Last month I wrote about the importance of finding pockets of time in our kids’ lives for rest and relaxation.
Writing that piece in the thick of term 4, knowing all that was coming in the way of end of year commitments, it was a plea for adults to give our kids a break. A reminder, that we are in charge of our kids and families, and that it should always be our decision to decide when our kids have had enough and need a rest.
Reflecting on my family’s last month or so, I can say that we made some good decisions to not participate in a couple of things, to breathe through the FOMO (fear of missing out) and enjoy some down time together. These efforts helped to steer us through an extremely busy final term of school and scorching heat that tested our relationship with outdoor community sport. Even having done this, I am still left with a feeling of a very heavy mental load and it’s pretty clear why – The festive season followed by a summer holidays for the kids that is longer than my whole year of annual leave.
Read Kelsie’s full opinion piece in The West Australian.