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It Takes This Long For Parents To Go Nuts During Summer Break

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How long does it take for parents to stress out when Summer break arrives?

Not long.

An new study, sponsored in part by Groupon, finds that it takes less than two weeks – about 13 days – for parents to feel stress taking its toll when Summer vacation season starts.

The poll surveyed about 2,000 parents to arrive at its findings, which include the stat that three out of five parents feel their Summer vacation plans won’t fully live up to the expectations of their children.

One of the major sources of Summer stress comes from what’s referred to as Parental Summer Guilt.  It’s what parents feel when their kids spend too much time in the house instead of getting out to experience the day.

Another is expenses.  While parents usually voice concern over the cost of family vacations, they mostly don’t hold back on making sure their family has an enjoyable time.

So, what’s a parent to do?  The recommendation is that you don’t overthink it and if cost is a concern, look for affordable family activities in your local community.

For more about what the study found and other recommendations on how to enjoy Summer with the kids, take a look at the full article here.

How Hot Is Too Hot to Be Outside With Your Kids?

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Go play outside! Ahhhh….music to every mothers ears. They may be home from school for three months, but summer is the time when you get have a cleaner house because the kids can spend all day playing outside. That’s great but parents need to be aware of unsafe temperatures and condition before sending the little one’s out to play.

Kids don’t just sit under a shady tree and take it easy. They run, jump, roll around, and run some more. Days when it’s too hot can, and probably will have some awful results for your children. Things like dehydration and heat illnesses, including heat cramps, exhaustion, and worst of all stroke. Yes…children can suffer strokes just like the rest of us. Believe it or not, because of their body compositions, kids are at even greater risk for these scary side effects than adults.

Dehydration:

The number one overlooked issue with children in the heat is dehydration. Send them outside previously hydrated. Don’t wait until they are thirsty, by then the body is already beginning to dehydrate. Set a timer while they are playing. Whenever the timer goes off, time to drink whether they are thirsty or not. The American Academy of Pediatrics says a good-size drink for a child is five ounces of water for a child weighing 88 pounds and nine ounces for a teen weighing 132 pounds. Keep those kids nice and juicy!

Heat Illness:

Signs of heat illness can include painful cramps of the stomach muscles, arms, or legs. Heat exhaustion almost always starts with dizziness and nausea, but can lead to vomiting, headaches, weakness, muscle pain, and sometimes even unconsciousness. Heat stroke occurs usually at a temperature of 104 degrees or higher, nausea, vomiting, seizures and dehydration. Also be aware for a lack of sweating, shortness of breath, and unconsciousness which can lead to coma.

If your child is experiencing any of these symptoms, get them out of the sun into a cool, comfortable place immediately. Start SLOWLY pumping them full of of cool fluids and take off any excess layers of clothing or bulky equipment. My mother used to put cool, wet cloths on our heads or overheated skin. If your kids are cramping gentle stretching for the sore muscles can help. If your child has heat exhaustion, do not allow them back in the hot sun on the same day. Monitor your child, and if you don’t see improvement, see a doctor right away. If you’re concerned your child is suffering from heat stroke, do not hesitate to call 911, as they will require immediate medical attention before it gets worse.

Let’s try to avoid all of this ugliness though. Have a safe summer and follow all of these tips to ensure you memories of summer are good ones, not bad ones.

To see the entire article from Popsugar Click HERE! 

Best Maternity Swimsuits

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Just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t rock a swimsuit at the beach or a pool this summer! In fact, you should show that beautiful mommy body off and be proud of it!  The days of “showing some skin” are not over just because you are pregnant.

With that said, yes you absolutely can wear a swimsuit. When you get pregnant the days of showing some skin are not over. A lot of women are very hesitant to even think of the word swimsuit while being pregnant. We get so hung up on what we “should” look like. First off, never compare yourself to other people, especially other people who are not pregnant. Your going to have a differnt body than them, there’s no getting around it, but that is not a bad thing. You are pregnant and that’s a beautiful thing! Second – most people are admiring you, not judging you.

Whether you prefer to go conservative and cover up or accentuate your baby bump, you’ll find what your looking for on this list.

To see the list from Moden Families and Fresh Ideas Parenting..CLICK HERE!

Why I’m Totally Setting the Parenting Bar Low This Summer

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This mom deserves an award. During the school year, everything is so structured and disciplined. There is little breathing room for you or your children during the school year. The schedules are pretty much set in stone. The times are set when to eat, sleep – almost everything. Now the closer summer gets you start to stress on that, creating new schedules –  completely mapping out every activity for the kids and or family before summer is even here. The kids are enrolled in swimming classes, camp has been registered, chores have been assigned, new bedtimes have been made. Wow…I’m already exhaustd just thinking about it. It doesn’t really seem much like a summer “vacation” does it?

This particular mother says…”Unfortunately for my kids, I am not one of those parents. The fliers containing crucial sign-up information for summer sports and other activities got lost amid the 16 tons of crap they brought home on the last day of school. Sure, I want my kids to have an enjoyable break, too. But the beauty of Summer is that it’s a stretch of unscheduled time…Keyword: unscheduled.”

So go ahead and shelf that routine for a few months. Give your children and yourself a break. It will make a great difference in the up coming school year for your kids if they get the break they need. Heck…it’ll be a nice break for you as well. It’s not easy to sticking to all the regiments during the year, let alone during the summer as well. That’s a lot to ask of anyone. As long as they are not running around the house yelling and playing at 1:00 am, give them the opportunity to fall alseep when they are tired. Let them wake up when they want to wake up. Their little bodies know. As the school year gets closer, you can start to gradually ween them back into shape. They may even be totally ready for some structure at that point.

To read the full story on how this mom does her summer…Click Here! 

Summer Safety Tips

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Summer is literally right around the corner and with that comes fun in the sun! Swimming pool parties, the beach, camping, and sun, sun, sun. We know all to well that here in San Diego, along with summer fun comes some pretty hot temperatures. Like it or not, they are on the way, so before you hit the beach or start planning the kids summer activities, its always a good idea to refresh yourself with summer safety tips.

The first most and most common of all Summer fun downfalls is the popular heat exhaustion. It creeps up on you before you even know what’s going on. One minute your having the time of your life, the next you feel like your going to pass out.  Symptoms of heat exhaustion could+ include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and confusion. If your child is showing any of these signs, immediately  lie them down in a cool place, and slowly start giving them fluids. Seek medical care if the symptoms don’t stop quickly or your child’s body temperature is 103°F or higher. It is so darn important to drink, drink, and drink some more in warmer temperatures.

The next big one, that almost all of us can relate to is that nasty old sunburn. Oh how it hurts, itches and just ruins the fun. It can also be severely dangerous. Just one good burn can drastically increase your chances of skin cancer. Now weather you believe that or not, is it really worth putting your child at risk? Be religious about sunscreen when having outdoor fun, or even walking around at an amusement park. Remember, just because the sun is behind those gloomy clouds on some days, doesn’t mean it’s not doing it’s job sending harmful rays down to your skin. Sunscreen….don’t forget!

Do NOT, Do NOT, Do NOT EVER leave your kids in the car. Even if your running in the store for a quick moment. It is extremely dangerous and risky to leave them in the hot car, especially in the summer heat. On an 85 degree day, the temp in a car can climb to over 100 degrees in a matter of minutes. So why not just let the A/C run, while your in the car? Oh please…use your head. Is that really the best idea…probably not. The best solution is …just don’t do it. If you have to run into a store or run and errand, just take them with you.

For more Summer Safety…CLICK HERE

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