friends come knocking at 10 AM, or we’re out doing various summer activities and sports, it gets a lot harder to make it a regular thing. Which is why we have to make it a conscious effort. Depending on what’s going on, some days might require morning chores and others might require afternoon chores.

It’s okay if the times for chores vary, as long as kids know they have to do them before playing with friends or screens.

Because with everyone home, there’s a lot more to clean up! And I for one, don’t want to do it all alone.

Head here for some tips to help kids clean without a fight.

And as a bonus, summer is a great time to introduce harder chores kids can earn money for. I don’t pay my kids for helping out around the house. But they can do extra things, like clean out the car, wash windows or mow the lawn to earn some extra cash.

3. INCLUDE OTHER DAILY RESPONSIBILITIES

Help kids practice being self-sufficient and independent with daily summer responsibilities. This also helps reinforce your daily routines.

What you choose to include will depend on your child’s abilities and needs, but here are a few ideas:

Reading
Journaling
Learning worksheets
Educational activities
Practicing an instrument
Playing with a sibling

Head here for some great tips to help your kids love reading this summer.

4. INTRODUCE ALONE TIME

Full disclosure, I love including alone time in our routines. It cures everything including bad moods, whining, bickering, summer boredom…I could go on and on.

It’s the perfect reset for kids…and parents.

For alone time, we set a timer, and everyone picks a location and a screen-free activity. It’s quiet time. And when we’re done, everyone’s happier. It’s simply amazing.

During the school year, I do independent playtime and quiet time regularly with my younger 2, but during the summer, we all get to participate. This is especially great during long, hot afternoons.

5. HAVE A BACKUP PLAN

While I don’t think it’s our responsibility to be cruise directors for our kids and keep them entertained at all times, I do like having a few tricks up my sleeves. Fallbacks for when they’re just. so. bored.

Here are a bunch of activities you can keep in your back pocket for when you need them:

Other ideas include having an “I’m Bored” jar filled with activities kids can pull out or having a list of Random Acts of Kindness kids can choose from.

6. JUST LET THEM BE BORED

You’ve probably heard this one before, but it’s true. It’s good for kids to be bored. It ~~forces out~~ sparks their creativity and imagination like nothing else.

Kick them outside or have some open-ended toys around the house and let them see what they can come up with. And if they’re bored to death with their toys, take them away!

Seriously, put most of them in bins and stick them in a closet. Leave out a few. And when they’ve played with them for a while, switch them out. They’ll feel like brand-new toys again.

SUMMER BREAK SHOULDN’T MEAN MORE WORK FOR YOU

I hope these tips help you navigate this summer with a little less whining and just enough structure to keep kids busy and happy.

And because I think reading is such an important part of summer, be sure to grab this fun Summer Reading Challenge. It works for kids of any reading ability and keeps kids discovering new great reads.

THE ULTIMATE SUMMER BOREDOM BUSTER KIT

Do you love printables to keep kids organized and on track? Then you’ll definitely want to check out The Ultimate Summer Boredom Buster Kit to help with everything from this post including:

Routine planning sheets and calendars
Screen time checklists
Chore charts/rewards
Reading charts/rewards
Reading bingo
Summer journal pages
Activity lists
And more

Learn more about the Ultimate Summer Boredom Buster Kit here.

Have a wonderful summer!

Do you have any special tricks for beating summer boredom? Let me know in the comments!

want to remember this?

PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE BOARD

Share this article: