Summer as a family: conversations, reading and habits that leave a mark

The school year is over at last. It has been a long, intense few months, with some great moments and some uphill ones, learning inside and outside the classroom, tiredness building up… and now comes something we have all been waiting for: time.

Time to breathe, to stop watching the clock, to find each other again. Because summer is not just rest. It is also a chance to stop, observe and reconnect. With ourselves, with our children, with what really matters.

At Dragon American School we invite you to experience this summer as a real space for parenting and care. Without pointless demands. Without feeling that you have to make spectacular plans. Sometimes it is enough just to be there. To look. To listen. To read together. To pick up the conversations that were left unfinished during the school year.

Here are some ideas, grouped by topics that have been very present this year. We hope they inspire you for the summer. Or at least for an afternoon. A conversation. A walk.

1. Health and mental health: feeling well comes first

Sleeping well. Eating calmly. Going for walks. Doing nothing. Talking without hurrying. These basic things often slip away from us during the school year. And yet they are the foundation of everything else.

Sometimes you do not need to do anything extraordinary. Just create the conditions for good things to happen. A little more sleep. A little less noise. A little more body. A little less obligation.

Mental health starts there. In how the day begins. In how it ends. In how we eat. In how we listen.

2. Bullying: what you cannot see hurts too

It does not have to involve blows. Bullying sometimes hides in looks, in laughter, in silences. In leaving someone out. In saying nothing when something should have been said.

That is why talking about bullying at home is so important. Because what is named can be taken care of. Because when children know what is wrong, how the other person feels and what they can do… things change.

Silence never protects the one who is suffering. It protects the one who is doing harm.

And you can help a great deal just by asking, by telling them stories of your own, by looking them in the eye. Sometimes that is enough for them to tell you something they have been keeping to themselves for a long time.

3. Sexuality and porn: calling things what they are

Yes, we need to talk about porn. Because they have already seen it, or will see it soon, and most likely nobody has told them beforehand what it is they are seeing. Or why it has nothing to do with real life.

Porn is not a problem in itself. The problem is when it is their only reference for understanding desire, bodies and relationships. And when they watch it without context, without conversation, without anything to set against it. And before any real experience or conversation.

Talking about the body, pleasure, respect and real desire, not the performance kind, is a form of protection. But it is also a form of trust. It says: we can talk about this. No drama. No taboo. No guilt.

4. Social media: dopamine, screens and company

Not everything that happens on a screen is bad. But we need to know what lies behind every scroll, every video that hooks them. Social media is designed for exactly that: to hook. And it succeeds. Especially with teenage brains, which are so sensitive to novelty and instant reward.

And the sad thing is that the more connected they are, the lonelier they feel. Because looking at a screen is not being with someone. It is being distracted.

This summer, suggest phone-free days. Not as a punishment, but as a breather. And put your own phone away too. It is not about banning. It is about being present.

5. Reading, speaking, writing: language as a superpower

We are surrounded by artificial intelligence that writes, answers and generates ideas. But all of that works through language. And if you do not handle language well, you cannot make the most of it. You cannot direct it. You cannot think with it.

Now more than ever, being able to read well, write meaningfully, express yourself and understand what is being said… is a huge advantage.

And that takes practice. Reading a little every day. Writing, even if it is just a list. Talking, even without a clear goal.

And, above all, reading aloud to them. Even when they are older. Even when they can already read. That moment of the day when you read them a story in your voice, at your pace, with your presence, is much more than a cultural activity. It is oxytocin, it is attachment, it is memory. If they still want you to read to them… keep going. Never stop.

6. September as a beginning, not a threat

The last days of August can be lived with anxiety. Or they can be lived with affection. With intention. Even with joy.

Getting ready for the new school year is not just making a list of supplies. It is inviting them to look forward to what is coming. Choosing a nice notebook. Checking that the computer works. Adjusting the backpack. Buying some fall clothes. Thinking together about which after-school activities they will do. Which sport they want to try this year.

It is also time to gradually return to more sensible schedules. Going to bed earlier. Eating at home. Tidying up their personal space a little.

And above all, talking about what lies ahead as something positive. Seeing old friends again. Making new ones. Seeing their teachers again and meeting new ones. Starting a new stage. Learning things they do not know yet. Taking another step toward maturity.

September can be a welcome if it is prepared with love. A blank page full of possibilities.

Recommended resources

(In case you want to go deeper or explore further this summer; several of them are in Spanish)

• El sueño es vida – Dr. Gonzalo Pin
• Ansiedad. Cómo acompañar a los y las adolescentes – Iris Pérez-Bonaventura
• Invisible – Eloy Moreno
• Wonder – R.J. Palacio
• Paloma – Jaime Homar
• Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do – Dan Olweus
• Generación Porno – documentary (RTVE, 2023)
• The Social Dilemma – documentary (Netflix)
• Nayara Malnero’s channel – clinical sexologist (YouTube, podcast, books)
• Article: How to help teenagers get more sleep (Child Mind Institute)
• Article: Niños contra niños: el bullying como trastorno emergente