Parenting
Tips for the BEST School Holidays EVER! from our Gifted & Talented writer Michele Juratowitch
Holidays, without daily school routines, fewer extra-curricular activities, less structure each week, should be a relaxing experience for everyone in the family. Holidays are usually relaxing in the immediate post-school period as everyone draws breath and steps away from daily time pressures; however it may not take long for the novelty of free time to wear off and for children to become bored and irritable. Time away on holiday in a different location can provide a period of stimulation for children and some respite for parents, but time away rarely takes up the whole school holiday period. Being away from home can also generate different issues, with children missing familiar routines, places, people and belongings.
Different challenges for parents and children High ability children are intensely curious and have a voracious appetite for learning, especially within their areas of interest. Their brains act like heat-seeking missiles, intensely searching for stimulation if sufficient challenge is not presented to them. Whether attending vacation care or holiday programs, spending time at home, staying with friends or relatives, high ability children need appropriate levels of intellectual stimulation, high-level challenges and opportunities to be creative. The main challenge for parents is to identify ways to provide a range of sufficiently stimulating activities for gifted children during holiday periods while ensuring they also have sufficient time to rest, relax and engage in free, unstructured play. Some activities, such as reading, writing, jigsaw puzzles, making models, art and craft, provide opportunities for a quiet, physically restful experience while simultaneously providing an engaging intellectual activity. Counterintuitively, these activities are relaxing but also stimulating. Each activity provides an opportunity to develop specific skills. Persistence brings a sense of accomplishment when the activity is completed. When undertaken by an individual, the child may be personally absorbed but disengaged from interaction with others while involved in these tasks. Alternatively, the same activities provide an opportunity for siblings or friends to be engaged in an activity together if their stage of development is similar. Allowing children at significantly different stages of development to undertake the same task at the same time without parental involvement and support often results in conflict.
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Your Local Families Magazine December 2016/January 2017
Selecting from the range of museum exhibits, holiday programs, newly released children’s movies and live theatre productions available can be a challenge for parents’ schedules and finances. Once calendar and financial guidelines are established, it can be a useful exercise for gifted children to undertake research and propose suggestions for activities during the holidays. They will be gaining research skills, learn to consider others’ interests, prioritise, negotiate, develop and propose a plan. Some items on a list might be given as Christmas presents by extended family members, providing memorable, shared experiences instead of another toy.
Activities for physically exuberant children Some children are physically exuberant; they need activities to allow them to channel their energy appropriately. Summer holidays provide lots of opportunities for outdoor activities such as swimming, climbing, formal and informal sporting activities. Traditional beach or backyard cricket for all the family can be a prelude to a sports camp towards the end of the holidays. Energetic children, who are also be intellectually advanced, may find it useful to investigate anatomy and the physics of sports to incorporate this knowledge into their physical activities. Because of the physical and mental health benefits associated with exercise, some form of regular, light physical activity should be planned for more sedentary children, perhaps as a whole-family activity to provide support, encouragement and a feeling of inclusion.