Summertime and the living is not always as easy as you think! Between managing the kids being home, vacation planning, and so much more, there's a lot going on this time of year. We’re kicking off our first episode of season four with our tips and stories about budgeting for trips, summer safety, summer activities, and everything in between.
Summertime and the living is not always as easy as you think! Between managing the kids being home, vacation planning, and so much more, there's a lot going on this time of year. We’re kicking off our first episode of season four with our tips and stories about budgeting for trips, summer safety, summer activities, and everything in between.
Welcome to raising healthy families with moms meet and kiwi. We're giving you the tools to enjoy the beauty and chaos of life with little ones in the healthiest way possible.
Maureen:Hi everyone, I'm Maureen Frost, editorial director of kiwi magazine, and one of your raising healthy families hosts and a mom of two.
Chrissy:Hi, I'm Chrissy Kissinger, one of your hosts and a mom of three. And today we're going to be talking about parenting during the summer and what to do with our kids when they're out of school. I know it's it's always crazy.
Maureen:Yes, I can't wait to jump into this conversation. We're going to discuss how we navigate summer craziness with our families and share our tips are budgeting and traveling and more.
Chrissy:During the summer months, it's important to protect your family from the sun's harmful UV rays. Blue Lizard kids mineral based sunscreen was designed with dermatologist to provide head to toe sun protection. The SPF 50 Plus formula starts with zinc oxides provide broad spectrum protection from 98% of the sun's burning rays. The kids formula contains no skin irritating chemical sunscreen ingredients, no parabens and no fragrances. Plus, with their smart bottle technology, you'll always know when harmful UV rays are present. Watch the bottle change colors in sunlight as a reminder that it's time for sunscreen. Be prepared to protect your kids while they have fun in the sun. So let's start with vacation. I remember someone said to me before I had kids, it didn't really make sense. But now it totally does. I remember someone said for moms or parents a vacation is something that you do without kids when you have your kids with you. It's called a trip
Maureen:100% Yes, yeah, it just went on our first over like, you know, COVID has taken away our vacations for a while so now we just went on our first overnight and let me tell you that was
Chrissy:You need a vacation from your trip. It's It's so stressful. exhausting. Between like packing and just you're always on the go, always making sure you're out of your own comfort zone like you're out of your own house. And it's just it's pure crazy. Yeah.
Maureen:And kids are like creatures of habit. Like they have their routines and when you take them out of their routines, how do they handle it? What about if they're little and they need naps, but you you're not going back to where you're staying for a nap. So you try to get it in the stroller.
Chrissy:Or if you're vacationing with like a family and other family and they have kids that aren't in the same age range as your kids it's, it gets to be a lot but I I've always said I grew up this way taking vacations is it's just super important for me to do with my family, even if it doesn't have to be a luxurious vacation. But just getting my kids out to see more than you know, the state of New Jersey is always a goal. So we always try to do one big trip a year and when I say big, I mean again like more than being in New Jersey. So it's not like we're going out of the country or anywhere crazy, but we always try to do one trip a year and then we'll like kind of sprinkle in some day trips throughout the summer as well. What do you guys usually do?
Maureen:Um, nothing. No, I agree with you. I think it's so important and I can't wait to start to do that with my kids. They were a little young you know, over the last couple of years so I have a one and a half year old and a three and a half year old but we're starting to venture out more and I just I really can't wait because it's such a great educational like experience for them. Not just like a you know like your classic education but like okay, my son didn't even know what a hotel he kept going and what's this house we're staying that I was like it's a hotel
Chrissy:Oh my gosh, adorable.
Maureen:So it's those things that you take for granted that you like you want to show your kids and everything so it's very special to get out there and do those things so we haven't really done much yet. And the other thing is like as Chrissy knows like we live in like adjacent to like a vacation town like a resort we live in the beach in New Jersey so we don't really plan to go anywhere in the summer we stay here because this is where we want to be why we live here is to be at the beach every weekend. But I think next year like we're going to do like our first plane trip or this year I mean first plane trip with the kids somewhere. Florida maybe not too far. We'll experiment with the airplanes to admission at some point. But um you guys went somewhere fun last year, didn't you? You did more of like a mountain trip kinda
Chrissy:So last year we did we did Florida. My brother lives down there. So we and it was during when all the airfare was like super cheap. So we're like alright, let's go and then we kind of just like added on Disney. It was a very makeshift Disney trip. The year before that we did the Smoky Mountains.
Maureen:That's what I'm thinking of. Yeah. Like
Chrissy:Yeah, we drove down there, that was pretty cool. The kids loved it. But it is, you know, like we said in the beginning, it's so hard because my kids were I think Olivia was three, and Owen was maybe six or seven. And it's just hard. You know, it's there's a lot of hiking, and you can only do so many things with kids at age. So we, my whole family was like, Okay, we're just doing beach trips from now on until the kids are a little bit older, and can do things and appreciate it. Yeah, you know, I always say that summers are there. It's so hard because, you know, as a working parent, summers are not geared towards us. I feel, you know, like, I always have to, starting in probably, like February or March, basically have my entire summer mapped out because I have to figure out summer camps and vacations and, and all of that. So, but it's again, like I said, it's so important to me to travel and have my kids, you know, get those experiences in.
