Making Lemonade: Divorce, Summer and Kids

    Summer is here, and with it comes a juggling act to make sure your children have a lot to do to attack boredom and keep them out of trouble. School's out, work is constant, and time is short. If you're divorced and a single parent, the juggling act gets more intense during those summer months, scheduling camps, sleepovers, trips and time for yourself.  

All communities have summer camps and parks that have activities often have their own camps as well. The hardest thing during the summer is juggling your work and life -- and parenting. It’s best to strategize your summer -- with trips to visit grandma, a family excursion, throw in a little schooling and a camp experience. 

Depending upon the age of the child, swim classes, karate classes and theme park outings are great within a camp theme or plan the summer with other divorced parents doing a kid-share routine. 

And when you don’t have a lot of extra summer finances (which is everyone by the way, divorced or not), it’s best to be creative. When in doubt, plant a garden with your child, go camping, learn to play an instrument, prepare and go on a picnic, make your own kites and fly them, go to the beach or a lake…spend some quality time together…building memories.

And…as a last resort – there is also summer school! 

I’m big on understanding that life is about making memories and anything you can do for your child and yourself to create a lasting memory – let that be your goal. Life goes by too quickly as it is, so get out there and start creating some wonderful and enduring adventures for your child for their emotional scrapbook!  



Jodi Seidler is the founder of the single parent site MakingLemonade.com and the author of "55 Things Every Divorcing Mom Should Know!" Her advice has also made it to TV talk shows, such as: "Inside Edition"and "Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus." Her e-mail is jodi@makinglemonade.com.