Making This Summer the Most Memorable: A Parent's Guide to Fun, Safety, and Organization

When we were kids, summer meant freedom, endless outdoor play, and lots of ice pops. But as parents, it's a different story. We're juggling sleepaway camp prep, family trips, work, keeping our kids entertained, and making sure they don't forget everything they learned in school. Oh, and let's not forget about summer safety!

Here are our favorite tips at Driven Day to plan the best summer ever:

1. Always begin planning by writing the musts into your calendar. This includes when summer begins and ends, when school starts up, holidays like Tisha B'Av, Fourth of July, ongoing doctor's appointments or swim lessons, and work deadlines.
2. Set specific summer goals and allocate time in your schedule to work towards them. Whether it's a home project or personal development, consistent planning leads to achievement. You can devote a few days to these projects or assign twenty minutes a day until they’re finished
3. Are you taking a vacation? Now you have the above to plan around. I always love to plan a vacation over a lunch or coffee date with my husband; it makes it a whole lot more fun. Things to keep in mind are budget, people or places you’ve wanted to visit, and brain-dumping your musts such as kosher food, distance, etc.
4. SUMMER SAFETY: Watch your kids in the pool, apply sunscreen, stay hydrated with electrolytes, always check your car to make sure no kid is left inside (G-d forbid), and know who your kids are playing with.
5. Remember yourself: Schedule a massage on your vacation, keep anything light that you can, and reward yourself for cleaning out that closet.

I don’t have a solution for the endless towels, bathing suits, or the amount of ice pops to have.

The best I can do is:

• We have one bucket for all our swimming accessories like goggles, kickboards, and diving sticks.
• Ices are awesome as long as you ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner and had a protein and vegetable with each meal. Having friends with you at the pool is always more fun.