Maureen:Yeah, totally. It really is. So all the hard work that you put into it is worth it. Yeah. And you know what, the something you brought up earlier day trips are like a really great idea, too. So I think a little later, we'll talk about some good day trip ideas. So what is on your summer bucket list for this year?
Chrissy:So it's so funny, I actually asked my kids what they were on their bucket list. First, they had no idea what a bucket list was, and explained that their responses are actually like, with the exception of one, we're actually doable that, you know, obviously they both said go to Disneyland, which was kind of odd, I don't even think he knows that there's a discount. I think he meant Disneyworld. They both basically said Disney, which is not happening. But actually all of the other ones were doable. And most of them were already doing like Owen wanted to go to Washington DC. So we're doing a day trip there. He wanted to go to the arcade super easy. Olivia said Hershey Park, we are going there. She also said she wanted to go for a ride in the car. So make that work. And then, you know, camping and the beach. So all of those are doable. And those are ones that you know, will will turn into a day trip. We're going down to the Outer Banks in July. So that'll be kind of our beach trip. But I'll weave in like DC and Hershey Park and all of those. Do you guys have like, did you have a chance to ask your kids if they have a bucket list or things they want to do?
Maureen:No, so you know, they're a little young to like have an opinion. I feel like at this point. I mean, my three year old I know what he wants to do. So he would love to do the arcades to this year. I'm very excited to take him to the rides on the boardwalk. We haven't done it yet. So I just am very excited to introduce him to all of that although now I know that when we pass it on a regular day, he's gonna beg to go in there just like he does the arcades that he just discovered. But that's my plan. Like I just just little fun things like that taking him to get ice cream, taking him to play mini golf and to do the rides. Oh in the waterpark, so all the local things. Yeah. We kind of don't do because we live here and they're really crowded in the summer but like he's at the age it's time to start doing them. Just have to figure out when to do it when it's not crowded.
Chrissy:Yeah, I know. Well, that's I guess, you know, that's the only downside of where you live is that in peak summer. It's you're you're competing with all the tourists but it's nice off season.
Maureen:Yeah, September is really we call it local summer because although it's extended now and people are it's still crazy here in September, but it always has been local summer and you get to do all the fun touristy things because it's not as crowded.
Chrissy:Even in October, like I mean, I live an hour from from the beach. So like we did a day trip down there in October a couple years ago. And it was so warm. It was not that crowded. It was beautiful. I was like, Oh my gosh, this is amazing. So I think like and that kind of goes like obviously we live near the beach. But if for if people don't live near a beach, there's tons of things that you can research to do in the offseason. You know, to kind of help with budgetary things and things like that, but also, I just like can't handle large crowds stresses me out. So I always try to find like the different times to go or like I said offseason because you know, things add trips add up. So we always try in the beginning of the year to kind of say okay, what do you guys want to do? But I also need to work on being more spontaneous as well and not have everything every single thing planned out for the summer. So I want to try to leave that open. So do you kind of take the approach of planning everything out in advance. Are you more of the spontaneous on-the-go fun mom that I'm not?
Maureen:I like to know, have a good idea of what I'm doing that weekend because I like say Monday, I want to know what I'm doing the following weekend, because then it also helps me get through the week to know that we have something fun planned for the weekend. But as far as other than that, it kind of stresses me out to have my weekends all set in. I like to go with the flow. And then what if I'm missing some thing that popped up spontaneously, like, so I like to have a little bit of like, pillars in my summer, but like a lot of unplanned because that's when we have the best time when it's like a random Friday night, we decided to grab the kids go get pizza and go sit on the beach for a few hours from like five to seven. Like the things that I like in the summer. I'm very simple in what I want. And, and so it's better when it just kind of pops up and you can do it. That's that's just kind of how we do it in our house. So no, I love that. You're planning you're a planner.
Chrissy:Well, yeah, I mean, I'm working on it. I, so because when I do look at my calendar, it stresses me out, or I'm like, Oh, my goodness, we have something every single weekend. And then I don't have the ability to be spontaneous. I don't like that.
Maureen:Yeah, I don't either.
Chrissy:But it just somehow, like always works out that way. But the one thing that we do, in addition to you know, taking vacations and stuff, we just join our local pool. And what I'll do with the kids is we'll do something, if we if we have something planned, like during the day, I'll just say, you know, alright, let's just go to the pool for like an hour, and I'll order like a pizza or something, and we'll eat it together. And it's just it's, and it's a lot less crowded, because it's you know, usually like five or six o'clock, it's still warm, it's so laid out. So that's my like most spontaneous action. I feel like.
Maureen:I love that. And I feel like your kids are going to remember those times, the fun things that you don't do in the winter. And it seems so special. But it's also like very simple. Like, yeah, the kids need, they just want to have a little bit of, you know, a little bit of something special in that special.
Chrissy:Yeah, yeah. That's my philosophy.
Maureen:No, I know.
