Working parents are already lining up child care plans for the summer. While they’re at it, educators say all parents of school-age children should also plan for preventing the dreaded summer slide.
The "summer slide" is the information and skills children forget during summer break from the end of one school year to the beginning of the next school year. The education slide is well-documented by numerous studies, which were synthesized in the 1990s by Harris Cooper, then a professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He found that children could forget one to three months of learning over the summer.
While some people are aware of the learning loss, many aren't aware that children tend to gain weight more rapidly when they're out of school. Harris Cooper found that kids, especially those at risk for obesity, gain as much weight during the summer as they do all school year.
What can parents do to keep young brains and bodies engaged in healthy ways over the summer? Try these tips to maximize your children's health and happiness during the break: