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Five Ways to Entertain Your Kids This Summer – Without Breaking the BankEach
year, when the last school bell sounds, parents face the considerable challenge of
entertaining the youngsters for three long months while staying within their budgets.
Consider these five ideas to help make your kids’ summer vacation affordable and
enjoyable.
- Make the most of your home computer. Check out worthwhile applications to help
vacationing children build skills and creativity. They can publish poetry online or participate
in a craft exchange. And www.activitiesforkids.com
posts a daily calendar for June through August with a 15-minute activity for each day.
- Involve your kids in a volunteer project. The best way to teach young people good
citizenship is to take on a volunteer project with them – such as helping out at the
local animal shelter one day a week, visiting patients at hospitals and nursing homes, or
assisting a local organization that delivers meals to shut-ins.
- Get plenty of mileage from a family trip. If you’re planning a family
getaway this summer, make sure to maximize your dollars spent on the trip. First, involve
the whole family in planning – researching a destination via the internet, then
planning the itinerary by assigning each person one day for which to recommend activities.
Once your destination and activities are set, encourage family members to
“practice” the vacation experience. For example, if you plan to camp, let the
kids pitch a tent in the back yard and gather supplies for an overnight trial run.
Finally, once you’ve returned, help your kids create a scrapbook with photos,
postcards and memorabilia collected on the journey.
- Encourage earning and saving money. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could keep
your kids from tapping your wallet each time they need cash this summer? Perhaps you can
do so by helping them create their own little nest eggs. Let the adolescents set up a
garage sale with their outgrown toys and clothes, price the items and take responsibility
for their own accounting. They might earn a few dollars and learn some lessons along the
way.
- Schedule activities that involve exercise. Don’t let summer turn your
children into couch potatoes. Encourage family members to plan and schedule exercise into
their daily routines. It can be as simple as walking or biking to the park instead of
driving the car, or going for a regularly scheduled swim at the local beach or pool.
As you enjoy your leisure family time this summer, keep in mind that it’s never
too early to teach children fiscal
responsibility. By involving youngsters in managing expenses, they learn a life
lesson, one they’ll probably thank you for in the long run.
* This week’s column is provided by American
Express Financial Advisors
June 28, 2001
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