Simple Summer Health Tips for Parents + Kids
Summer brings longer days, travel, camps, pool days, BBQs, and schedules that rarely look anything like the rest of the year. I don't think we need to fight that. Some of the best parts of summer happen because our routines loosen a little.
A few simple foundations can help everyone feel good while still leaving plenty of room for summer fun.
1. Stay ahead of hydration
Kids can get busy playing and forget to drink, especially on hot days. Keep water readily available and encourage regular breaks for drinking throughout the day.
For long, hot days or lots of sweating, an electrolyte drink can sometimes be helpful. Fruit, popsicles, watermelon, smoothies, and other water-rich foods count toward hydration too.
If plain water isn't exciting, try adding berries, citrus, cucumber, or mint—or freeze fruit into ice cubes.
2. Make sun protection easy
Sunscreen is only one part of sun protection. Hats, rash guards, lightweight clothing, shade, and taking breaks from direct midday sun can all help reduce UV exposure.
For sunscreen, choose a broad-spectrum product that your family will actually use consistently. Mineral sunscreens containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide are good options for families who prefer them.
And parents: don't forget yourself. Face, lips, ears, chest, and hands are easy places to miss.
3. Keep food simple
Summer eating doesn't have to be perfect.
Aim for regular meals with protein, fiber, healthy fats, and plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables—and let ice cream and BBQs be part of summer too.
For days at the park, camp, or on the road, easy options like fruit, nuts or seeds, vegetables and hummus, hard-boiled eggs, or crackers with a protein can prevent everyone from becoming ravenous by the end of the day.
If travel tends to cause constipation for someone in your family, paying attention to hydration, fiber, movement, and regular meals can help keep digestion moving.
4. Let movement be fun
One of my favorite things about summer is that movement happens naturally. Kids swim, bike, hike, climb, run through sprinklers, and stay outside longer.
Adults can benefit from that too.
Go for the bike ride. Jump in the lake. Walk after dinner. Play whatever ridiculous game your kids invented in the backyard.
Exercise doesn't always have to look like exercise.
5. Protect sleep—without obsessing over it
Later sunsets and summer activities can make bedtime drift, and that's okay. But kids still benefit from enough sleep and some consistency around bedtime and waking.
Blackout curtains can be surprisingly helpful during our very long Pacific Northwest summer evenings. A familiar wind-down routine also gives the body a cue that the day is ending, even when it still looks like afternoon outside.
You don't need to preserve the school-year schedule perfectly. Just try not to let everyone's sleep completely unravel.
6. Parents need care too
It's easy for summer to become an endless exercise in packing snacks, finding goggles, driving to camps, applying sunscreen, and making sure everyone else is having a magical childhood.
You count too.
That doesn't have to mean adding an elaborate self-care routine to your summer schedule. It might mean taking your coffee outside before everyone wakes up, going for a walk, making yourself an actual lunch instead of eating what the kids left behind, or booking the appointment you've been putting off.
Enjoy your summer
There isn't a perfect summer wellness routine.
Drink water. Eat real food most of the time. Get outside. Protect your skin. Move your body. Get some sleep.
And have the ice cream.
Health should support your life—not become another thing that keeps you from enjoying it.
Medical Disclaimer
The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your healthcare provider regarding questions about your health or before making changes to your healthcare plan.
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