Picket Fence Post

Item#1: OK Free Play

The Boston Globe ran a great column this week by Derrick Z. Jackson extolling the benefits of letting kids play on their own without adults chasing them with bottles of Purell and micro-managing everything. Jackson quoted Susan Linn, Harvard psychologist and author of the book The Case for Make Believe, as saying, “In saving make believe, we are saving ourselves.”

Jackson added: “What it means is an America where boys and girls are encouraged to not use the screen as a first resort of socialization. The first resort becomes themselves, scripting fantasies on porches and yards, becoming their own heroes and heroines, or just sending a letter to their teddy bear.”

My childhood summers were marked with great flights of imagination ranging from re-enacting Star Wars scenes in our living room with my brother using his action figures and ships (I always had to be the Evil Empire . . . fill in your wisecrack here), creating myriad secret clubs with convoluted rules, and staging countless shows with my brother and neighbors in our driveway (anything from dancing and singing performances to puppet shows . . . in fact my first boyfriend told me he once paid ten cents to see a puppet show at my house.)

Item #2: Kid Ankle Woes, Update

The Girl, who has been plagued with ankle problems since this winter, is now sporting a hard, plastic ankle brace/air cast and will be doing so for many weeks. (That’ll be fun when it gets really hot and she starts whining about it.)

An orthopedist she saw this week told her to stop gymnastics — which means missing the gymnastics show next week for which we’ve already bought tickets and sparkly leotard — but added that she can play soccer while wearing the brace as long as she’s not in pain. As of this morning, her ankle was still ailing, so whether she’ll play her game on Saturday will be a game time decision. (I’m thinking, “No,” but then again, I tend to think that the world will not end if she sits out the remainder of the season for the sake of her long-term ankle health. She is only 9. But that puts me in the minority.)

To boost her spirits about missing the show, I bought her a bunch of Hannah Montana stickers to decorate her brace. Of course I’ll likely be regretting that move in about a week when the stickers start peeling and falling off and I’ll have to scrape the remnants away and buy more. What’s that they say about the best laid plans?

Item #3: Nine More Days ‘Til Summer Vacation

Nine. That’s how many days I have left to work from home in peace (or at least until 3:30 p.m.) before my workspace is invaded by three kids released from the bonds of school for the summer.

How do I handle working from home while they’re there in the summer? Bribes and threats.

Sure I could hire someone (I’m trying to find someone for a couple afternoons or mornings) to be here full-time, or sign them up for a bazillion camps, but I’m an adherent of the belief espoused in Item #1 above. Free play rocks and really helps spark their imaginations, though not always for positive ends. I don’t want to make them go to camps — which costs a fortune for three kids — when I’d prefer for them to go old school and learn how to occupy themselves on their own. (Full disclosure: I did ask them if they wanted to attend any camps, showed them a few options, but they’ve shown no interest.)

What I typically do to muddle through the summer as a productive writer and responsible child caretaker: I make some regular, standing appointments such as weekly library days, a weekly luncheon at a restaurant and going to the pool to which we belong in the afternoons. (I bring work with me if I need to, or work after the kids go to bed, fueling myself with massive amounts of caffeine.) However we only go to these things IF the kids have behaved in the mornings and have let me work. If the kids have not allowed me to complete my assignments, there’s no pool, no library, no special lunch out. Nada.

How does it work, here in the real world, not idealistically on paper? So-so.

I tend to get my moral support from Brian Basset’s syndicated comic, Adam @ Home where the dad, Adam, has three kids and works from home who always runs into trouble in the summer. This week, the comic strip has been featuring, “Adam’s Helpful Tips for Balancing Work and Family.” They’ve been hitting uncomfortably close to home.

The Wall Street Journal’s work-life blogger at The Juggle recently ran a post asking parents — mostly folks who work physically outside of the house — what they do during summer vacation.

How about you, Picket Fence Post readers, what do you do with the kiddos when school’s out?