Chrissy:Well, and I always say it's so funny, like, every time we get to summertime, Owen still has a hard time understanding why I don't have off in the summers, you know, like he has a summer break, but Mommy doesn't and daddy doesn't. And so I always it's super important to me to take the time off. To be able to do those things, you know, with my kids, but because I always say everyone needs a break, whether you are a full time working parent, whether you're a stay at home mom or dad, whether you're part time, whatever that looks like everyone needs to take a vacation. And when you hear the word vacation, again, it doesn't have to be an elaborate, huge trip somewhere you can do a staycation, just taking some time off. But the other piece of that what I want to talk about is the adult time of being able to relax, like, we're still trying to figure that out. And now that we have a third who's you know, a baby, we're trying to figure out like, we haven't had a date night in a long time. So just trying to figure out how to navigate relaxation time for us in the summer as well.
Maureen:It's so important, even if you can like escape for a couple of hours, because then you come back so like you know, you need to do it often. Now you come back very refreshed and like ready to take on you're not like you're not short fuse like you can take on whatever's going on in your house a little better if you were able to take some time to just relax and not watch kids and make sure they're safe and cater to them and things like that. It's so important. So in the summer like I mean, we don't do much away from our kids really, we're lucky to have good grandparents support where we live. So we usually in the summer, what we'll do is put the kids to bed and then go meet up with our friends. We have a couple of bucket list restaurants that we like to go to on the summer one for our like dating anniversary in the middle of the summer that we go to every year and then that's it though but like I think it's like the often thing that you have to do you can't like let it go like three months and when you haven't gone out and it's like can just be like just because you get out whatever just just because so yeah trying to it's hard because you that requires childcare and you have to navigate that and figure out what what you're going to do so, but if you can you make it a priority and it really helps.
Chrissy:Yeah, no, for sure. I mean, you'd like to as a parent, you kind of just fall into the summer plans are automatically geared towards figuring out what to do with your kids. And that's all you know, that's how it should be. But we also need to remember that it's okay for us to take some time with our partners to be able to do something. I love that idea of, you know, being able to, once the kids are down just having someone even like you said, your parents or whoever, come sit with the kids. And then you guys have a night. And the beautiful thing about summer is it's so laid out for so long, so you feel like you're getting a long time. And yeah, that's, that's awesome. I love that.
Maureen:I also have this plan with my girlfriends that we're going to send my husband and my kids to my mother in law's overnight and then they're all going to come to him. This is our plan. So collectively, I think we're leaving, like, nine or 10 kids home with the dads and taking a girlfriend night. And I think those things are so important.
Chrissy:Oh my gosh, I hope it works out.
Maureen:It's our goal for the summer as girlfriends so yeah, and they live, they live far away. So if we can all meet up, it would, it would make my summer.
Chrissy:Oh my gosh, we I just did that with so I do with a group of friends. I do a trip once a year. This year, we did it in March. It wasn't necessarily summer, but it's just so amazing. We'll just do a weekend away. We do a different destination each time, we did DC this this past year was a little different just because I had Charlotte with me because I'm still nursing. So it wasn't as relaxing.
Maureen:Oh you brought her?
Chrissy:I did Yeah. Cuz I she, I'm still I'm still nursing her. And she was only oh gosh, probably three months, four months, maybe. And she wasn't taking a bottle great. And I was just like, it'll just be easier. And she's such an easy baby. So I was like, I'll just take her and it was fine. But it was it's so nice to get away, you know, with friends and, and, you know, luckily, I have a partner that's able and willing to stay back with the kids. And we you know, last weekend he did something with his friends. So yeah, totally. And it's a beautiful thing.
Maureen:I encourage my husband to do the same thing. If I ever, like get out of the house for a couple hours with my friends. I'm like you do this to plan it like it's fine. Yeah, everyone needs it.
Chrissy:Yeah, right. Well, and one thing we always talk about, too, is and it's always a stressor, I'm sure for most families is the budgeting aspect of it too, right? Like, you hear summer and you're thinking, at least for us, like we have to line up summer camps for our kids, and then the vacation and then the pool membership. And it's like in, like oh my goodness gracious. This adds up. But some of the things that I've kind of found and you know, I have to be I have to learn to be more flexible with things. One thing I found was super helpful. And this is what we did when we went down to Florida is we and not everyone's okay with this, but we actually pulled Owen out of school for a week. And that actually really helped with finding cheaper rates because if you think and everyone's on summer break at the same time, so prices are going to be hiked up and just you know, if you're flying somewhere airfare is going to be crazy. So we we always try to do that. And then offseason, like even in the fall is is nice now I try not to do it in the fall just because back to school is kind of crazy. But that's something that I you know, thought of and also finding a place if you are going to travel somewhere finding a place that has a kitchen. Usually we'll do like an Airbnb. But anywhere that has a kitchen because then you can make your own meals, right. You don't have to eat out every night. It's helped save a ton of money. Have you guys experienced any of that?
