letting your kids be kids 🌻

Our lives with children are hectic, and it feels like the pace ramps up every year. But in preparation for rich, healthy adulthood, what happened to the lost but sacred little world of childhood?

To me, far more important than following their “passions” in work/school/sport related activities… is experiencing seasons of rest + play during childhood.

I know this is counter culture and so intimidating when everyone else is “using the time off to get ahead”.

I want to use my platform to create support and community around this idea of preserving childhood and keeping summer break an actual break for kids and their mamas. You only get 18 summers to be a kid and you only get 18 summers to enjoy with your child at home. Let’s not let it go by too fast. 🌻

✨THE SACRED CHILDHOOD CHALLENGE:✨

1. Take one summer “off from everything.”

❤️No hard and fast rules here. You define how long your summer is. You + your child define what extra you can “go on vacation from” and come back to in a few weeks or months.

Challenge yourself to create that nest around your child for one summer of their childhood.

You’ll always look back and know you gave them one, *quintessential* Huck Finn + Tom Sawyer catching crawdads in the creek all day, playing ball until dark with the neighbor kids, putzin around bored in the backyard, eating ice cream on the curb, running barefoot in sprinklers, looking at stars instead of screens, chillin with mom + dad summer.

*note: equip yourself with @janetlansbury podcast for support on allowing/acknowledging all the feelings and emotions your child will likely purge as a result of the slowing down. She is such a guiding light for me in parenting. I see the fruit of her work in our home every day. 👌🏽

JOIN ME IN BRINGIN’ BACK #SACREDCHILDHOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR MODERN WORLD.

Use the #sacredchildhood to share what your break looks like in your family and offer support to other mamas slowing down their summer with their kids.

Tag me in your stories so i can share my favorites!

We can do this. ✨

[musicalemily]

I have homeschooled my children, even when nobody knew what homeschooling was. We have lived, as you describe, a no schedule, no scheduled activities, kind of life. Freedom. That is the word for what you have just described. Free. It will serve your children well. They will have, and hold onto, this philosophy, their entire lives. You, and your husband, will see, that this life, will set your children free. They may not know the gift you are giving them now, but they will, as time goes by. I wish you well.

[DoodlesKitchen]

I love this! We forget how calming it can be to sit with the quietness of life, listen to nature and be with each other without having to fill each second with things to do.

[bethw]

I think I need a summer off as well 😅 love this idea ❤

[wlh]

Amen . Best time spent with my kids is when we r just in nature and connecting to our surroundings.

[n.ee.h]

I was literally just thinking how kids grow so fast and then opened YouTube to see this. God is good! 💚

[KNC]

And mamas get to take the summer off too Take the summer "off" from the stress and burdens and "must- dos". What if when we gave our kids permission to have a break this summer, we took a break WITH them . I might be preaching to myself here but I feel a constant pull of what I need to be DOING as a mom instead of just being the mom and being present . Which is why I love your videos I wanna play in the sprinklers and swing on the swings 🤣 dare I mentally give myself a break this summer the thought thrills me !

[ShannB]

I took this advice to heart, I truly did. I planned an entire summer to have no where to be but yet every where to go with my 2 young daughters. It was the biggest gift, I could have given us all and a summer I will cherish my entire life. It was exactly what we all needed. It was a scared childhood summer

[Beautyandthegeek]

I love this. Summer should be boring that’s the whole point!!! My kids have been doing some online learning like dance, language and art but other than that we’re not doing anything especially big vacations or things that require a lot from me. Our summer has been park days, movie nights and lots of reading books.

[otsfwfh]

Being a work out of the home full time mom I have missed so much .. all of you stay at home moms I wish I could have had your experiences .. you have it so good but yet you probably feel so lost .. one day you will see how lucky you are .. your husband or significant other probably makes enough money so you can stay home .. I don’t know .. it doesn’t matter .. I just know I can’t go back in time ... I didn’t get to bake bread and go to the park on a Monday morning.. I had to work outside of the home .. I still do .. I can only hope my son understands one day .. his mom had to work! 😢

[ruthiespotion]

Been feeling this and now with my oldest (6) officially in summer break, I can say his spontaneous Gemini ideas have made each day full! There are many snd I mean many parents I know who book their children’s entire summer with camps, because they have to work and/want the help. It breaks my heart💗

[myriahbuck]

I’ve literally been sweating this. My small children have been ill for a while and their immune systems are just now getting some peace (immune compromised). I don’t want to bury them in activities this summer. I want to connect with them. I do work 7;30-4 (mama has to work- some times you have to have a plan B in a family), and I am grateful to have a great career but I miss my kids. I’m in health care and that’s what I need to do to get on my feet, but eventually I would like to figure a career I can do nomadic. I want my kids to be free this summer!! Not attach their meaning to how fast they can run or how many goals they make. Just be.

[stephanieharless]

Aww I love this video with your beautiful family. It can be very hard for momma's who work out of the home to feel like they can achieve this - so please don't be discouraged! I think as mom's in all different kinds of situations can be hard on ourselves. I know I am sometimes. We all do it differently and the best way we can 😊. I am actually a SAHM so I feel so blessed to be able to have so much unstructured time with my lovies. And there is definitely a need for an encouraging video like this for SAHMs because I know others that are worried about forward progress instead of letting kids be kids 🩷. But on the other hand, sometimes camps and stuff like that can be the most exciting part of summer instead of normal daycare etc.
Keep up the good work on your lovely videos! And keep up the good work all Momma's out there. You are doing great! 😍

[yn]

That's exactly what I did this summer. I let my child enjoy complete freedom and lack of program! One summer off of everything! My intuition was right! Thank you! ❤

[sable]

I’ve done this - tried to go with the flow and not scheduled anything - and it only led to burnout by August. Kids (and Mom’s) need structure. So, I would only abandon every organized activity again if Mary Poppins is coming in to tag team with me! 😂😅 A few fun summer camps or activities helps so much for our family!

[giftsofspring]

I guess, this is just the most natural and overall good thing. Letting kids time and space to figure out life

[briannalarsen]

I think this is SUCH an important message. I had these intentions for this Summer but June has been its own roller coaster and I'm trying to get off of it. 😅 I crave these slow moments. Even on our busier days, we've been making time for "read aloud time", chalk and bike riding just in front of our house. It's been helping keep the balance I feel. Aiming to do more and thankful that when we go camping (which is often), it's a completely slower pace like this in nature .💚

[thelittlehomeaustralia]

yep....and then get inspired and ditch the school completely.... ;-)

[Meynevia]

Thank you for that Madisun.
We are planning to go to the uk in this summer to creat a space for us to be.
I think and feel that it’s all depends on the space you have around you and within you❤

[ThePreciousLife]

You make the most beautiful videos! 💗 What kind of camera do you have? Do you have an Amazon affiliate link? Your videos are so relaxing! 💕

[kathryn]

Unfortunately my daughter’s summer vacation from school starts the last week of June. I wish we could just ditch the last of these 7 school days without getting in trouble (or the fear of it)! 🙁