School holidays are a wonderful time to spend time with whānau. They can also be a challenging time when you’re having to juggle work and extended family commitments. The Mana Ake team have put together some ideas to help make this a fabulous time!

School holiday activities

Holidays can be a great time to relax, unwind, and catch up with family and friends.

All Right? boasts a great selection of school holiday activities for the whole family to enjoy.

Enjoying time together

During term time, we are often running around helter-skelter and have less time for togetherness.

All Right? has a stack of activities for families to enjoy together at home to strengthen connection and wellbeing.

Cooking with kids

It may be messy, but cooking with kids encourages healthy eating habits and introduces life skills.

Raising Children Network (Australia) shares ideas for cooking with kids and teenagers.

Building good family relationships

Children feel safe and secure when they have strong family relationships.

Raising Children Network (Australia) offers some great ideas for building positive family relationships.

“STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!”: Nine alternatives to yelling

Parenting can be tiring and frustrating, and when we are tired, we might resort to yelling at our children. But this just teaches them to scream back!

The Parenting Place has compiled nine practical strategies to get your child’s attention, without yelling.

Big emotions and resilience

Time with siblings during the holidays can be a good opportunity for children to practice managing big emotions and grow their resilience.

The Parenting Place describes how to use coloured zones to help children understand and process feelings – a key step in growing resilience.

Helping around the house

Establishing chores as part of your children’s routine takes time and energy, but it builds self-esteem, helps them deal with frustration, and teaches delayed gratification.

The Parenting Place offers practical advice on getting kids to help out with chores.

By Anna Ashby