Maureen:Well, yeah. Like I we were just a way for that night that I talked about. And ordering out for kids. And then they take two bites. And you're like, oh my god, that was $20 Oh, yeah. There's my one and a half year old who's just getting used to like, you know, she's got her routine of her different foods that she eats. So she didn't even touch her food. And I was like, Oh my gosh, I have to figure out how to get her something. So yeah, the kitchen is a must, especially if you know you might want to have one meal out a day. And so you have your kitchen to make your sandwiches, whatever, you can have cereal, you can do eggs you can do and I think that it makes so much sense especially when you're traveling with a family and you know, you don't always feel great when you're eating all your meals out. Yes. Yeah, it's like extra calories you feel bloated and might be greasy. So it's a healthy thing to do for your family. It can keep the kids a little bit more on routine I feel like and then you save more.
Chrissy:Oh, yeah, right. Well the other thing too we did this a couple of years ago, we actually decided to do a staycation, which it was different. Like, I felt, I felt happy about it, but also like, not happy because I, you know, on the days that we didn't have anything planned, I just felt like I had to clean my house. And like, I wasn't really relaxing. But it was really cool. Because one day we did a beach trip, the next day, we went to Hershey Park, I forget what else we did, but we had different things lined up. And it's really great way to kind of do you know, free or low cost things like, you can find, at least I know around here. I mean, in the entire country, I'm sure there's a million different places. But around here, there's a ton of historical locations, local parks, that we can go to nature reserves, like we have lakes around here that our kids love to swim in. So we always try to find those kinds of things to help with that.
Maureen:It's a good idea to kind of look in your backyard a little bit, you know, close where you can drive, especially now, with high gas prices, flights have gotten so much more expensive, which really, you know, makes you consider where you are going on that vacation. So if you're doing something a little bit more local, it can definitely help save and plus, like, then you get to experience the things like close by that are cool. Like we live, Chrissy and I, we all live very close to Philadelphia. And there are so much that it's just insane, though all of the different things that you can do in a city like that. And I'm sure it's like that all over the country. Even if you're doing more. You don't live near a big city. And there's more nature related things like you find what is cool and special about where you live and take your kids to learn about it. Because while you might know about it, like for Philly, for example, like I feel like I can give a walking tour of the local sites. I've done it so many times, but my kids have never done it. Yeah. So like, letting them experience it. Like there's mural tours or historical walking tours, there's art installations all over the city. There's amazing museums, and like a lot of that stuff is free or very low costs. So it's great to find stuff like that to do with your kids. And maybe like, you know, maybe on the weekends you want something to do and you head out one day, and that's what you do. So while maybe it's not this grand beach trip or flight somewhere or something big, you're doing really cool stuff. And your kids are going to appreciate that. Because they they don't need the grand gestures like we think they do. They just, you know anything outside of their norm. I think that would be special and exciting.
Chrissy:Oh yeah, yeah, we so I know your kids are a little younger. Owen is, he'll be nine in July. And so he's really into reading right now. And he was reading about the Revolutionary War. And it was really neat, because a couple of weekends ago, we drove up to new hope. And we actually went to Washington's crossing, you know, and it because he read about that in a book recently. And we showed him like exactly where he crossed and everything. I mean, obviously, at least where we think you were. But it was really neat. Like there's a whole trail along there. So we rode our bikes, and then we went out to grab a bite to eat up in town. And even just something like that it was totally free, aside from going out to the restaurant, but they loved it. He was you know, it was really cool for him to be able to see that in person and experience that after he read about it. He was really, really excited to do that. So that was really cool.
Maureen:No, I love that, that's exactly what I'm talking about. That's perfect. Like you guys did something local, was low cost, and you still had an amazing time. So it's all it's always good to check out what cultural events are happening by you too. If there's any festivals, food festivals, your kids can experience different cultures, different foods. It's a great fun way to teach them, you know, while they're out of school, if they can do some, some non traditional learning, that's, that's key. That's I think the getting the experiences is a great way to go about keeping their like learning up during the summer too. So yeah, absolutely. And then, you know, uh, talking about learning, obviously, a lot of parents are concerned about, you know, that their kids are still hitting their educational marks or if there's things you want to work on during the summer school list, but is there anything that you do with your kids in the summer to help them kind of continue the education?
Chrissy:So yeah, you mentioned the cultural events or festivals or things like that, and I always I used to struggle with, you know, finding things like that that was happening around me, but I awhile ago discovered hulafrog Have you heard of them before? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's awesome because and I am pretty sure that you know, they're located across the country in terms of just finding different things that are happening around you, but basically you put your city in, and then it gives you a list of all the different things happening in that weekend or in advance. So you can plan, we actually like got to go to some really cool festivals and do some things with with our kids from from that website.
Maureen:So I used to look at it all the time when Declan was little, and I didn't know what to do. Yeah. And to see like, you know, where are the like the library, even like the story hours and things like that were always posted on there. So it really is something that's like maybe three towns over that you might not know about? Yeah, you can go there, and you can find it. It was awesome. It was a really good like activity resource.
