HOW TO CREAT DOWNTIME FOR KIDS

How you implement relaxation time will depend on your child, your schedule and other factors. Get started with these ways to create downtime for kids:

1. Create a Reasonable Schedule

Freeing up your child’s schedule is the best way to eliminate overscheduling. As a bonus, you get to free up your calendar when you don’t have to rush your kid from event to event. To create a realistic schedule for your overscheduled child, you can:

• Avoid having obligations every day: If your child’s current schedule involves practices, games or events every day, it might be time to scale back. Go through your child’s calendar and see how many free days or hours they have within a week. During the summer, kids benefit from three weeks of downtime for every one week of intense activity or camps. Try to keep a one-to-one ratio of downtime and activities during the school year.
• Choose three activities: A simple way to create a reasonable schedule is to limit your child’s activities. Sit down with them and discuss what hobbies, sports or clubs they have the most interest in. If they have trouble eliminating activities, talk with the clubs and sports leaders to see if your child can adjust their schedule. Perhaps they could miss a meeting now and then or make up the time somehow.

Prioritize your time: You may have to make compromises with your child as you create a less demanding schedule. Consider your time and theirs. If you spend a lot of time driving to and from a club or sporting event, it may be an activity worth dropping. Commutes are necessary for certain activities, but longer drives can take up your child’s precious free time.

2. Let Them Play

One way to combat overscheduling is to avoid putting relaxation time on a calendar. Don’t force your kid to play, socialize or be creative. Instead, let them play or relax when it seems they need a break. Whatever they want to do during their downtime can help them relax. Just try to avoid falling back on screen time as a way for kids to unwind.

As a parent or teacher, you’ll have to balance this time with productivity carefully. Some kids need more motivation than others to get back to work after downtime. Teach kids the importance of balancing a schedule and doing homework or studying after relaxing.

3. Get Outside

Spending time outside during downtime does double-duty for relieving stress. Being surrounded by nature is relaxing, and there are plenty of ways for kids to head outdoors and have downtime. Encourage outdoor downtime and:

• Let kids play in the yard: This form of unstructured play lets kids use their imaginations. Playing outside for downtime is especially fun with family or friends, and other kids can make a more imaginative play session together.
• Take a walk as a family: Whether you visit a walking trail or take a walk around your neighborhood, walking together is excellent downtime for everyone. If you can, choose a nature preserve or natural area instead of a bustling area with other people, lights and buildings that can cause distraction.
• Ride bikes or scooters together: Combine physical activity with downtime and fun. Hop on whatever sets of wheels you and your child can ride. Cruise around a natural area or your neighborhood for a quick way to relax.
• Visit a local park or playground: Playgrounds are full of engaging activities for kids to use during their downtime. A visit to a local park can get your child involved in their community and socialize. Or, if no one else is visiting, your kid could explore and activate their imagination.

Create Downtime for Kids With the New Play Playgrounds

If you’re looking to create a playground to give students downtime, the New Play can help. For many years, we’ve made playground components aimed at helping kids have fun during their downtime. Our multigenerational playground equipment suits early childhood and school-age kids. Make recess more exciting or downtime visits to the park more worthwhile with components from New Play.

Contact us today to discover how we can help redesign or enhance your playground!

NEW PLAY

Address: 3rd Floor, No. 38, Ven Ho Ha Dinh Street, Ha Dinh Ward, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi City, Vietnam

Tel: (84) 24 667 33 777 – (84) 24 667 39 777

Hotline: 0768 067 067 – 0778 067 067

Email: [email protected]