I envisioned summer with lots of trips to the park and sitting on a blanket in the grass reading a book while my kids played peacefully. But I’ve discovered that it’s hard to read a book when you are looking up every few seconds to see where the kids have wandered off too. And when I see my youngest trying to climb the play structure, my book is instantly abandoned. I do love getting outside though since my girls have a lot more freedom to roam and it’s generally less cluttered than my house. But I worry about them getting too much sun exposure. I use sunscreen and hats but the hats don’t always stay on.
And even if they’re not getting sunburnt, the heat can make them grumpy and sick. Like last week when I took the kids to the park. About halfway around the path Sweet Pea started crying. I couldn’t calm her down, not even when I tried to breastfeed her. She rarely ever cries so I think it was the combination of being overtired and hot. I didn’t want to leave her screaming in the stroller so I was forced to walk 15 minutes back to our car holding her while attempting to push the double stroller. Thank goodness, I went with a friend who helped me out. Sweet Pea calmed down once we got home and she breastfed and was able to have a nap in her crib. The experience makes me nervous to stray too far from home though. So much for trips to the beach.
It was super hot again today but we turned the sprinkler on to cool down the kids. Sweet Pea avoided the sprinkler at all costs, which is odd because she loves the shower. She was perfectly content to play in the play house. Princess on the other hand loved it. I was worried about the water rinsing off all her sunscreen.
This intense heat wave should pass soon and then I’ll be able to go on walks and stay outside longer. In the meantime, I’m very thankful for air conditioning. If only I could have the space of the outdoors with the convenience of a gigantic air conditioner.
What are some of your favourite things to do in the summer? How do you make sure your kids don’t get too much sun exposure?
I love going to the park, but you're right, it's tough trying to keep an eye on the kiddos! When I take my niece and nephew, I feel like I am constantly on guard and when we finally pile up into the car, I'm just as exhausted as them!
ReplyDeleteAs for keeping my son from too much son--I have a UV Skinz shirt to help protect him as well as we seek shade (or bring a beach umbrella) and slather on all that sunscreen! Too bad our son won't wear a hat! Skin cancer runs in our famiy, so we are super careful with our son.
Looks like you are doing a great job staying cool!
ReplyDeleteThose play structure scare the crap outta me especially with my toddler. I don't get why they don't think about that when making those.
ReplyDeleteThere is no rest at the park ~ even with my girls who are a little bit older. They want me to be right there as they go down every slide, and push them on the swings. Though sitting down with a book, sounds nice, I know that would never happen for me ;)
ReplyDeleteWe seem to live outside in the summer, and we just slather on the sunscreen and try to use sunhats. We do tend to take lots of breaks, though, and head inside to cool off :)