Why You Should Live Summer Like a Kid Again

… and how to do it:

Summer for a little kid could be the definition of a carefree, happy life.

After that last bell rings on the last day of school, you’re suddenly free to talk and laugh with your friends as much as you want instead of being quieted and told to sit still on a plastic chair.

You ditch the annoying winter coats and start living in shorts and swimsuits.

You go from a structured schedule to an endless stream of free time.

Summer as a little kid means ultimate freedom. It’s sunshine, sleepovers, and playing outside every day and night with the neighbor kids. It’s glow sticks, rolling down grassy hills, blowing out dandelions, and bare feet.

I don’t know about you, but the majority of my happiest memories from when I was a kid are from summertime. This summer I am doing my best to view life and move through my days just like I did as a kid, and I think you should too.

Here’s how:

Live in the Moment:

The reason why summer was so good wasn’t necessarily because of what you were doing, it was because of your perspective on it.

Hula hooping wasn’t the kicker that made your summer amazing.

It was because you were hula hooping and that was it. Your mind wasn’t in a million places worrying about work, what you will do next, or if other people were doing something cooler than you. You were just there- living in the moment you were in. You felt the sun on your skin without fear of aging skin, and conversations with your friends were probably filled with positivity and far from gossip and negativity.

In every moment this summer- whether you’re doing something off-the-charts-cool or it is just a simple moment- be fully there.

Do the Activities You Used to Love:

I guarantee there are at least a handful of activities you loved as a kid that you would still love now. Definitely not all of them, but quite a few.

From arts and crafts, and swimming, to goofing around with friends there are many things you did as a kid that is still fun now. You might have to “adultify” some things, but sometimes the nostalgia is enough to make it enjoyable.

You could adultify almost any childhood activity. Using crayons to color and watercolor paintings with the sun in the corner, might have become coloring books for adults and elaborate paintings. Friendship bracelets might have turned into crocheting, and maybe your walks are just walks now, not a way to get to the playground.

All of that is great, its the natural course of life. We grow up and without even trying, our preferences change. But every once in a while, let yourself do things just like you were a kid again.

Some ideas:
– Go to the pool. You must go go fully underwater and be in the water for more time than you’re out of the water. Extra points if you wear goggles.
– Do sidewalk chalk and make art. Also play hop scotch.
– Go to the park with your friends and play groundies and any other playground games you used to play.
– Get ice cream from the ice cream truck
– Slip and slide. Personally, I think this one should be adultified because it is way more fun to use a giant tarp, soap, and a large hill than the classic slip and slides you would buy.
– Water balloon fight
– Nerf gun fight
– Makes s’mores

Prioritize Fun:

Picture this: you’re 10 years old and it’s 9:30 on a July morning. You’re eating a bowl of cereal when your parent hands you a list of chores. You had a perfect day planned of swimming, water balloon fights, slip and slides, riding bikes, and video games, and you’re wondering how you’re going to fit these chores into your packed schedule. One look at your parent and you know you are not leaving the house until it’s done, so you get up and do it.

You throw your bowl in the dishwasher and bolt to your room to make your bed and tidy it up. You run from the washing machine to watering the plants, and all you can think about is all the fun you’re going to have later. The fear that your friends will get the the pool before you and start having fun without you makes you move even faster.

You moved on autopilot with nothing but fun on your mind. The idea of procrastination was bonkers because all it meant was that it would take you longer to get to the good part.

You had responsibilities as a kid (obviously not nearly as many as you do now), but you never let anything get in the way of you having a good time. You prioritized fun in every decision you made and this typoe of motivation kept your life moving from one happy moment to the next.

This summer, try prioritizing fun like a little kid. Don’t stop working hard or taking care of yourself, but don’t let that take up the majority of your time. Schedule in time for fun if you have to. Even if your schedule is borderline full, find a time for fun. Let the fun keep you motivated to get your stuff done and remind you to not procrastinate.

Let Yourself be Care-Free:

Kids just don’t give a sh** about anything.

They wear mismatched outfits without caring if anyone notices and steal the last cookie with zero shame. They don’t care about how loud they are when they’re busting up with their friends, they just want to hear the next funniest thing and keep on laughing.

For far too many people, chasing down the ice cream truck and enjoying a big ol’ ice cream cone turned into stress around food and prioritizing a “summer body” as they got older. If this happened to you, remind yourself that when you talk badly about yourself you’re also talking about younger you. The kid who only wanted to be happy and was filled with nothing but love. That kid doesn’t deserve to be talked badly about, and neither do you.

Think back to a day at the pool when you were a kid. Memories of doing cannon balls to “accidentally” splash your brother, getting ice cream during adult swim, having tea parties at the bottom of the pool, and wearing goggles with zero shame probably come to mind. Did you ever once notice how your hair looked (except when you did the George Washington thing with your hair, of course), or how your body looked in a swimsuit?

Try to imagine how little you would feel when you got invited to go to the pool with your friends. Did you jump up and down and cross your fingers there would be a slide, or did your heart sink because you dreaded putting on a swimsuit? I’m going to guess it was closer to the first one.

When you went to the pool as a kid, you prioritized fun and didn’t give much thought to anything else. Because of that, you have a boat load of memories at the pool that make you happy.

Somewhere along the journey of growing up, you might have discovered the world isn’t as kind as it should be and you accidentally started taking out the hate and negativity on your own self. Mean kids, ignorant comments from adults, social media, and everything in between filled you with too many doubts about yourself and made you hate parts of yourself you probably didn’t even notice when you were a kid.

I know it’s easier said than done, and it definitely won’t happen overnight, but try to let some of these worries go. Try to look at the world through the eyes of a kid. A kid who is psyched on everything, chases a good time, and doesn’t care too much about anything else. Look at life the way you did as a little kid, because you were so much happier.

It is entirely possible to create the summer of your dreams. A summer filled with nothing but happiness, inner peace, love, and good memories. Make your younger self proud.