Help Plan Your Child's Summer Vacation

Bakari Akil II
(GBN) June 14, 2002

Across the country, young students are resting at home for their summer vacation. TVs are blasting all day, neighborhoods are full of children riding bikes, or gathering to play football, baseball, tag or to swim at the local pool. For two to three months students forget all of the stress and worry that accompany a nine-month "stretch" in public or private schools.

Summer vacations, for most children, are a very enjoyable experience. However, realistically summer is also a time when many students experience little or no growth in any aspect of their lives, thus at times, they regress. This is where the adult becomes a necessary component in the child's life. As adults in the roles of parents, relatives or individuals who influence a child's life directly, this is the time where we can ensure that children not only enjoy themselves but use this time as a period of advancement instead of stagnation.

Adults should advise young people of the benefits of developing their mental, emotional and physical selves to a level higher than when they previously left school. We must convey to them that to not exercise their abilities is to forfeit them. It may also be useful to explain the wonderful benefits of advanced preparation.

This is a period when both adults and children can be creative. Goals, plans and dreams can be outlined and discussed, not solely for what the child wishes or needs to improve for the next school year, but for their future as an adult. Improving their reading ability, sparking an interest in science, helping them become better athletes or improving and maintaining their physical fitness are all activities that can be performed with time to spare during these months.

Often, as a child, bad decisions are made because no one provided them with more than one option. Mastering video games, gossip or the art of the couch potato may not be something the child wants, but often achieves. Simply, children must be provided with better alternatives.

It may be difficult for adults to focus on this issue due to hectic constraints posed by adulthood, but it must be kept in mind that the potential possibilities for children are enormous if they take advantage of their free time in their youth. If adults and children team up to make sure that summers are both fun and productive, children will return to school more wise, intelligent and stronger than the year before. Furthermore, returning to school should be more exciting because they will be eager to show off their new-found abilities and skills to their classmates and friends.

Ultimately, it is up to the child if they wish to accept our counsel or just go through the motions to make us happy, but as adults can we accept the consequences if we don't try?

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