If you’re reading this, it’s more than likely that you have children aged 0-15 and you are now facing the long summer stretch, so we’ve put together a practical toolkit to help you survive, or thrive during the summer holidays!

We’ve drawn on our GroWild philosophy based on forest school wisdom and a whole child approach and our guide treats behaviour as communication, recognising that children need connection, not perfection. Also, that you as parents and carers need tools and support to care for yourselves as well.

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The Three-Anchor Day

Building Flexibility Into Your Days

Rigid schedules often crumble in summer heat, with lack of the usual routine and changing moods. Try instead to create flexible rhythms:

Choose three anchors for each day:

Morning start: Could be breakfast together, a walk, or playing predict the weather

Midday/mid-afternoon connection: Lunch, rest time, or a shared activity e.g. a puzzle, Jenga, noughts & crosses, ‘Wash The Toys’ e.g. toy carwash or safari animals/dinosaurs bath time

Evening wind-down: Bath, story/activity book, or quiet conversation/recap of the day

Everything else can flex around these anchors based on energy, weather, and mood.

Building in Choice

Morning choice: "Would you like to start with outdoor play or helping make breakfast?"
Activity choice: "We're going out after lunch. Park or shops?", “We’re doing the food shop after lunch. Would you like to cross the items off the list or be the shelf picker?”
Evening choice: "Story in your room or while you’re in the bath tonight?", “Choose your clothes for tomorrow and lay them out or tidy the cars into the box?”

Choice reduces resistance and builds cooperation.

Screen Time: Making Peace with Reality

Children using screens often becomes more prominent during summer holidays. Instead of feeling guilt, make conscious choices:

Create Screen Rhythms

Morning outdoor/movement time first: Bodies need movement and fresh air to start well. If you can’t get outside then lay cushions out for ‘Movement Olympics’: stretches, roly-poly’s, wriggling worm races

Create time patterns: Allow set time usage after certain activities e.g. when you return from the park, while food is being prepped etc

End screens 30 minutes before meals: Helps with appetite and family connection

Content Swaps: swap overly stimulating (and often very shouty!) YouTube (kids app) videos for child based apps instead such as CBeebies or CBBC.

Evening wind-down: Switch to audio stories or quiet music instead

Use Screens as Tools

Not all screen time needs to be demonised. There are ways that children can access some really fun and inspiring activities digitally:

Virtual museum tours: Explore places you can't visit in person
Video calls with distant family: Maintains important relationships. Get your child to show them something they’ve created/built or give your relative a mini garden tour.
Educational apps: Duolingo for languages, Khan Academy Kids for learning
Creative platforms: Stop-motion animation, digital art, music creation

Quality matters more than quantity – engaged screen time beats passive consumption.

The Behaviour Toolkit: When Things Get Wobbly

Reading the Signs

Summer brings different pressures, more togetherness, disrupted routines, endless daylight. When children's behaviour shifts, they're telling us something important:

"I'm overwhelmed" might look like:

-Meltdowns over tiny things

-Refusing simple requests

-Seeking more physical contact or complete withdrawal

"I'm bored but can't express it" often shows as:

-Picking fights with siblings

-Restless energy that feels destructive

-Asking "what can I do?" repeatedly

"I need more independence" appears as:

-Pushing boundaries more than usual

-Wanting to do everything themselves (then getting frustrated)

-Seeking bigger physical challenges

Your Response Strategy

Take a breath first. In forest school, we observe before we intervene. What's really happening here? Are they tired, overstimulated, or genuinely testing limits? How do I feel, am i modelling the energy that I am going to be asking of them?’

Acknowledge their feelings before addressing behaviour: "You're feeling frustrated that your tower keeps falling down. That's hard when you've worked so carefully on it.", “You’re worried about letting your brother play with your toy because you think he might not give it back. I can see that’s one of your favourite toys.”

Offer choices within boundaries: "We need to tidy up now. Would you like to start with the books or the toys?" This preserves their sense of agency whilst maintaining necessary structure. Try to provide necessary additional details when your requests could feel ambiguous or overwhelming to your child, “The books need to go on the shelf in the corner or the Lego bricks need to go into the blue box”.

Managing Sibling Dynamics

Summer intensifies sibling relationships and more time together can sometimes mean more friction. Here's your survival strategy:

Prevention

Plan separate time with each child, even 15 minutes of focused attention.
Rotate special privileges: Who chooses today's activity, sits in the front seat, picks the music. These small issues might not matter to you but showing them that there is a fair process and structure can avoid feelings of resentment and power struggles.
Create individual spaces: Even in small homes, everyone needs a retreat spot. This can be a makeshift ‘den’ in the corner of the room using sheets draped over a chair and some cushions.

When Conflicts Arise

Separate first, discuss later: "Everyone needs some breathing space.” Make sure you do come back to discussing the issue when it is appropriate, it is important that children feel they are being heard when they feel there has been an injustice.
Focus on feelings, not blame: "You both seem frustrated about sharing the tablet"
Problem-solve together: "How can we make this work for everyone?"

Remember: some bickering is normal and actually helps children learn negotiation skills.

Emotional Regulation: Yours and Theirs

Summer parenting is intense. Long days, constant presence, disrupted routines means everyone's emotional resources get stretched.

For Your Children

Name big feelings: "You're disappointed we can't go to the park because of rain"
Offer comfort without fixing: "This feels hard right now"
Physical outlets for big emotions: Running, jumping, dancing, digging (in the garden)
Quiet connection: Reading together, gentle back rubs, sitting close without talking

For Yourself

Lower expectations: Summer isn't about educational achievement, it's about connection and fun.
Ask for help: Trade/share childcare with other parents, accept offers from family.
Take breaks: Even 10 minutes alone in the garden or bathroom counts.

When Things Go Wrong (And They Will)

Some days will be hard. Children will melt down, you'll lose patience, plans will fall apart. This is normal, not failure.

Reset Strategies

Change location: Go outside, move to a different room, get in the car for a drive
Change energy: Put on music and dance, or create sudden quiet
Change expectations: Order takeaway instead of cooking, let bedtime slide, watch a film together

Learning from Difficult Days

Ask yourself:

Were basic needs met? (Food, water, rest, connection)
Was the day too packed or too empty?
Did anyone need more independence or more support?
What worked, even in small moments?

Use this information to adjust tomorrow, not to judge today.

Your Summer Survival Mantras

When things feel overwhelming, remember:

"This is temporary": Both the challenging moments and the sweet ones
"Good enough is good enough": Perfect summers exist only on social media
"Connection over perfection": Relationships matter more than activities
"Everyone's needs matter": Including yours

Building Memories That Matter

The activities children remember aren't usually the expensive outings or elaborate plans. They remember:

Feeling heard and valued
Adventures discovered together
Times when adults were fully present
Moments of genuine joy and laughter
Feeling capable and trusted

Keep coming back to these simple truths: children need to feel seen, heard, valued, and loved. Everything else is just decoration.

Summer holidays with children can be both the hardest and most precious part of parenting. Trust your instincts, lower your expectations, and remember that love looks different every day. Sometimes it's grand adventures, sometimes it's staying calm and sometimes it’s knowing some of the words and singing along to their favourite song.