Trusting ourselves as parents

Helm: Routine and Trust

This month has moved fast. Really fast.

Between end of year celebrations, moving campuses, sports schedules, traveling, and switching gears into summer mode, routine felt almost impossible to hold onto. But somewhere in the middle of all the chaos, there were also reminders of trust, resilience, community, and what children actually need from us during seasons of change

The art of year-round parenting

Summer is here! As is the realization that scheduling pace may slow down but somehow parenting seems to pick up! More time at home, less structure, and more sweaty meltdowns :)

We get the invaluable pleasure to continue to be the anchors for our children 24/7 during a season of fun and adventure (between the lines: chaos and lack of structure).

It is a true honor to be in charge of our children’s childhoods. We are what they will remember! Late-night ice creams past bedtime, catching fireflies in the backyard (has anyone else read that they are disappearing?), impromptu road trips, and adventures. Many of us hold summer memories near and dear to our hearts. To think we are providing our children with what they will one day remember fondly… sigh. Tug at my heartstrings!

And the summer pace may slow down, but along with loosening routines and dismantling of structures comes a need for more guidance and more parenting. Developmentally, children greatly benefit from unstructured time. It taps into the skillset of learning to be resourceful when they are bored, to be creative when they are stumped, and to be independent when they often heavily rely on us to know what to do next.

Investing your parenting time in establishing your freedoms within your limits early in the summer will set everyone up for success. The pickup in parenting will pay off! Setting clear expectations for what is available to them during different parts of the day will help them become more independent. Reviewing each day’s activities (perhaps with a visual guide they can refer to throughout the day) will help them answer their own questions of “what are we doing?” or “when do we go to what’s next?”

Our routines may look different during summer, but if your expectations and boundaries don't change, then you just might crack the art of parenting year-round :D

And Just Like that…Summer

One moment it was “hello spring,” and now suddenly it’s “hello summer.”

Our routine got completely shaken up this spring. Between tornado warnings, end-of-the-year projects, learner presentations, weekend sports, packing up an entire campus, and preparing for a huge new chapter, life felt a little wild there for a while. Add our big family international adventure to Peru, and honestly, we’ve barely had time to catch our breath.

But somewhere in all of the chaos, something really beautiful happened, too.

As we packed up our campus and moved into our new space, our community showed up in the most incredible way. Families, kids, educators, grandparents, friends — everyone jumped in to help. From loading minivans and trailers to carrying shelves and boxes, to cutting the ribbon at the new campus… it all meant so much. It reminded me, once again, that community matters. People matter. Showing up for one another matters.

And through all of this change, do you know who handled it the best?

The kids.

Because kids are adaptable.
They are resilient.
They figure things out along the way.

Meanwhile, it’s usually us parents pulling our hair out trying to hold everything together and prepare for the next routine.

And now here comes summer.

Are we fully ready for the new rhythm? Probably not. But we’ll do our best, just like we always do.

This summer, let the kids be kids.

Let them slow down.
Let them see you slow down, too.

Go on evening walks.
Spend long afternoons at the pool.
Read books together.
Play board games.
Dance in the kitchen.
Stay outside a little longer.

Whatever your summer looks like, trust that your child is growing through all of it.

What gets me every single time is realizing we only get so many summers with our kids. I feel that deeply these days as my own girls get older.

So let’s make the best of it.

Lean into the new routine.
Trust yourself.
Trust your choices.
Trust that your child does not need perfection to thrive.

And know that you have an entire community behind you.

And I mean that.

We’ve got you.