Chrissy:Yeah. Yeah. Well, and then like the whole educational piece in terms of trying to continue the learning after school. It's always interesting, because it at least one of my children, like wants nothing. They're like, Nope, I'm on summer vacation. I'm done learning for the summer. But my other one loves to still do arts and crafts. And it doesn't have to be your traditional like, Alright, let's do a workbook. It can be you know, play can be through play, like through arts and crafts, or whatever that looks like. But I always do try to incorporate that whenever we're not like running around and doing things because it's still it is really important for them. I know you had some plans for Declan this summer, right?
Maureen:Yeah, and I don't really put a lot of pressure on him because he also is in preschool, and I kind of don't have the mental capacity to like, make it my biggest priority right now. I trust that they are very good at teaching. And then I try to do my own stuff. But like, things that I want to continue to do with him as he and I always do our projects together. We always do that. And then I really want to help him with his letters and everything this summer and his drawing skills. So I will just be incorporating that in when it when it makes sense. Like if we're doing sidewalk chalk, like I'll do his letters there will I'm trying to get him to draw people. It's not really working. So that's usually just like a squiggly line. And he's like, it's a snake. So I'm gonna bring the easel out onto the porch. So it's like a fun thing. He's outside, he's not you know, and I've never want to put pressure on him. And we read all the time. So that's, you know, so those are the things like I want him to continue to be creative and, and practicing his fine motor skills, and then also help him along with his letters and that type of a numbers and that type of stuff, which is just age appropriate. And, and it can be fun. Yeah, I'm not gonna be like, what is the one? Oh, they will just like, you know, we'll incorporate it in whatever we're playing.
Chrissy:Right? Yeah, I love that too. Like not focusing on it having it's not a chore, right? Like, you're just kind of weaving it into your daily routines and making it fun to give them that break, but still engaging them and helping them grow their minds too.
Maureen:And I just realized I should start to be doing it with my one and a half year old too. I'm like, oh, we should probably start colors with her like, so this morning. We were all like naming the colors of the blocks. And even Declan was like Delaney, this is blue. So yeah, I don't know, just make it fun. If you're gonna do stuff like that at home, but don't make it the whole thing. Because open ended play is so good too. Like Declan has this like crazy good imagination, probably from not having many friends in the pandemic. So he is always out in the backyard, like, you know, looking for giants.
Chrissy:That's so cute. Oh my gosh
Maureen:I strongly feel like those are amazing skills, you should nurture and cherish and let your kids do open ended play and like that just as much as you're trying to get them to know, like the school and portraying.
Chrissy:How would you say... I always struggle with, you know, balancing routines and fun, right, like, and we talked about this a little bit in the beginning. I'm not great at spontaneity, but also just kids still do need a routine. Like I don't want everything to fully go out the door. And you know, when summer starts. I do want there still to be some routine and there is in terms of you know, I'm still working every day. So that's kind of my routine, but I always have a hard time of bouncing, you know, the fun free play and allowing them to kind of do do what they want and like, you know, our back or like you said using your imagination.
Maureen:Yeah, I mean, it's hard for us working parents like especially to figure that out. I'm sure it's hard for any parent just you're juggling other kids and household chores and trying to keep your house clean. I don't know I I had read, I I can't cannot remember where I read this. But I had read from this one expert talking about how it's even if you're, you're kind of doing something out of your normal routine, a great thing to do with your kids is kind of walk them through what you're going to do that day. Yeah. So even. So let's say we're going to have breakfast and we're going to have some quiet time, then we're going to go outside, then we're going to lunch snack, and then we're going to go do this fun activity. So they know what to expect from the day. And I think that that helps them with their predictability, even if they are doing things a little bit different. I know that that helps Declan for sure. Cuz sometimes I forget that he doesn't know what we're doing. And we're just like, going here and there. And so when I like share the schedule, I think that helps. But like, as far as like figuring out how to like, keep them on schedule. I don't know, I usually try to keep it to like one big thing a day. And then that's it. If I try to do too many things in a day, then their schedules get too messed up, their naps get to my stuff, their their eating times get too messed up. And I just that that helps me we maybe like on the weekends, we'll go out as a family in the morning, be back by lunch, naptime, then we'll regroup and maybe do something at home that night, or, you know, just keeping it balanced for your kids. Because they they get tired. At least my view, cause they're so young.
Chrissy:No, I mean, I get tired. So I know they're struggling to and then it just like leads to melt down city. So I was, I like that, you know, trying to have one thing, at least a goal of doing one like bigger thing in the day, right? And then there's plenty of stuff to do at the house too. And that's, that's where that free play comes in. And I always struggled because I'm like, I have so much to get done on the weekends around the house, or whatever the case may be. So my kids will, you know, draw sidewalk chalk, like you said, or play with bubbles or whatever. And that like you were talking about, that's when they get to use their imagination. So I do love love that. But it is so interesting. I always say I just feel like and this makes me sound so old saying this statement right now, but I feel like it was like summers were so different. When we were kids. I just you know, we were outside all day. And all night. You know, we were playing like freeze tag and it was dark out. And it was so fun. And you know, my my friend, my best friend growing up, she lived up the street. She had a pool so we literally were there all day. It's just different now because you know now and maybe it's because my kids are younger, but everything at least I have to kind of have like summer camps lined up and everything scheduled out for them. And like they don't really... What'd you say?
