Keep kids safe and happy this summer

April 17, 2019 | Brian Mills

University of Houston-Clear Lake Campus Recreation and Wellness Director Brian Mills offers six tips on making the most of summer with family. 

Summer in Texas is a great time family fun because of all of the amazing opportunities there are in the greater Houston area. From the beaches of Galveston to the Sea Center Texas to the Houston Zoo to Sam Houston State Park in Huntsville, families have plenty of activities from which to choose. But taking part in some of these means dealing with the weather, specifically the heat and humidity.

Having two young daughters who always want to be active and be outdoors, I know it can sometimes be a struggle to balance the fun and excitement of being outdoors with the need to be aware of the risks involved  that come with extended periods of time outdoors. Here are a few of the best tips for keeping kids active in the summer time despite the glaring sun and buzzing mosquitoes.

Safety first

Sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, bug spray, and plenty of water and popsicles are a must. Kids don’t seem to focus on their need for these things, except for the popsicles, so as a parent, you have to continually remind them about sunburns and the importance of drinking water. At my house, we buy lots of the freezer pops and keep them in our garage freezer. We make sure they have at least one full bottle of water before we go outside and drink one full bottle every 30 to 45 minutes. We also let them get popsicles as needed and use that as break time in the garage with fans and chairs to rest. When we go to the beach, we re-apply sunscreen every hour and require them to drink a small bottle of water every 30 minutes. 

Neighborhood play time

My family usually spends 30-60 minutes a day outside playing at our house during the school year. We are lucky to live on a street with several other kids in the same age range as our daughters, so when one neighborhood kid is outside, they all want to be outside. But during the summer, we try to be selective with our outdoor time. We try to get them outside earlier in the morning and later in the evening so they can actually enjoy their time. We also have some larger trees on our cul-de-sac and the parents will generally park underneath the shade or we will put up a pop-up tent and run some extension cords for fans.

Day trips

We plan out our day trips to the zoo, museum or beach so we can make sure to be there when it is slightly more comfortable to be outdoors. Any zoo trip between middle of May and September starts as soon as the gates open and we are gone by lunch. Beach trips for our family usually involve morning beach time from around 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then again from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. We try to avoid being at the beach at the hottest parts of the days and use that time for indoor activities or trips to other options in the coastal area. Some museums  involve a lot more planning. We don’t mind places being crowded, but we try to get to these places in non-peak times so we can enjoy the exhibits or activities without the massive crowd.

Summer passes and Groupon

My wife searches for discounts at local entertainment places in our area. We annually purchase the AMF Bowling Summer Pass for about $35 per person which allows a person to bowl up to three games per day for free; that essentially pays for itself in two trips. We bowl two or three times per week during the summer. We apply the same logic to Splashtown passes. Since we live close to Splashtown, we don’t spend money on food and drinks and plan our trip to end at lunch. But many times, if you do not live as close, you can pack snacks to hold your family over until you get home. We also look for coupons to NASA Johnson Space Center, museums, kid events and festivals, and others through Groupon or the Houston City Pass. Many times, we partner with friends on these summer passes so we can go as a group. An old-school arcade near our house will become part of our summer regimen of activities. Next door to that is a kids “bake shop” where they can learn to bake desserts and pastries. We have been on the look-out for discounts or coupons for those places so we can add them to the list of things we can do on a regular basis.

Planned indoor time

We do spend plenty of time indoors during the hot, summer months. As early as December, my wife and I are already planning for the following summer. She goes hunting for summer supplies so she can get discounts on coloring books, markers, paint, paper, projects, games, cards and everything else she can find. We keep a stockpile of arts and crafts activities in boxes hidden in our house until it is time for the summer festivities. My wife is a teacher and she often plans our children’s days like a regular school day to keep them on a schedule. We do one or two family game nights where we play Monopoly or Sorry or Pie in the Face among other games. We also are a family of movie buffs. We love watching movies together, and I usually make a summer movie watch list that we can all enjoy. We purchase the AMC movie passes to get discounts on movie tickets, and we essentially see every kids movie and super hero movie that comes out. We try to do an outdoor movie in our yard a few times throughout the summer and invite the neighborhood families over.

Summer sports, summer camps, and family trips

My daughters really enjoy swimming, so the pool is an almost daily ritual. They both participate in our neighborhood swim team, and compared to private swim teams, this is perfect for us. They have swim practice every morning or afternoon for about eight weeks with six or seven meets and we are done with that by mid-June. After swim team is over, we go to the neighborhood pools at least three to four times per week. We don’t play organized team sports much, but if you do, I would caution you on getting your child overly involved. Many of those teams can create chaos on a schedule and being outside playing sports for multiple hours in a day can be risky if the kids are not taking care of themselves. So again, we insist on lots of sunscreen, water and snacks. My daughters are also very involved with Girl Scouts, so they attend one or two day camps or overnight camps throughout the summer. They love the time spent at camp because they get to do something outside their normal schedule and the Girl Scout leaders who put on these camps do an amazing job. My parents host “Cousin” Camp with my sister’s kids who are slightly older but they all are very close. Cousin camp is always a blast and usually lasts from three to six days where my parents (both former teachers) set up a camp schedule with shirts, trips and activities. It is really fun for all the grandkids attending. We also have our  family beach week with my wife’s family and there are roughly 10-12 cousins that are the same age as our girls, so this is a chaotic and hilarious couple of days. 

Summer is always a fun time for kids, but it can be added responsibility and planning for parents. Take advantage of the downtime when possible, be creative in how you spend that time, plan ahead and think about the peak times for places you are going. Be sure to bring lots of water, snacks and patience.