{"id":200,"date":"2011-07-06T16:05:12","date_gmt":"2011-07-06T20:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.positivelyparenting.com\/?p=200"},"modified":"2015-12-04T12:43:52","modified_gmt":"2015-12-04T17:43:52","slug":"summertime-and-the-living-is-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/routines\/summertime-and-the-living-is-easy\/","title":{"rendered":"Summertime, and the living is&#8230;easy?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"large-12 columns entry-content__output non-vc-entry\">The websites, parenting magazines, and blogs are full of beautiful pictures of families frolicking in meadows, holding hands in the surf, and picnicking (bug-free, mind you) with delicious and healthy food.\u00a0 I simultaneously love these pictures for how they inspire me, and loath them for how inaccurately they portray summer living for parents all over the country.<\/p>\n<p>For many families, summer can bring costly childcare nightmares; long, hot dull days, spousal and custody disagreements, uncompromising work schedules, and guilt.\u00a0 When your life does not even closely resemble those shiny, pretty pictures, it is easy to feel down on yourself as a parent.\u00a0 What can you do?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Set aside any visions of \u201cperfect\u201d and think about what you would <em>really<\/em> like to do with your family!\u00a0 Want to expose the kids to more music?\u00a0 Find free outdoor concerts (there are so many in the summer!)\u00a0 Family into art?\u00a0 Find some art shows in your area and support local artists.\u00a0 Any sports fans?\u00a0 Don\u2019t just see the pros\u2026take in a Minor League Baseball game!<\/li>\n<li>Rally the troops!\u00a0 Family and friends around?\u00a0 Send out an informal e-vite to school friends and meet at a playground with a water feature.\u00a0 Or have a potluck party in your backyard, and be sure to include a water balloon toss, sprinkler, and a possible slip-and-slide (all pretty affordable).\u00a0 Have your children, as well the neighborhood kids, create a full lemonade stand, with proceeds going to something your kids believe in (as well as the kids getting to pocket a bit for themselves!)\u00a0 The planning and creating of the stand is its own fun (and inexpensive).\u00a0 Of course, end everything with plenty of popsicles!<\/li>\n<li>When in doubt, your kids just want to hang out and have fun with you!\u00a0 Whether you count lightning bugs, watch sunsets, plant some flowers, do sidewalk chalk, or have a water gun showdown (yes, I think water guns are <em>fun<\/em>), your children want to connect with you and see that they bring joy to you.\u00a0 Yachts are lovely, and if you can get on one, do it.\u00a0 But summer memories are about fun, connection, and slowing down\u2026<em>anyone <\/em>can do that!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The websites, parenting magazines, and blogs are full of beautiful pictures of families frolicking in meadows, holding hands in the surf, and picnicking (bug-free, mind you) with delicious and healthy food.\u00a0 I simultaneously love these pictures for how they inspire me, and loath them for how inaccurately they portray summer living for parents all over the country. For many families, [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[59,498,265,496,451,3],"class_list":["post-200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-routines","tag-chores-2","tag-daycare","tag-laughter","tag-marriage","tag-summer","tag-summer-camp"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Summertime, and the living is...easy? - Meghan Leahy Parent Coach<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/routines\/summertime-and-the-living-is-easy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Summertime, and the living is...easy? - Meghan Leahy Parent Coach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The websites, parenting magazines, and blogs are full of beautiful pictures of families frolicking in meadows, holding hands in the surf, and picnicking (bug-free, mind you) with delicious and healthy food.\u00a0 I simultaneously love these pictures for how they inspire me, and loath them for how inaccurately they portray summer living for parents all over the country. 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