Maureen:And playdates. Yeah, that stresses me out that we don't have the built in friends.
Chrissy:Me too, playdates is that's a whole other podcast episode now. Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know. I just feel like, and maybe it'll change when they're a little bit older, where I can say like, alright, be back home at five for dinner. I don't know, I have no idea. But it is. I mean, you know, no one had said we didn't have cell phones. Gosh, I sound so old right now, like cell phones or computers. So I don't know. I don't know what it was like for you growing up.
Maureen:Yes same, I mean, my best friend lived across the street. We're back and forth all day, like adventuring out by ourselves in our neighborhood. But we definitely were a little older. And so I do think that will come with age. But you know, it would be nice if there were just like, a little bit more like effortless like run out with the kids in the neighborhood type of situation where I hope that we get to that we had some great neighbors that actually moved away that we had that for a little bit. And then they move back to where they were from. And that was like so hard because oh no, I have to go find my son some friends.
Chrissy:That is really hard. We we are so fortunate. There's a ton of kids in our neighborhood. And actually, it was like, I had an old mom moment the other day because my son he had one of his really good friends lives, I don't know, like seven or eight houses down. And he he took his backpack because he wanted his Pokemon card binder with him and he got on his bike and he rode down to his friend's house and I was like, Oh my gosh, like this is a mo- I'm having a moment right now. Like it was but it was awesome. Like he you know, he got to ride down there. And of course, I texted with like his mom and I was like, can you make sure he gets there like and I watched him go down and it was fine. But it was I don't know. It was exciting for like I was excited for him that he has a friend that's close like that and that. You know, he can kind of play with him actually they're doing summer camp together, which is another conversation I want to talk about.
Maureen:Yes please because uou uh, you are a wealth of knowledge in that area, since you've been there for a few years. So please share with us your plan for summer.
Chrissy:So I don't know what it is what it's like, you know, anywhere outside of where I live. But I do know around here, summer camps fill up so quickly, like I would say, February or March, you have to fully sign up, you have to know exactly where you want to go. Because everything like there's wait lists, essentially, that you get on. And it's stressful, because you don't have the option of not having anything lined up for your kid for the summer. So I always have to register them like super early. And then like the there's a ton of different camp options, too. So knowing kind of what your kid likes to do, like this summer, or last summer was kind of a doozy. We signed him up for a camp and he didn't really enjoy it. And he was just kind of bored. So this summer, we signed him up for your traditional camp where there's like canoeing and Lake swimming, and pools and all of that. So I think he'll and he's going with his best friend. So I think he'll He'll love it. But there's like, so many different options to choose from. And they're also like super expensive. Oh, my Oh my gosh, it adds up.
Maureen:So he will go Monday through Friday, like a normal like?
Chrissy:He does. Yeah, so he'll be gone. And then we just have to pick him up, I think by like four. But you can do extended hours too. So it does cater to working parents or you know, even if you're not working if you if you want to stay a little bit longer.
Maureen:Yeah, I mean, that's the hard part about being a working parent, you have to do all of this research, like everything to figure out what you're going to do with your kids. And you want them to have fun and have it been retching, but also like, you have to think about the budget. And that's really hard.
Chrissy:Well, and around here. I think it's because the last couple of weeks of August, all like I believe that most of the camp counselors are probably college students. So they're all going back to school, right, like mid August. So every summer, the last two weeks of August before Labor Day, which is when our school start around here. I'm scrambling because there's no camp options. So that's usually when I have to take time off, right. And then that's like 100% going against my recommendation of booking trips in the offseason because I you know, I have to find childcare for those weeks. So that's when we'll weave in like the day trips, or I was kind of like piecemeal and do do trips here and there even just like take the day off and go to the pool with him. That's fine. But yeah, summer camp is I didn't really like I always said, I'm like, once daycare is done, it's gonna be amazing. And then I wait now. Joke's on me. There's so many expenses that come with kids after.
Maureen:I'm in that I'm like, Okay, well, once they had to like regular school. Yeah, no, yeah, a little bit of a different situation just because my mom watches my kids at our house. But that no, like, while I have a caretaker at home, I want my son, he'll go nuts. If he's just sitting at home, you know, doing the same thing every day. So he is going to a little camp for just two days a week for a month, just so he can get some good experiences and have fun. So it's like, you know, I was looking forward to dropping those daycare, preschool payments in the summer. But like, I really think it's important for him to have this like nice activity. So it's hard to balance that because, you know, everything's expensive. But then you want to give your kids the good experiences too so.
Chrissy:Yeah, well, you I feel like you have a unique situation to a different situation than mine and that you are fortunate to have you're not your mom watches your kids full time. So but they're still at the house of the right. So do you feel like you have to kind of line up activities for them and, and like make sure they have stuff to do all day in the summer?
Maureen:Yes, I am. The setter upper, the micromanager. The "if you try to hide and not have anyone see me when I go to the kitchen" so that I don't get taken off task for 20 Min. Yeah. So that is hard to but yeah, yeah.
Chrissy:And then you have off once a week to right so you'll plan to do things with your kids on those days, too.
