So the summer holidays are coming up (or already here) – potentially a working Mum’s biggest nightmare time of year, when you have to:
- Sort out childcare
- Cope with excitable kids and later bedtimes
- Make sure those said excitable kids have an amazing memorable summer break
- Fit in your work
- Find even the tiniest bit of ‘me’ time
- Deal with feelings of massive ‘working parent’ guilt
The Crushing Parental Guilt
What’s the worst one on that list for you? We’re betting it’s dealing with feeling massively guilty for not being with your kids over the summer break, then second after that it’s probably fitting in your own work because those two things go hand in hand. When you’re kids are off and you have to work guilt is going to reign supreme. Let alone the stress of thinking how are you supposed to fit in your work? Whether it’s going to a place of work or working from home the situation = nightmare!
It suddenly becomes, that something you need to do to pay your bills becomes something you are worriedly trying to squeeze in between your main priority as a parent – the two worlds collide the twin priorities in life clash. Although they aren’t really twin priorities are they, obviously family always comes first BUT it’s a real conflict of emotions to get the balance right over the summer.
How is Pinterest Going to Help?
So you might be thinking “how is Pinterest going to help me with that?” Well, obviously in our view Pinterest is the solution to EVERYTHING so you can’t be very surprised that we would come up with a Pinterest focused solution on this one 😉
Here’s 5 easy ways to use pinterest to get organised, feel less guilty and make sure your kiddos have the best summer ever.
1. Visual Timetables
Set up a board to show your kids how things will go over the summer do them in order so as they scroll through they can see what they can expect next. You can even do it day by day for little ones and search for pics to describe your day and pin them together. You can intersperse pics of work so they know in between the fun stuff that you have to work, but more fun stuff will come after. It will also serve as a fun way to check off your activities and look back on. Remember to go to the bottom and scroll upwards or you will be all out of sync timewise. This one is a great one to use for any event that you have coming up that kids are excited about to help them understand what is coming up and the order in which things will happen. You can countdown sleeps by adding pins about a special trip every day. Check out our board here to see how we did it for our Pinlings.
Follow Rebecca Bradley – PinRight’s board Our Summer – A Visual Timetable on Pinterest.
2. Involve them
Kids just want to feel listened to and involved, so let them have their own board where they can pin stuff about the summer break and show you what they want to do and how they want to spend their time. Some can be wishes and long term goals some can be stuff you agree you will definitely do over the coming weeks. This is great because they can pin anything and you can add into the description why you have pinned it and what you will do. You can find stuff and activities and pin it to their board for them too. If they are under 13 you will need to do this with them on your own account but if they are over 13 set up an account for them but be mindful to monitor it as with all E-Safety. Be careful with this one as we have learnt from our Pinlings that they hold us to every pin ! Follow Rebecca Bradley – PinRight’s board Oscar | Ideas for Boys on Pinterest.
3. Create a summer scrapbook board
Create a board that represents your summer memories together. Pin pictures that show exactly (or represent) a diary of your summer, find items to pin but also you can upload your own pics too. Don’t pile on the pressure here with another daily task you have to get through but instead just add to it when you can. You can write some lovely soundbite comments of what you did, or saw or how they felt so capture the feeling. This one helps massively with the guilt because you will see all the lovely things you have managed to do and fit in rather than dwelling on what you didn’t do, see, fit in or get round to. You can repin from your visual timetable board to see which things you planned and then completed. It also serves as a lovely reminder to look back over an amazing summer too.
Follow Rebecca Bradley – PinRight’s board Our Summer Scrapbook on Pinterest.
4. Use our Pinling board
We have a board dedicated to fun kids activities, food, parties, toys, games and all sorts of other creative goodness. Use it for some inspiration for things to do, things to create, or even just people to follow to find even more lovely stuff to do. Follow PinRight – Pinterest Tips’s board Pinlings // Kids Stuff on Pinterest.
5. Create a Secret Board just for YOU
Let that be your place to cope with summer. Pin what you need to remember to do, stuff you want to do for the kids that they don’t know about, things you want to do for YOU to just feel like a bit of me time. Or maybe just pin for the hell of it just to escape the craziness of being so busy.
Brucey Bonus
Follow these 10 pinners who have the most amazing kids activities, crafts, games, recipes and fun to help you plan a summer of pintastic awesomeness.
8.Tidy Mom
Obviously these tips relate just as much to Dads as to Mums, but as we know that currently 85% of users on Pinterest are women – the mums won and we focused on them <3
If you like this and you want more Pinterest goodness and to know how you can use it to help your business sign up to our newsletter here and never miss another trick.