February 1, 2024

Successfully Surviving Spring Break at Home with Your Kids

As a parent myself with 3 school-age children, I can see both sides of the spring break debate. Yet, I’m here to tell you that you can survive staying home during spring break with your kids.

It’s spring break and you are home with your kids:

What does that mean? It means that kids are completely ecstatic and simply can’t wait for this vacation from school! For them, it means: no homework, no alarm clocks (aka sleeping in), and no racing to the bus before the sun has truly risen for the day. Some parents are thrilled with these benefits and add the many benefits spring break allows for the parents: no packing lunches, no driving from school to school trying to pick up carpools and race to after-school activities, and getting to spend some quality time with your kids. Yet, for many parents, spring break evokes a feeling of sheer panic:

WHAT WILL WE DO ALL WEEK WITH ALL THE KIDS HOME TOGETHER, AT THE SAME TIME, WITH NO SCHEDULE, AND NOTHING TO DO?!!!

As a parent myself with 3 school-age children, I can see both sides of the spring break debate. Yet, I’m here to tell you that you can survive staying home during spring break with your kids. Even as I write that, I’m still stricken with the panic myself. But, as I take some deep breaths, I will walk you through some survival tips for the next 7 days.

Spring Break Survival Tips:

1) Have a plan: The worst words a parent can hear from children over break is, “I’m bored!” Ok…that, and the fighting words between siblings. But, the bored part is within our control, at least for a little while. The fighting words between siblings will most likely be addressed in another blog, not to worry. Anyway, back to “have a plan”. If you have never had a family meeting in your household, here’s a great place to start (and a great topic). Call to order a family meeting to discuss possible activities that can be done during the week off from school. Everyone should have a chance to give input.

2) Engage your kids in the plan: Kids like to feel that they have choices and that their opinions count. And, what better time to allow them to have those choices than spring break when the week is full of possibilities? Write down all the ideas the kids have for activities, places they’d like to visit, friends they’d like to see, etc. Even if one of your kids wants to play Wii and relax, there will be time for that and it’s good for the kids to have some downtime. Perhaps that can be the “family game night” activity one night this week.

3) Make a calendar of possible activities: This will allow you (and the kids) to see what the plan is for each day. Whether it’s playdates or a trip to the museum, the kids can see what is planned. It allows them to see that their ideas are put into action and also teaches them the art of negotiation. For example, “Yes, we are doing the activity that Jake chose tomorrow morning, but we are doing your activity on Tuesday when your friend Emily and her mom are free to join us.” Of course, the calendar can be changed, if need be.

4) Be careful not to over-schedule: You’ve heard of not over-scheduling kids’ activities, playdates, etc during the school year, but the same is true for vacations. Be sure to give breaks throughout the day, so the activity chosen is still enjoyable for the kids (and for you). This is especially true for children who have difficulty with transitions. For example, if you’re going bowling in the morning, maybe some game time or an art activity with just the family is good for an afternoon activity, rather than another outing or high-energy excursion. And, it’s ok to have some “screen time” (as we call tv, computer, and video games in our house) to give tired moms and dads a break too.

5) Schedule a grown-up night out: Yes, I did say “schedule”. As parents, it’s easy for us to forget about adult time and especially time for ourselves. So, before you get caught up in the calendar of all the kids’ activities from morning until night, make sure to add a “grown up night” to that calendar. Phone an in-law, a parent, or a sibling and see if they would be willing to watch the darlings for a couple of hours so you can have some grown-up time with your spouse or significant other. Or, see if a friend would be willing to sit for your kids one night and you can sit for theirs another night. Or, if finances allow, hire a sitter! I promise this will be a great addition to your spring break plans. If your spouse travels or you can’t go out together one night during this week, make it a grown-up night with some friends.

Some ideas for spring break kid-friendly activities that won’t cost a fortune:

  • local libraries often have free passes or discounts to local museums and attractions-check that out! Or, just spend some time at the library.
  • parks (if the weather permits). Try one that you’ve never seen before- maybe in another town and have the kids make a comparison list: what they like best at each park.
  • take a train ride
  • visit an animal shelter and bring newspapers. They always need newspaper for training
  • volunteer at a local nursing home or get a group of kids together to do a talent show of sorts
  • rent a movie about something the kids learned about in school-making popcorn helps them forget they’re learning while they watch
  • take pictures when you go on activities and even make a scrapbook at the end of the week

Download our Guide for Families

We know that choosing a local ABA facility can be a hard decision. We’ve created an informational guide to help you understand more about the questions you should be asking while meeting with different providers.

Although we talk about our services here, our highest goal is for you to feel comfortable and knowledgeable about picking a provider that is the best fit for your needs. You are making a decision that will impact the entire trajectory of your child’s life!
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The cover of the NSPT Guide for Families, which helps families to figure out the questions to ask when picking an ABA provider.

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Success looks different for every child... But we bet we have a story that matches your child's needs. Like James, who started with us as non-speaking and lacking the ability to initiate and maintain social interactions. Today, he can speak complete sentences, clearly state his needs, and navigate social interactions with his friends!

Our infant daughter was in physical therapy with Anna Zahn for about five months.  Anna was consistent, patient, and wonderful with our daughter.  Anna was also clear in her communications with us as parents which helped us understand our daughter's progress and needs, as well as how we could help our daughter at home.  While we are proud that our daughter graduated PT, we will miss Anna's warmth and kindness.

Emily

I love this place! Chista is an amazing person, so sweet and kind and very professional in her work. All staff are very kind with children. I feel happy to find this place for my daughter. Thank you!!!

Maria Di Rita

I cannot say enough nice things about the staff! My son worked with Khadija as his ABA therapist and is finishing up this week with his OT, Sabrina. They were really instrumental in helping us navigate a new diagnosis. Both were so easy to approach with questions. From Leeann at the front desk to the RBTs (Alex, Rabbia, Molly, and many others), we always felt so welcomed. It seems like the staff genuinely enjoy their jobs, consistently offering feedback and suggestions on how to help my son.

Jennifer Peyer

We have been working with the amazing team at NSPT for many years. They have been essential in understanding and supporting our child. I recommend their services to anyone looking for their specific type of support.Posted to

Monica Terése Carranza

They are so sweet and kinds persons with professionalism and really worried about the kids and how help they to get new skills and moving forward with knowledge.

Alejandra M.

NSPT is fantastic! All of the staff are wonderful, accomodating, and make you feel welcome and comfortable. Alan is fantastic - he has helped our family tremendously and has such patience and purpose in everything he does.

Alex Ehrhardt

North Shore Pediatric Therapy has been amazing.  They have done a great job adjusting to the specific needs of my autistic child.

Matt Nakanishi

My 12 yr old son has a lovely support team in Robert (Social Work) and Lindsay (OT)! He gains so much from his sessions & I gain so much from the communication and brainstorming! Thanks!

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