Maureen:Yeah, I mean, I'm really looking forward to this summer in so much that we only have one nap to consider. Whereas last summer we had three naps to consider. And so it was hard to do any things. So this year I have high hopes that we're going to be out there doing Yeah, not just tied to our, to the crib this summer.
Chrissy:Yeah, I know. It is. Like you said it's so hard when you're incorporating naps into it because it basically takes up the entire day. You can't really go anywhere.
Maureen:Yeah, but some of the fun things that we you can do at home with your kids are some things that like we talked about in KIWI or things that I've tried at home like We have this great story coming out in our summer issue called with like how to make a mud kitchen in your backyard which is a great way to do open ended play your kids loved playing with pots and pans anyway every kid is attracted to playing with pots and pans. So you grab old things that you don't need anymore from your kitchen and you set up a mud kitchen outside and you let them get dirty because that is okay. Baths are there when you're done. And it really is good open ended play for your kids. My son loves to do chores with us while we're doing things he likes to mow the lawn. So he has a pretend lawn mower and most of the lawn and he has like a pretend leaf blower and like edgers like that so and you know so he getting your kids involved like he also picks up sticks with my husband in the yard with many lumbers get creative get them, get them in there do if you have to do chores like bring them along. Save something else that I did last summer that was really fun for my son is get let him do a carwash with all of his like trucks and so you get like a big bin, you fill it with soapy water, you give them scrub brush, and they just sit there and wash their cars. And that's a good like sitter-vising activity, which was is one of my favorite phrases from busy toddlers where she talks about like how to do sitter-vising, where you can just sit and relax and watch your kids while they play. And get them in the garden. They can help plan my son loves doing that. So there are there are things even if you feel like I don't know what to do with my kids, like, they probably want to do the things that you're doing if you're going to do them with them.
Chrissy:So yeah, I know we speaking of gardening, we have an elderly couple that lives next to us. And Olivia, she loves to plant flowers. We were all outside one day, like just I think we're washing the car. And I look over and she's just like walking in their garden helping them plant their flowers. I had no idea. It was so cute. Yeah, she loves it. So now like they told her this summer she can help plant flowers with them. It's but she you know, she's seen me do it. She, she loves to do it. But one of the other things I want to talk through too. I love the sitter-vising. You mentioned that from busy toddler, I you had to tell me what that was. I didn't know what that was. And actually it came up the other day where Owen was like, I want you outside playing with me. And I was like, No, you can go and have fun without mommy. Oh my gosh, yeah. So I love that tip. But the other thing too, I know is so important that I always it stresses me out but is summer safety in terms of oh my gosh, just all the things between going to the pool and the ocean, sunscreen, Tex outdoor stuff, even heat safety with my baby. Like it's so stressful. I know you have some tips on ocean and beach safety because your husband was a lifeguard right for quite a bit.
Maureen:He was. That's how we met. But he Yeah, so I mean, I talked to him, and then I just, you know, just made sure that I wasn't missing anything. But you know, it's really important that you and your kids know, your your, like your skills in swimming and the ocean is totally different than a pool understanding that always swimming in front of a lifeguard don't swim where it's unattended, because you can get in lots of trouble real fast. Being able to spot a rip current, as a parent, you really should know how to do that and, and make sure that your your kids are not heading into one. I mean, and a rip current how to spot one just loosely is you know it could be a distinct area that with turned up water, maybe there's seaweed or debris in it and waves are breaking on either sides of it. But that rip is something that's very dangerous. And you really need to be able to be able to know how to spot one but if you're ever in one, you relax, you let it take you out and then you swim parallel but into the shore and you never tried to fight and you're gonna get someone's attention and get someone's attention. But remaining calm is the most important thing but it's really, really important for all parents to go review. ocean safety and pool safety. The pool safety is my gosh, I'm nervous. That makes me nervous. Yeah, nervous. There was this this kind of viral article from that. I don't know if it was last year or the year before that. I go back and look at every year. It was on Motherly is from Natalie Livingston and she investigates drownings and she's worked in aquatics and with lifeguard training for years and she has this list of things that she goes over with her kids and I think it's such a good idea like i Because of her I always stopped before we went to a pool and like had a discussion with my son. Some of the things that she talks about is giving your kids safety briefings that include having your kids ask permission to go on the water. I love that yeah, and communicating where they can jump in where they can, teaching your kids about water depth. So like this means this is going to be over my head and things like that. teaching your kids to get away from someone if somebody got them to hang on because they're not strong swimmers how to get away from that situation. And one of the scariest things as a parent is like just getting distracted when you're supposed to be watching your kids in water. So setting timers for that she has so many more good things. It's on motherly if anyone wants to go look it up. But that is pool safety is the scariest to me, like I need to I'm working on swim lessons right now. But I think that like that is just like one of the most important things that parents need to do something that my husband and I do is like, we assign each other like, I've got the, you know, the kids are like this summer, if we're at our friend's boat, I will say I have this child, you have that child do not think that I'm watching that child like, because that's how we have to do it at their young age. Because you have to basically hold at least one or two of them in the water. Right.
