10 rewarding activities parents/guardians can do with ‘vacists’

Here’s how you can give your child, sibling or fellow vacists a memorable holiday before school resumes for them.

‘Vacation’ is locally applied to the extended holiday period of senior four candidates and senior six candidates after completing national examinations. This period can go up to eight months for senior six students as they wait to join institutions of higher learning.

It is a time to relax, hang out with friends, have fun and get in sorts of trouble. It is also a good opportunity to spend time with them doing life activities which are good for their self-esteem and general well-being.

Here’s how you can spend quality time with youngsters.

Physical stuff

1. Invite them to your workout.

Healthy living and fitness are popular lifestyles across social media and in real life. Enlisting them as a workout partner or accountability partner could boost your morale not only to impart knowledge but inspire them as well. Going on walks, cycling, swimming, gym, and home workouts, among others.

2. DIY projects.

There are thousands of channels that teach people how to maximise space, and household items, recycle and create epic projects.

3. Help them start a channel.

There are a lot of misguided attempts at getting social capital using platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and podcasts. While a good following is ideal, the kind of approach or content may not be sustainable or for the right reasons. Supporting these young ones to get their social media channels growing is a worthwhile effort.

4. Online learning.

Recruiting them in a course suited to them and collaborating with them is a great way to instil an online learning culture. Personally taking online courses can be one of the most challenging things. It requires discipline and a little push can go a long way.

Talk to them, discuss with them and cut out time to learn with them.

5. How to spend leisure time.

Travel is one of the hottest activities in the country. Along with it come opportunities to do business, meet people, see the world, and spend time with loved ones. Take them on trips or bring them along on journeys. Support their fun time activities, show them around wholesome places and introduce them to good environments.

6. Talk to them.

Engage them in conversation, and talk to them about their social lives, dating and friendships. Open lines of communication and listen to their challenges, hopes, and needs, among other things.

7. Give them alone time.

Remember, it is their holiday. So let them do what they want. You can establish healthy boundaries like curfew time, family time, chores, and other productive routines. Outside of that, let them explore with your support in tow.

8. Privacy.

Learning about privacy is probably one of the most important things in the age of social media.

9. Economic skills

This could be in the form of employing them in the family business or getting them started with a business or occupation.

10. Handy skills.

These include: fixing things around the house, doing house chores, learning a new language, cooking, and recipes, among others.