Helping Your Child Make
the Transition Into Summer

Date: Thu, 16 Jun 94 11:00:42 EDT
From: Carson Graves <carson@zama.hq.ileaf.com>
Subject: Transition into summer

Here is a transcription of the notes from our last CHADD meeting, which was about how to help children make the transition from the school year to summer. I found them interesting and full of good ideas.

Carson Graves
carson@ileaf.com

Helping Your Child Make The Transition Into Summer

from Susan M. Brefach, Ed.D.

All children--including those with ADD/ADHD--need time to rest and recharge over the summer. The last few weeks of school are often frantic, crammed with activities, special field trips and events, sports, and end-of-year celebrations and ceremonies. For children who are easily overwhelmed, who don't handle transitions or changes well, who rely heavily on routines, and who need less, rather than more, of all kinds of stimulation, the end of the school year can be both exciting and very stressful.

1. Plan for school. Try not to over-schedule your child. Keep the number of different activities to one or two per day, if possible. Day camp, swimming lessons, sleepover and summer sports may be too much for one day, or even several days.

2. At the end of school, plan some formal ways of "saying good-bye to the school year." These could include a special lunch or dinner on the last day of school; gathering up and sorting all the saved school papers, placing the best ones (along with other mementos) in a special box or folder; putting school supplies in one place for the fall, or making some changes to the child's room.

3. Try to keep the daily routines as close to the school-year one as possible. Monitor sleep times and meals so they are fairly regular. Some children may forget to eat, without the routine of school to define mealtimes. There may be less attention paid to what the child eats--getting enough protein, in particular, is important to keep blood sugar levels on an even keel, which seems to affect mood for some children. With longer daytime hours, later bedtimes because of "no school" the next day, and increased physical activity, many children become chronically over-tired, which will certainly increase "bounciness" and decrease attention span.

4. It is probably a good idea to set aside some reading time on as many days as possible. Children with ADD/ADHD who have reading problems need the ongoing reinforcement and practice. Children who are good readers may well use reading as a way to "re-charge" or reduce the amount of external input they are getting--which is a good reason to build some reading time into the schedule.

5. Monitor your child's "down time" activities by giving a weekly "budget" for Nintendo time or computer games. A little time spent in this way is fine, but aim for one-half to one hour per day. Have your child make "withdrawals" from his/her account, and keep the weekly total within limits acceptable to you.

6. If you use a chart for daily chores, self-care, reading time, etc.--continue to do so. If you haven't used a chart during the school year, but things are starting to get rather disorganized (and thus stressful), consider initiating a chart to help your child learn to manage his/her time and daily duties more effectively. This system can then be continued into the fall.

7. Swimming (laps) and running or jogging are excellent exercises because they are aerobic--they stimulate the release of endorphins and produce a calming effect for the child.

8. Discuss the overall plan of a vacation beforehand with your child. Make a calendar or chart to make activities or trips more concrete. This is particularly important for travelling vacations. Always try to bring familiar snacks and food to make things more predictable and smooth. While on vacation, try to have at least one, and preferably two meals each day in your room--hotel, condo, rental house, etc.--so children can be more relaxed and have simple, familiar food.

9. Rehearse expected (and desirable) behaviors before big family gatherings or parties. Always come prepared with a book or quiet activity for your child, and find a quiet place where your child can go to escape the stimulation and reduce the stress of people, noise, unfamiliarity, etc.

10. Enjoy the summer! Try to spend as much calm, relaxed time with your child as possible. Summer is usually a time that is greatly enjoyed by children with ADD/ADHD, because many of their most stressful times and tasks are school-related. In summer, they are often more relaxed and fun to be with. Store up your memories for the long winter ahead.

Last Modified: Thursday, October 02, 1997 9:34:45 PM