So, it’s that time of year again! The kids are off school for what most parents will feel is a lifetime. The thing I remember most about being a kid on summer holidays is how excited I was not to have to go to school for six weeks. Of course as with most kids this didn’t last long. Most kids, including the big kids we grow up to be, have a tendency to get bored very easily. I personally must have driven my poor mother crazy and she had four of us to cope with. Being a parent during the summer holidays isn’t easy; it’s not easy at the best of times. However, just because it’s not easy doesn’t mean you and the kids can’t enjoy it. My mother used to plan an amazing amount of things for my siblings and me to do. She would arrange for us to do things with other kids too, from picnics in the park to the biggest games of tag I have ever seen. She made sure that we got involved with our community and that they got involved with us. I’m starting to get a bit nostalgic right now, remembering the way that communities used to come together. A time when if you saw a large group of kids, you weren’t worried about what they were going to do. Old people weren’t afraid having a little chat with them either. I even remember an old neighbour would dress up as a clown during the summer holidays and venture into the local town centre. He would entertain the kids in the market square, while the parents would sit having a cup of tea or pop into the surrounding shops. Things of course that most of us wouldn’t even dream of doing with our kids today. What did this old man get out of this? Well, if he were still with us, I’m sure he would say exactly what he used to. That there is no greater joy than making others happy or being able to help those less fortunate than yourself. I may not be able to remember hisname but, I can remember what he tried to teach the kids. I remember myself and lots of other kids following this man around the market square like a pied piper, with charity buckets for the local hospital in our hands. Some cynics might just think he was using the kids to extort money from the shoppers. What I and many others saw, was an individual who was willing to make a positive difference to a community on many levels.
I realise that things are a bit different today. However, do they have to be? I have worked with kids for a good chunk of my life. During which I have had the pleasure of seeing what a difference it can make to a child’s life, if they have a focus, something to do. I’m not saying we need to go to extremes. Just that we should give our young people an option of something to do with their time this summer. Give them the opportunity to go to an organised sport or game. Why not even give them the opportunity to show that they too care about others with the chance to make a difference to someone else’s life. They always say charity begins at home, I don’t believe that. I think charity starts with a single person, an individual with a want to help.
Whatever it is you decide to do with the kids, why not look to see if your local school and
Schools Plus can help you with it. We have the space if you have the time!