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Summer Scheduling
Planning for a Worry-Free and Fun Season
By Lisa Marie Metzler
Do you spend more time finding lost swimsuits and sunscreen before you go to the beach than actually swimming at the beach? If the answer is yes, Sunny Schlenger, author of How to be Organized in Spite of Yourself (Signet, 1999), has a suggestion. "Let the children pick out their own bags. Color-coding is helpful, if you can manage it, so young children know that their bag, towels and pails are red, blue or whatever," says Schlenger.
Once the bag is packed, even a young child can learn, for example, that the bag of blue accessories is hers. This will be fun and promote ownership of personal items. Remember to keep potentially hazardous items such as bug repellent and sunscreen out of very young children's bags.
Peg Cochran, a mother of two living in Grand Rapids, Mich., stays organized by putting the entire family's beach accessories in one bag. "We keep a beach bag ready to go on trips to the pool," Cochran says. "The sunscreen, sun hats, pool toys, a magazine or two for Mom and change for the snack bar stay inside the bag from one trip to the next, and the pool badges are pinned to the handle."
You may consider investing in more than one swimsuit for the season as well. "I used to have three suits for each child: two for using at the swimming pool or at home and one that went to the beach," says Heather O'Neil, a mother living in Chesterville, Ontario. When the suits are wet from the sprinklers or the beach, hang them up immediately and when they are dry, pack them back into the bag to be ready for the next trip.
Schlenger adds that a routine for "getting ready" and "packing up" is essential to teach at an early age. "If you as a parent always do everything, you will be stuck with that role for the duration," says Schlenger. "It's much harder to teach older kids to take responsibility for their own stuff if you keep doing it."
