How to Keep Kids Active During Heat Waves

While summer might mean no more school and plenty of free time to spend outdoors, it can also come with some problems. The major problem of summer, especially in Texas, is dealing with heat waves. While warm spells can mean wonderful things like spending all day in the pool, there are problems associated with too much heat. Kids can easily become dehydrated and can experience heat exhaustion or sunburns. To protect your kiddos but keep them entertained, we have a couple of tips for you to follow!

While we all want our kids to be active, movies are a great way to keep your kids entertained for a few hours in a well air-conditioned movie theater. Typically, summers mean blockbusters, and there are always a few kids’ movies out in time for summer vacation. If you don’t want to take your kids to the theater, an at-home movie experience to calm them down in your air-conditioned home before bed is equally as good! You probably shouldn’t have kids watch a movie a day, but once a week isn’t bad and you can even incorporate activities related to the movie if you wanted!

Another great way to keep the kids cool and entertained is to take a road trip! We’re not talking about a several-day road trip here, just a couple of hours or so. Driving around in your air-conditioned car searching for a new ice cream shop is a perfect way to have cool, contained fun in the summer sun. If you would rather not be in the car for too long, see if there are any ice cream or snow cone stands close to your house that you can bike to. That way, you get exercise and ice cream all at once! You can even take a drive to a nearby lake or river and teach your kids how to fish and swim.

Night time in the summer is the best time to spend outdoors. Make a mini campground in your own backyard but make sure that your fire is contained. You can make smores and spend time with your kids as you trade scary (but not too scary) ghost stories! A mini campground can also get your kids involved in learning how to set up a tent correctly, or even spend an evening looking up at the stars. Encourage their curiosity by explaining what stars are or as much as you know about the other planets. This way, your kids can get educated while they enjoy the warm nights with you!

Another great summer activity for your kids when it is too hot to go outside is to get them into reading. Most local libraries have summer reading programs where kids can be motivated to read books on a list, or complete several books in a row in return for prizes. The motivation to keep reading is always rewarding and keeps their minds active during a period that most kids try to forget everything they learned during the school year.

Of course, if you still have to work during the summer or you want your kids to be involved in physical activities or summer camps, the YMCA always offers ways to keep your kids entertained and extremely active during the summer months. We know that heat can be a problem, but we ensure that your kids are either learning or keeping their bodies active throughout the summer!