Never Again Hear Your Kids Say During The Summer, "I'm Bored!"

Every parent (to include me) has heard their kids say - with the incredible freedom of summer all around - "I'm bored!" As a life and executive coach, I find that every summer I am asked by my clients who are parents to tell them what they should do to keep their kids active, engaged and not bored during the greatest three months of the year (for kids) fun things to do at home.

You know how it works. Your children are excited about the upcoming summer as the school year comes to a close. Then, for the first week or so they are all fired up and balls of energy. Then, they run out of energy and things to do. And you hear, "I'm bored," and "What should I do?" Your summer has just turned ugly.

First of all, let me say that it is easy for kids to get bored during the summer because they have so much freedom. But childhood freedom often becomes the strongest of all chains; a slave master who uses mind-numbing boredom as punishment. My belief and study has shown that kids do not need unfettered freedom. Kids need structure in order to grow and feel fulfilled.

Here's my simple 3-step process for eliminating your child's boredom during the summer months.

Step 1
You should sit down with your kids before the school-is-out-for-the-summer season hits and write a list of their GOALS for the summer. Setting goals is the most important step you can take to keep your child from getting bored during the summer. Ask your kid these questions (and have them write down the answers):
- What new sports do you want to learn?
- What new challenges do you want to tackle?
- What new books do you want to read?
- What new sights do you want to see?
- What new skills do you want to learn?
- What area(s) do you want to improve in?

Step 2
Next - using the goals as your guide, you and your kid(s) should write out a week-by-week schedule of summer activities for them. (I actually recommend you have the entire summer scheduled out day-by-day, but let me allow you to ease into this.)

Step 3
Then, follow the schedule.

My kids have not uttered the phrase, "I'm bored," since I began this approach to their summers. They are too busy, engaged and happy to be bored! And yours will be as well. And I know that your kids and mine will look back someday (as we parents do) and say how great this or that summer was because of what they did.

To help you get rolling, I am providing you (below) a list of 301 things that your kid can do during the summer. Many of these are low cost or no cost. This list makes sure that no kid need ever be bored.

The following list of 301 activities will help your kid, your family, and you take full advantage of the warm weather season and spark the creativity that makes summer the best time of the year! Your kid can look over the list and choose any activities they are interested in and get started. Some of my suggested activities require parental permission, but most are suitable for your kids to complete on their own.