Summer is upon us, even if the cool and rainy days here in Upstate NY belie it! Sunshine and summer mean one with when you have kids-WATER! Whether it is a tiny inflatable pool, the endless ocean or anything in between, kids & water just go together in the summer like peanutbutter and jelly. Juicy Juice and Huggies recognize that fact and want us all to have a fantastic, but safe & healthy summer water fun with our families.
What are some ways to stay safe with the kiddos (and adults!)? I know these are probably obvious, but let’s reiterate 🙂
#1-Stay hydrated! In the Army they always told us that if you actually FEEL thirsty, you’ve waited to long! Little bodies need plenty of hydration, especially with all the running around they do. Remember-the best thing to hydrate with is water.
#2-Protect from the sun. I love the feel of sunshine on my skin after a long cold winter stuck inside-but I also know the dangers of too much sun. Keep heads and eyes covered with hats and uv protecting sunglasses (they even sell them at the dollar stores these days) and be liberal with the sunscreen. Remember sunscreen is supposed to be applied about 20 minutes BEFORE you go outside, and then reapplied every two hours, more frequently if you are in the water.
#3-Supervise. When folks are fooling around in the water, they need to be supervised. Swim only in approved areas with lifegaurds, or keep an eagle eye on kids & even adults. Remember, it is possible for a person to drown in just a few inches of water. And NEVER EVER DIVE INTO WATER UNTIL YOU’VE CHECKED THE DEPTH. My dad is an orthopedic surgeon, and you don’t want to know how many broken necks, and ruined lives he’s seen over the years from folks diving into water that looked deeper than it really was.
Now in honor of all this summer safety and fun, Huggies & Juicy Juice are giving me the opportunity to give away not one, not two, but three fantastic beach bags full of everything you need to have a great day at the beach.
Included are:
A “Dive Into Summer” Beach bag
Huggies Little Swimmers*
8 pk Juicy Juice Juiceboxes
Sippy cup*
2 beach towels
1pr kids sunglasses
1pr swimming goggles
1 sm inflatable beach ball
a mini beach first aid kit
6oz bottle SPF 50 spray on sunscreen
This contest runs from May 27th to June 2nd. Winners will be posted on June 3rd.
To enter just leave a comment with your best idea for frugal summer fun. Want to double your chances? Tweet or post (to facebook or your blog) about the contest and then come back and leave a second idea. All entries must include an email address (or a link to a profile containing a “contact me” page). If I can’t contact you, you can’t win! 3 winners will be chosen randomly.
*don’t let the Little Swimmers & sippy cup throw you. If you don’t have a little person in the house who needs them, I bet you know someone who does! If all else fails, donate them to your local women’s shelter.
Pack a pic-nic to have pool side, or at the park. This will save a family a fortune and allow them to enjoy the day, and even splurge on Ice Cream.
Visit the local Zoo during the weekdays or after hours. Many have reduced rates during “off Peak” times.
Shellie
Blog4Mom[at]att[dot]net
I’m a WAHM with 3 kids, spread out in ages, so my challenge is finding something we all can enjoy doing – frugally. One plan is to go to a different city park each Monday for a photo treasure hunt. We’ll bring our bikes/scooters and our cameras and after we’ve found all our items and had some exercise, I’ll treat them to a donut at a local bakery at the end.
malenalott[at]mac[dot]com
Since my little guy isn’t 1 yet my frugal tip for the summer is visit a friend who has a pool or try and find a hard plastic one on Freecycle.
zoiem (at) hotmail (dot) com
Spend time at the park! It’s great to be outside, get exercise and you can bring snacks from home easily!
Summer time is a great time to get out and play!! One great way to combine cleaning and fun at a $0 cost is to take your shower curtain liner that is lined with soap scum and take it outside and let the kiddies use it as a slip n slide with some dish soap. They will roll all over it and it will clean off the soap scum!!
Keri
grantessa@hotmail.com
I spend our summers taking advantage of the free summer programs around our area. We get involved with the library reading programs at the library. We go see the free summer kid movies at the theater in the next town where I have lots of errands to do each week. We see the movie but don’t get any snacks. We then have a cheap lunch at Target or Sam’s. The Snack Shops at these stores are places you can eat for cheap and the kids love eating there. Then they are happy during the rest of the day of errand running.
There are tons of free summer programs. Just ask around in your area.
My son isn’t old enough for this yet, but as a child, I loved the summer reading program at the library. I got to mentally travel to all of the different places in my books, and at the end, I got a bag full of prizes. There’s nothing like being rewarded for having fun!
The favorite water activity at our house are spray bottles filled with water. With kids 1.5 and almost 3 they play for hours with them and on the mist setting it doesn’t matter if they point them at each other.
I give my 3 year old (and sometimes the neighbors, too) a bucket of water and a paintbrush and let them paint the driveway. They can keep going for hours.
julieadp at gmail
We love the free summer concerts and Shakespeare in the park.
I send the kids outside to hunt for bugs or to pick certain weed flowers to make me a bouquet (and get them out of my yard).
I cool them down with kool-aid popsicles made with 3/4 the water of regular kool aid mix.
We enjoying taking rides in the mountains…pack a lunch, watch the wildlife and you have a wonderful family time for very cheap.
A SANDBOX!! It’s very cheap and provides lots and lots of entertainment -of the kind that Mom does not have to plan and execute! FAV sandbox toys? kitchen items!
I like to frequent the dollar store for cheap craft items for my 3 year old. He loves to do crafts and it is an easy way to keep him occupied for a while.
jandrmom2009@gmail.com
Kids love creative and imaginative play; something I think we are really lacking. Take them to the woods or somewhere where there are no obvious play structures. Let them create their own play, have a family picnic, make up stories… You don’t need lots of “things”.
Thanks for the giveaway.
Robin
cokelush at gmail
My best idea for frugal summer fun is swimming. We’re in our pool everyday now that we have one, but even in our last house, we filled the baby pool, got out the water toys and COOLED OFF for cheap!
a sand box in the shade offers hours of fun if they have a bunch of toys.