The negative effects the school 6 weeks holidays can have on mental health are often overlooked or disregarded by the excitement for 6 whole weeks off school. There are a number of factors that can negatively influence mental health and well-being which often don’t get felt during the other holidays when they are over within a week or two. Themes I have noticed from clients and colleagues I have discussed this with include:
- Lack of routine and structure
- Social isolation and loneliness
- Change and transition
- Boredom
- Academic pressure
These factors can affect the whole household and it can be difficult to know how to improve them as it can feel so out of your control. For some, both parents and children, this can feel very daunting. Routine changes are huge as school will have understandably provided a lot of the structure. It can feel overwhelming to think of ways to keep everyone entertained for that amount of time, especially without breaking the bank.
With a bit of thought and focus on some key areas, it is doable to bring about a sense of control to ensure the summer holidays does not have a detrimental effect on yours and your families mental health and well-being.
Create a flexible routine – Create a routine that serves a purpose for the whole household, it is important that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet to benefit everyone. Allow some flexibility so that it can be adapted where necessary as it is understandable that not all of your weeks will look the same. It can be really useful to sit down together as a family to work this out, that way everyone can be in agreement, and you all know what is happening.
Encourage self-care – A change of routine can feel quite welcome for some. The opportunity to have a bit more freedom with how they spend their time and make choices with more autonomy. Self-care is often disregarded or simplified to having a bubble bath with some candles lit. It is so much more personal than that so finding the ways that you feel relaxed is a great way to get started.
Stay active – Staying active over the summer holidays doesn’t mean it becomes a health kick! Exercise is a really important part of our wellbeing, so the absence of school could lead to a reduction in activity for some. Have a think about what is available to you and what is nearby in your local area. This could be a walk as a family, booking onto something at your local leisure centre, swimming and more!
Get creative – With so many ways to get creative there is bound to be something that you can spend your time on. This can be a great way to spend a rainy day or even better, take your creative activities outdoors if the sun is shining! Creative hobbies are great for your brain chemicals giving you a boost of dopamine, the reward hormone.
Spend time outdoors – Spending time outdoors is a great way to beat the boredom that spending too much time in the house could create. Additionally, there are several benefits on your mental health from spending time in nature too. What’s even better is this can be a cheap or even free way to spend some time. You could eat outdoors, garden, go for a walk or picnic, build a den or take some hobbies outside such as reading, drawing or exercise.
Get cooking – We have to eat and cooking is a great life skill for young people to learn! This is a great way to bring in some teamwork, a bit of variety and a definite sense of achievement for your children when they sit down as a family to enjoy something they have helped to make! Baking is also a great way to spend some time too! Another activity which can be great for our brain chemicals, as it can bring a sense of achievement, which boosts the hormone dopamine.
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Billie Burnett is a psychodynamically trained counsellor and an accredited member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. She has been in practice since 2017 and has worked with an array of presenting problems over the years to build experience.
Completing additional training to ensure clients are supported to the highest standard, Billie has completed training to work with:
- Couples for marital and relationship counselling
- Children (over the age of 11)
- Adolescents
She is passionate about making mental health support as accessible as possible. Today you will find this website includes online self-help courses and well-being workshops. For assistance please contact me.