Family reconciliation in summerIt is almost impossible without great sacrifices or without going to external support for most families and they have to go to work juggling, grandparents or camps so that their children can be taken care of during school vacations.
The reconciliation of family and work life during the school year is already quite complicated for families: that the children are in school leaves a margin for them to organize and then, if the parents' schedules are not compatible with the school , it pulls out of school children, grandparents or babysitters who take care of the little ones until their parents arrive home. But in summer the thing is even more complicated.
Every family is a world. And each child also has different interests and needs, which is not always possible to cover perfectly. How do you reconcile in summer?
Summer reconciliation in my childhood
When I was a child I remember those long, eternal, summers to the sun. Infinite. My parents, who are actors, organized their work to be able to be with us on vacation. Nor was the work outside the home of women so widespread, so my friends also had their mother to take care of them during the summer. Summer conciliation was simple in my childhood And, I have no doubt, the children were winning with this model.
The days were repeated as if it were an eternal summer that awaited us. We could also be free, on the street or on the beach, for hours and hours. Nobody was sent homework for the holidays, so we could enjoy a lot. Months on the beaches of Cabo de Gata, with endless hours to play and read, have been one of the things that have made me the happiest in life. But that hardly any child has it.
My reconciliation as a mother
My reconciliation solutions as a mother They have changed over time and they have greatly influenced what my son demanded.
As an adult, for example, when my son was young, I had my parents who were with him while I worked on a reduced day and stayed in Madrid with him. Then, when I turned three, I quit my lifelong job to be more available, because in my work summer was high season and it was almost impossible to achieve a couple of weeks of vacation.
When, afterwards, I had some external work, I said goodbye at the end of the summer because neither he nor I wanted to be separated for so long and I didn't feel like leaving it in the city without being able to go to the beach.
My son hated urban camps, even once we pointed to a seemingly very good one, at the Madrid Zoo, and after two days he said that he did not return there, that on vacation he did not want to queue, or tokens or receive orders. That that was a bore and that he wanted to be with us or his grandmothers, instead of being tied to the discipline of a schedule and guided activities.
Héctor is now going to summer camps, but we choose them very carefully so that they can be adapted to their interests and that they are also open to families. It continues to prefer experiences that integrate parents and that, in addition, respond to their characteristics, so we opt for homeschoolers, riding or specific camps for high-capacity children, where it is clear that the activities are proposed, not obligations.
In the end, to reconcile my motherhood with work I opted for work activities that I could do from my home, online, so I stopped needing school or grandparents as resources to take care of him in my absence, but I fully understand that for most families this is not possible and they need organize to be able to reconcile on school holidays in another way.
What do families do to reconcile in summer?
Most families face summer with many difficulties once school is over and children have vacations because parents cannot have them for so long. What do families do to reconcile in summer?
There are those who would like schools open 12 hours a day, 12 months a year, but that is not to reconcile, but to institutionalize the children until they cannot see or educate them. I see no solution to anything, really.
Some families they share their vacations and one month the father and another the mother, stay with their children in the city or in the place of vacations. Although that is an acceptable solution, in the end they spend very few days all together.
Other families ask help grandparents. Grandparents, as always, share the care of children and take care of them in the summer. It is a solution that, if grandparents are willing and available, offers children very enriching life experiences and allows them to strengthen their relationship with the extended family. Who does not remember those summers in town playing in the square and with the kind attention of excited grandparents waiting for parents on the weekend?
Others, in the end, should opt for summer camps in the city or outside it, depending on their interests and also on the age of the children and their tastes. Although my son, until now, does not like them, they usually have attractive programs and there are many possibilities, being also a source of enrichment of their social life and freer learning.
Reconcile in summer It is a very complicated thing if both parents work and you have to look for resources of all kinds to ensure that children are taken care of during school holidays. Although it is possible to organize things, I still think that our children today lose many things to continue having to go to institutions to take care of them in summer and that that freedom without limits of my childhood is a shame that they are lost. What do you think of family reconciliation in summer?