Chrissy:So yeah, yeah, I'm interested to see how it goes for us this year, because we're outnumbered. Yeah, oh, and can swim. But Olivia, like she can't we're still working on swim lessons from her, she can't swim on our own. And then I have to worry about Charlotte with you know, because she's so she'll be six months. And I that the whole sunscreen thing. Like, I never know, if I think you're I don't think you're supposed to put sunscreen on babies until they're six months. Even then, like I always get weary of doing it. But I actually just started using Blue Lizard sunscreen, which is awesome. They it's ocean friendly sunscreen, I doesn't have any of the harsh chemicals in it. And they do have a baby version. So I think I'm going to use that for her this summer. But it's going to be hard you know, at the pool or even anywhere with her I just bought this like UV protected baby portable 10 I have no idea how it's gonna work out. But I'm hoping that helps somewhat to kind of see how that goes. But I know there's an article on KIWI mag online right about sunscreen and finding an ocean friendly one.
Maureen:So we have some ocean friendly options on there. And definitely look for that because you want to make sure that because it a lot of the sunscreen like comes off your body when you're in the ocean and can bleach the coral reefs and things like that. So you want to make sure that your the the ingredients in your sunscreen are safe for the ocean and the marine life to for you don't forget to get a portable fan. Let's see. Usually, for babies that little are very it's that's one of the scarier parts, not scary. But that's one of the things you have to consider when you're having a baby like that. Especially if you're going to put them in a tent. How much airflow is that tan. And then when you have little babies to making sure that these the reflection off the sand is not burning them. Because I've seen many that babies who have like been under an umbrella the whole time, but the sand reflects. Yeah, so you just, it's just things you have to consider
Chrissy:Oh my gosh, I never thought of that. when you have babies like in the heat and at the beach and things like that. Just be prepared for them. Like my one friend is so funny. She like she last summer she had so many contraptions down at the beach, but her baby was cool. Not in, not in the sun and everything. And that's unfortunately what you have to do when you have just been hired. Yes, yeah. And make sure they fluid and stuff. I dream for the day where I can just roll up to the beach with an umbrella and a chair. It's like a workout going down to the beach with kids these days. But it's so fun. But I know the other thing too, I don't I mean, again, I can only speak for what it's like around here in New Jersey. But I always get stressed out in the summer with ticks too, because we do a lot of outdoor stuff too. And I feel like they've just gotten so worse. I know. Are we doing an article on that soon?
Maureen:Yeah, so we're gonna have in this in the summer issue of KIWI, we have a tick story, tick safety story coming out and just great things to review. For parents, you know how to check what to wear. There's also clothes that like have tick repellent in them, which I think is great. And just making sure that you're aware of that as parents that you should be checking your kids if they're, you know, if you're in a wooded area like that. And, and yes, so you can go read that story right now. If you go to mom's meat or the Kiwi website. It's got some great information in there.
Chrissy:Yeah, that's good. And is there information in there about like different repellents to use to?
Maureen:Yep, there are Yeah, so there's there's some alternate safe alternatives. and things like that. So you can check that out and see see which one you would prefer for your family. And there's some good information about how you shouldn't mix your, your bug repellent with your sunscreen even though that exists because you shouldn't be putting it on as often as you put on sunscreen. So things to consider like that. So go head to that article and check it out.
Chrissy:Yeah, well, there's so much, you know, thanks so much for sharing all that we shouldn't safety and pool safety, too. There were some things I didn't even think about, like..
Maureen:Let me just say, I am not the expert, but they're just some good tips. But you really should go and get yourself educated in those areas.
Chrissy:As a parent, it is so important to you know, everyone always thinks like, it's not gonna happen to me or nothing bad will happen, but just takes one second even just like getting lost on the beach. Like, how hard is it? I know, there's been times where my kids will go down to the water and they can't, like figure out how to get back.
Maureen:You point them directly to the lifeguard stand. So if you ever can't find this, you go right to that stand and you tell them you are missing your parent, and they'll find you immediately. But if that kid's wandering around, it's a little bit harder. So point them to the lifeguard station.
Chrissy:Yeah, for sure. There you go.
Maureen:So clearly, we could talk about this forever. And there's so many things to talk about with kids in summer, but we really hope that you will have a great summer season and this helped maybe spark some ideas on what to do with your kids and know that we're all in this together. I'll just stay on budget but have a great fun summer with our families.
Chrissy:Oh yeah. Sip on something delicious and healthy this summer when you crack open a cold Better Booch Kombucha. When it comes to gut health, there's just no substitute for authentic fermentation. That's why Better Booch Kombucha is naturally fermented and simply delicious with a bold, refreshing flavor that delivers pleasure to your tastebuds and live probiotics to your gut. Each Better Booch flavor uses unique tea blends, herbs, botanicals and adaptogens and it tastes so good after it's finished fermenting that they don't need to use sugary juice to sweeten it. Cheers to a better summer with Better Booch. Well, and thank you to everyone for listening. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button to make sure that you don't miss the latest podcasts episodes coming up.
Maureen:Yep, and thanks for joining us for our fourth season and we can't wait to continue helping you raise happy and healthy families.