The summertime in Dubai can cause a bit of laziness both physically and mentally for your children. Without the routine of school, the physical and mental stimulation your children undergo during the school year, they can become a lot less willing to run around or even think. Your children’s health should be well looked after during the summer so that they can hit the ground running once the school year starts. It will take a lot of effort and planning to keep your children engaged during the summer break. In this guest post, ServiceMarket, the leading platform for home services in the UAE, provides you with the best tips to keep your kids happy and healthy during the summer months in Dubai.
Plan Activities Throughout the Summer in Dubai
Plan lots of fun and challenging activities around Dubai city to keep your children both physically and mentally engaged. Go out to playgrounds and let your kids run around during the evening time. Also, set up some family board game nights. Try to get some board games or even bring in some games like chess or checkers to keep the whole family entertained and involved while stimulating your children’s minds.
For more tips read How Should I Kill Time During School Vacation?
Sign Them Up for Classes
Sign your children up for hobbies they enjoy. There are so many different classes your children can take in Dubai. Try to diversify the things they sign up for and make sure it is something they enjoy doing. For example, if your kids like swimming, you can sign them up for swimming lessons. If your kids are creative, then you can sign them up for art and/or music lessons. Any activity that gets your children to put in the effort is a good one. You might not have the time to take your kids to classes during the summer, but you can ask your nanny to take them to classes when you are away.
Keep Up the Learning Curve
Believe it or not, your kids might enjoy learning something during the summer. It may not be such a good idea to bombard your children with too much learning during the summer. However, a little bit of tutoring for next year’s classes might be a good idea and will keep your kids mentally engaged and challenged all throughout the summer and better prepare them for the challenges they will face in school.
Eat and Drink Healthily
A huge part of summer break for your kids will be food! When kids are left at home for more hours of the day, and with less structure, they will tend to eat more. It can be very tempting just to let your children eat as they please and give them any food they desire especially during the summer. However, since children tend to gain weight during summer break, try to watch what you feed them. Prepare healthy snacks in advance so that you aren’t left rummaging frantically when all of your kids get hungry throughout the day.
Also, try to keep junk food out of the home as much as possible. We know summertime tends to mean more outings which means more restaurant and fast food chain visits but try to limit these visits as they will cause your kids to gain unhealthy weight. Another reason your kids may gain weight during the summer is if you let them skip meals. Keep the same structure of three or four meals a day at specific times so that you know they are eating enough. Make sure never to let your kids skip breakfast or sleep through it.
Furthermore, with the terrible heat that hits Dubai in the summer, it is very important to remember to keep your kids well hydrated. Kids tend to forget to drink water when they are busy running around the house or engaged in activities. Since it is better to avoid dehydration than have to treat it, remind your kids to drink several times during an hour on hot days. Water, milk and 100% fruit and vegetable juices are your best options. Provide your kids with individual water bottles that they can take with them wherever they go.
For more on kids and summers check out Protecting Your Child from the Heat Living in the Gulf
Watch Their Sleeping Schedule
Probably the number one thing you and your kids are looking forward to this summer is sleeping in. It is a good idea to let your kids stay up a little bit during the summer and even sleep in the day after but do this with limitations. Don’t let your kids ruin their sleeping schedules by staying up all night. Let them sleep at a reasonable hour and wake up early preferably around ten in the morning. Getting enough sleep is a huge part of staying physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. Your children are growing, and they need enough sleep to develop correctly.
Limit Screen Time
It can be incredibly tempting just to let your kids play on their laptops and tablets all day. We all know that televisions and video games do wonders to keep your kids occupied and busy. However, this may not be the best thing for your children. Too much screen time can make your kids lazy and can even cause issues with their eyesight and sleeping schedule. Let them know they can use their electronics but with time limitations and give them other activities they can do.
You can also check out Is your summer going to be the setting for the battle of the Screen Time?
Get them to Reading
One of the best things you can do to keep your kids engaged mentally during the summer is to have them read books. You can make a weekly trip to the bookstore or library and let them roam around and choose books they enjoy reading. To encourage your kids to read, start a reading competition. Have them record their reading hours every day and at the end of each week give them a reward based on the number of hours they reach.
It might not be so easy for you to keep up with your children this summer, especially if you are working during this time. If you need some help looking after your children this summer, there is no reason to feel guilty about it.
If you decide to hire help, head over to ServiceMarket to search for the best babysitter in Dubai. ServiceMarket also allows you to read verified customer reviews for the babysitting and part-time nanny services in Dubai on the website and to get free quotes from these agencies.
