• Create a flexible schedule: Chat with your manager and team to agree a realistic plan to manage your work hours and meetings around your children’s activities. Early mornings or late evenings can be productive times to get ahead with emails or catch up on projects.
  
  
• Utilise remote work options: If possible, take advantage of any hybrid or remote options and flexible working policies to stay at home when needed to work around your children.
  
  
• Share the load: They say it takes a village to raise a child! With that in mind, coordinate with your partner and/or other family members to share the childcare duties if you can. If you work part time, and have friends in a similar position, you could also get creative and take turns to entertain children on different days or sign up to activities with friends, and tag team on camp drop off/pick-ups. With many holiday camps only running during the core school-day hours, it’s not ideal for that 4pm meeting!
  
  

Plan a range of activities and get them involved in a local cause.

• Fun family activities at home: As well as planning a range of different low-cost and easy activities such as crafts and garden-based fun, you can use the time to get older children involved in meal preparation and practical chores to help take some of the pressure off. You can keep them busy while giving them a chance to earn some pocket money in the process – it’s a win-win!
  
  
• Volunteering: If you’d like your children to get involved in volunteering opportunities, there are lots of community-based initiatives, such as local beach cleans, on offer. These are a great way to get the children active for a good cause and they can see the immediate results of their efforts. You could even get their input into deciding what they’d like to do to make a difference in their community.
  
  
• Camps and other activities: When planning ahead and booking camps, I try to mix it up with sports, drama and outdoor adventure, which also helps give me clear time to structure my working day and deal with the unpredictable British weather! There are also lots of free community run groups. You could plan a play date to go on a treasure or pebble hunt, where people decorate and hide stones (Waterside Rocks is our local group). You could then add on a picnic or a visit to the local park or splash park with friends, if the sun is shining.
  
  
• Managing screen time: With the increase in available free time, managing screen time becomes another challenge. Scheduling specific times for screen use, such as a late afternoon ‘chill out’ movie time, setting clear boundaries and auto screen time limits can help reduce arguments. Make sure you also set aside plenty of breaks and opportunities for other activities as mentioned above.
  
  
• Look at social channels such as Pinterest for low-cost craft ideas or visit local libraries and Facebook groups for reading challenges and events to keep the family busy.
  
  
• Check out some of Hampshire’s seasonal walks
  
  
• Find out about groups for young people and families
  
  
• Go on a Forest adventure
  
  

• Set a budget: I would recommend spending time setting a budget to understand how much you can spend on activities and stick to it – it’s easy to get drawn into a friend’s exciting plans and all the potential events advertised. I usually work out the budget for childcare at various summer camps based on our typical after-school activity and usual clubs spend first. I then factor in any pre-booked holiday costs. This then identifies the remaining money we have available for days out.
  
  
• Plan free activities for kids: Look for free or low-cost options like picnics, walks, or visiting local parks and beaches. And, for longer trips, visiting family will help with keeping costs low and you’ll also benefit from support with entertaining the kids. I used some annual leave this year to catch up with family that live further away. It was good for us all to have a change of scenery where we could spend time connecting over board games and playing in the garden. We also visited the local park, the (free!) museum (so the kids learnt a bit about the history of the area too!), and the shops to pick out some treats.
  
  
• Find discounts and the best time to buy: Search for deals on local attractions or events. There are a lot of promo codes available on the internet and it’s usually cheaper to go as a family, or with friends, to make the most of group ticket discounts. Booking online in advance is often the most cost-effective way of buying tickets. We utilise annual tickets to help with days out (I ask for these for Christmas and birthday gifts), and I took advantage of a last minute Butlin’s deal to kick-off the summer holidays, but I also booked ahead for our main break, so that we’d secured a low cost deal and were able to spread the cost across the year.
  
  
• If you’re worried about money over the summer, our money and mental health toolkit can help with planning your finances.
  
  

• Schedule ‘me time’: Set aside regular time for activities you enjoy, whether it’s 10 minutes reading in the garden with a coffee, or pursuing a passion, it all helps to give you time to reset and breathe. I recently went for a swim with a friend which was a different and invigorating way to catch up and we both felt much more energised after. I also took a day at the weekend to join a Pilates intensive with other mums. This helped with connection, exercise and relaxation – something I find difficult to fit into my weekly summer schedule at home, but really helps to maintain positive wellbeing.
  
  
  
• Babysitting swaps: a practical way to make sure you get some personal time is to arrange a mutually convenient babysitting swap with friends or family so you can each enjoy time on your own, with friends or your partner. I find putting a date in the diary will make you commit, and it will also help to have something to look forward to.
  
  
  
• Actively practice self-care: Engage in self-care routines. This could be meditation or breathing activities, enjoying a relaxing bath with special oils or a face mask, getting an early night, or taking time out to exercise. All will help with keeping perspective and resetting after a busy week of juggling. I have also found it useful to join a working parent Facebook group which helps me stay accountable for this.
  
  
  
• Check out our guide to creating your own self-care box and watch our Content and Marketing Officer Issy building a self-care box.
  
  
  
• Everything feels better after a good night’s sleep – read our sleep toolkit for more information about how to help manage your sleep.