Summer break is all sunshine, popsicles, and happy family memories… at least that’s what Instagram keeps telling us. In real life? It’s also endless snack requests, mysterious wet towels on the floor, siblings arguing over absolutely nothing, and hearing “I’m bored” approximately 47 times before lunch. If you’re looking for practical summer survival tips, simple ways to stay sane during summer break with kids, and realistic summer parenting ideas that actually work, you’re in the right place.
These five strategies have helped our family survive long summer days with a little less chaos and a lot more fun. Because let’s be honest—you don’t need a picture-perfect summer. You just need one where everyone makes it to August with their sense of humor (mostly) intact.
In our neurodivergent household, I have found that the endless free-time of summer can be a blessing and a curse. Here are my easy sanity-saving hacks for surviving summer with all the kids at home.
1. Establish Routine
An easy to follow routine keeps our boat afloat during the summer. We post it on the fridge so that when I am asked for the 100th time about what we are doing, I can just refer the kids to the fridge.
Establish a routine or rhythm, NOT a schedule. The neurodivergent brains in my home love a routine but hate a schedule. One is too restrictive while another provides freedom with guidelines and suggestions. Below is a sample of our daily summer routine.
Sample Summer Daily Routine:
0730 – Breakfast
0800 – Table meeting – we talk through a short family devotional and review the plan for the day
0830 – Chores – I have these divided up among each kid and sections of the home
0930/1000 – Planned Activity – see below for my At Home Summer Camp
1200 – Lunch
1300 – Quiet time – Each kid goes to their own room; this is time for doing a short workbook lesson, reading, journaling, listening to audiobooks, etc.
1400 – Swim team practice – my kids do swim team each afternoon, but any kind of exercise or body movement will do!
1530 – Snack & showers
1630 – Screen time – as long as chores and a workbook lesson was completed, they earn their screen time. But, our boys have to abide by our family’s Screen Time Contract
1730 – Free time/Outside Play – until Dinner
Below is a free download to my customizable template so you can create your own rhythm that works for your family.
Having this routine reduces my own decision fatigue as a mom, plus it helps my kids to know what to expect each day. And of course, we are super flexible and allow for deviations every day, but we can always come back to it.
If you are interested in the planned activities we do each morning, you can download my At Home Summer Camp Guide here.
2. Put Your Kids to Work!
Chores! Summer time is the perfect time for kids to practice age-appropriate skills at home. Using the Clean Mama Routine as my guide, I divided up sections of our home among each kid, so that the majority of our home gets “cleaned” to some extent each week. The key is to lower your expectations while also striving to teach them the basic skills of housekeeping. Also, I do not expect them to be able to do their chores entirely independently, meaning, when they are cleaning the bathroom, I hang out in the bathroom too. And I pitch in with the cleaning as well. They are more eager to complete their chores when we do it together. Teamwork makes the dreamwork!
Download my FREE customizable template to see the day by day way I break down chores for each kid:
3. Automate your meals
Again, routine routine routine! My home can feel so chaotic, messy and jumbled throughout the summer, so the less I have to think about, the better! Here is a sample of my weekly dinner routine for summer eating:
- Mon – Pasta night
- Tues – Soup night
- Wed – Taco night
- Thurs – Stir-Fry night
- Fri – Homemade Pizza night
These are the meals we eat on repeat with a lot of variation. And of course, I change it up frequently. However, when my brain is fried, I can rely on this routine to guide me in the decision-making.
4. Include friends!
I don’t know about your family, but when we add a friend into the mix, the dynamics of my 3 kids dramatically changes. There is less arguing and fighting, and the friend usually injects fresh ideas for play and fun among all the brothers.
While it may seem like more work to have extra kids in your home, it usually means less sibling conflict, which equals less work for you, mom! So, encourage your kids to invite a friend over for the day, or if you are fortunate to have kids in your neighborhood, invite them to take part in whatever your family has planned for that day.
5. When in doubt, POOL or BEACH!
POOL TIME is always the answer. And if you are lucky enough to live near a beach, BEACHTIME is also always the answer. And if you are a Type C mom like myself, bonus is that the pool counts as a shower, am I right?
The key to all of this is that not every day needs to be pinterest-worthy. Some days the kids will be bored and whiny all day. Some days, you’ll need to order the pizza and put on the TV while the laundry sits in piles. That’s not a fail – that’s just summer.
Your kids will remember the way they felt, not the perfect home with everything perfectly put-together.
Happy summer!
-Ellan