Summer Isn’t for Workbooks—It’s for Life Skills

Summer hits and suddenly the internet is full of “keep your kids learning!” ideas that make you feel like you need to turn your kitchen into a STEM lab and your living room into a reading nook.
No thanks.

If you’re parenting a tween, I know what you actually want:
A child who can manage their emotions, stop losing every damn water bottle, remember they have practice at 6, and not scream like you’ve betrayed them when plans change.

Spoiler alert: that’s called executive functioning. And no, it’s not just about doing homework.

Executive functioning is basically your brain’s “get-your-life-together” system: planning, managing time, handling feelings, adjusting when stuff changes, and solving problems without turning everything into a full-blown crisis.

And summer?
It’s the perfect time to build those skills—without nagging, lectures, or some “parenting expert’s” 52-page printable.

Let me show you how.

1. Planning & Goal-Setting ("Why Didn't You Tell Me You Had That Due Tomorrow?")

Your tween isn’t lazy. Their brain is still learning how to think ahead and plan their time. Let them practice:

• Have them plan a day. Like, really plan it. “You’re in charge of Tuesday.” Meals, activities, chores—everything.
  
  
• Pick a summer project together. It could be redecorating their room, starting a YouTube channel, or learning to cook three real meals. The point? Break it down together. Give them space to fail and figure it out.
  
  

They don’t need more direction. They need more practice.

2. Time Management ("It’s Been Five Minutes" is a Lie)

Time means nothing to tweens. NOTHING.

• Let them make their own visual schedule for the day or week—blocks of time, not rigid hours. Let it be messy. Let it change.
  
  
• If they have activities, don’t remind them every time. Ask:
  “Hey, how are you planning to get ready for practice?”
  Get them thinking ahead. That’s the skill.
  
  

This is about ownership. Not perfection.

3. Emotional Regulation ("You Don’t Hate Your Life. You’re Just Hot, Hungry, and Hormonal.")

Puberty is HERE. Their bodies are changing. Their brain is under construction.
You’re not crazy—they’re just feeling everything more deeply.

• Normalize talking about emotions. Highs and lows. Get curious instead of correcting.
  
  
• Practice coping tools together. Deep breaths, walks, music, journaling, punching a pillow—whatever helps them ride the wave instead of drowning in it.
  
  

Reminder: Emotional regulation doesn’t mean they don’t feel. It means they learn what to do with what they feel.

4. Problem-Solving ("So... What’s Your Plan?")

Tween drama is real. But so is tween brilliance—when you let them think.

• Don’t jump in to fix. Ask: “What do you think you should do?”
  
  
• Do challenges together. Build a fort with weird rules. Solve a puzzle. Cook dinner with only what’s in the pantry.
  
  

They don’t need us to solve their problems. They need to learn how to struggle through them—safely, with support, but without us taking the wheel.

5. Flexibility ("I Know the Plan Changed. You're Not Dying.")

Tweens struggle hard with change. They want control but haven’t learned to roll with it yet.

• Let them experience low-stakes change. Cancelled playdate? Changed plans? Great. Let them sit with that frustration, talk about it, and adapt.
  
  
• Challenge them to try new things. A new genre of book. A different ice cream flavor. A different role in a group. Tiny shifts build big mental muscles.
  
  

We’re not raising rule-followers. We’re raising resilient humans.

Let’s Wrap This Up, Mom-to-Mom

Your tween isn’t behind. They’re practicing.

They don’t need more flashcards. They need reps in the real stuff:
Decision-making. Planning. Flexing. Feeling. Problem-solving.

And the best part? You don’t have to become a camp counselor or a brain coach.

Just do it alongside them. Ask better questions. Let go a little. Talk more.
Let summer be practice ground, not pressure cooker.

Your job isn’t to have a perfect plan.
It’s to be the safe space they get to grow inside of.

Want more real talk on raising tweens through the chaos of puberty and power struggles?

Come hang out with me.
We’re building strong, weird, wonderful humans over here—one beautifully messy middle school moment at a time.

Parenting is leadership. And you’re the leader she needs.