Parenting over Summer Break:
Keeping Kids Learning, Healthy, and Out of Trouble
What will help the family make the adjustment to summer break?
- Positive parenting tips for summer—with tips on sibling conflicts, discipline, and family meetings.
- For parents of kids with ADHD:
- Helping kids keep themselves out of hot water during the summer months, when there’s more free time and relaxed adult supervision.
- Children maintain healthier weight in school compared to summer breaks—so parents may need to pay more attention to kids’ eating habits and activity levels in the summer. See YourChild: How Parents Can Fight the Obesity Epidemic for tips.
How can I keep my kids learning and reading over the summer?
- Summer Break—Keeping the learning habit:
- Summer learning activities—around the house and on trips, errands or grocery shopping.
- More summer learning activities—reading, math, science, and more!
- Reading Rockets: Summer reading—includes lots of parent tips and more.
- Take Kids to the Library This Summer!
What do parents of teens need to consider over summer break?
- Watch out for kids gone wild
- Making sure your teen’s job is safe
- Don’t let summer vacation be the start of drug use in teens—tips to parents to keep kids drug-free
- Summer Break - Tips For A Healthy Summer: A Guide for Parents of Young Teens
- For teens: Road tripping
- For teens: Tanning
Where can I find more information?
- YourChild: Summer Safety
- YourChild: Parenting Resources
- YourChild: Reading and Your Child
- YourChild: Summer Camp
Compiled by Kyla Boyse, R.N Reviewed by faculty and staff at the University of Michigan
Updated May 2009
U-M Health System Related Sites:
U-M Pediatrics
