No more pencils, no more books! (And that's the parents talking.) Ready for summer break?
Grownups are expected to be more involved in kids’ school lives than ever. By the end of the year, however, most adults have cracked under the pressure and are more than ready for a summer break from homework, packing lunches, confusing class group emails, lengthy forms and special assemblies.
Here are a few tips so you can tell, that, yes, you’re done — and ready for a more leisurely time of year.
- You let your kids stay up all night (Why not? It’s only really dark for about 3 hours at this time of year, anyway.) One plus: Child gains encyclopedic knowledge of Netflix listings.
- You encourage weekly clothing changes. (Why waste water?)
- You give a pet (whether it’s a dog, cat, hamster or cloudfish) an extraordinary chance to review a child’s homework.
- Looking at Pokemon cards qualifies as a viable substitute for kids’ “reading” time.
- You consider sugarless gum a sensible alternative to your kids brushing their teeth — 4 out of 5 dentists recommend that gum, after all.
- You facilitate garden-hose showers. For extra cleanliness, squirt toothpaste in kids’ mouths first.
- You encourage a wide variety of colorful foods, including plenty of fruits (Laffy Taffy, Slurpees and orange Fanta) and vegetables (drive-through French fries, Doritos).
- You skip meals, substituting a variety of snack bars — and some don’t even have chocolate chips.
- You deputize a 6-year-old to fill out field-trip forms.