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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Mary Giles of 'Parenting' Magazine
Aired April 27, 2002 - 08:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, a major challenge faces parents this time of year, lining up a summer break schedule for the kids.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's see, Nintendo in the morning, Nintendo in the afternoon -- no, that's not going to work.
PHILLIPS: Videos at night, videos in the morning.
O'BRIEN: All right, for those of you parents who have procrastinated to this moment, you are in deep yogurt because summer is looming and it's a little late to plan anything significant. Forget sleepover camp. But -- they don't have any space available.
PHILLIPS: Mary Giles has a different opinion, though. She thinks there's a lot to do.
O'BRIEN: Mary Giles has some ideas. She's with "Parenting" magazine. She joins us from New York. All right, you're a panicked parent. You put off the camp issue too long.
PHILLIPS: You need a break.
O'BRIEN: And you really don't, the prospect of having the kids around all day long, well, that's a tough one for some parents, you know?
MARY GILES, "PARENTING": There are still lots of things you can do, though, this summer, so don't panic too much.
O'BRIEN: All right, where should we start?
GILES: Well, first know for day camps in your area. Sleep away camps are probably mostly full, but there's still a lot of day camps available. And what's fun is now there is such a range of specialized camps that just weren't he available when we were kids. You can find circus camps, jazz camps, animation camp, inventors camp. If there is an interest or a hobby out there, there's a camp now to fill that.
O'BRIEN: Now, you know, I had a friend who sent his poor son to math camp. And I thought that was -- I mean...
GILES: Math, is it (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? O'BRIEN: That was maybe slightly above sending the child to a gulag for the summer. I mean, really. But I guess there's a camp for everyone, right?
GILES: There is. Absolutely. And then also adventure camps are really big right now.
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes?
GILES: Your child could learn to kayak or rock climbing. You know, they see a lot of the extreme sports on TV and they want to give it a try themselves.
O'BRIEN: OK.
PHILLIPS: What were you saying about the magic shop when we were talking earlier?
GILES: A great idea is to recruit the local experts in your area. One mom I know went into the local magic shop and now that owner is going to be teaching her son how to perform magic tricks this summer. You could also check in with your local hobby shop, the local ceramic or pottery studio. They might either have already established programs or if they don't, ask them if they'd be willing to teach your child and a friend or two how to do some of those things over the summer.
And don't be shy about asking your friends, relatives and neighbors. Maybe they know how to design a Web site or they're a really good cook and they'd be willing to give your child a few lessons.
O'BRIEN: All right, what...
PHILLIPS: Parent camps. Don't we want to ask about parent camps?
O'BRIEN: I would love to go to camp, are you kidding? Sign me up for that.
PHILLIPS: Tell us about these parent camps.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
GILES: That's something that's neat, too.
O'BRIEN: Camp Exhaustion we'll call that, you know?
GILES: Yes, true. So you can find those in both day camps and sleep away camps. And what's new about these is that you don't just send your child off without you, you actually go with your child. So maybe you both have an interest in excavating dinosaurs. You can do that over the summer and learn about that together.
O'BRIEN: Oh, I like that idea. That's kind of cool.
PHILLIPS: Oh, that is neat.
O'BRIEN: Now, here's the other thing that comes to mind, and this is, you know, parents of our era have this problem, we over commit our children. You know, there's a tendency to do that. And I've talked to some parents who, you know, they lay out the camp schedule for the summer and there's about 12 different camps that have been lined up, practically every stripe you just named. How much is too much? How do you, you know, kids deserve a little down time, don't they?
GILES: Absolutely. You shouldn't over schedule your child this summer. And it's really dependent on your child's personality. Some kids love all of these different activities, exploring new interests, and are happier being booked a lot of the time. But other kids aren't and they really do need that down time.
So you need to read your child's signals to see how much they want to do.
There are also lots of really fun things you can do around the house with your child this summer to keep them busy and to give you a chance to spend some good time with them. Maybe you'll plant a vegetable garden together if that's something that interests you and your child. Or turn her old sandbox into a Zen garden that she maintains.
PHILLIPS: Now, that's deep.
GILES: You can build a tree house, a birdhouse.
PHILLIPS: Come on, your little 2-year-old daughter...
GILES: Get them to put on a play.
PHILLIPS: ... come on, honey, we're going to do a Zen garden, at 18 months.
O'BRIEN: The little girl telling me that she isn't writing in her sandbox.
GILES: She would love it.
PHILLIPS: Don't like the fungshey (ph), mom.
O'BRIEN: Yes. Why not have them paint the house, you know? Maybe a small addition.
GILES: That's a good idea, too.
O'BRIEN: You know, put them to work.
GILES: Actually, I know one mom who gave her kids paintbrushes and water and told them to paint the house and they got a thrill out of that for weeks.
O'BRIEN: I was being facetious. That's great. I'm sure actually for some kinds that might be pretty fun.
GILES: Actually, for young kids, for toddlers and preschoolers, they get a thrill out of it.
PHILLIPS: What about costs, because a lot of families can't afford to send their kids to camp? So let's talk about different incomes here. If a family can't afford to send their child to one of these camps, what are the options?
GILES: Well, there are lots of free options. Like I mentioned before, you might recruit the friends and neighbors and the local shop owners. You can also check into your local library, the local Y, the local rec center. The library probably has special story hours, all kinds of free things that you can enroll your kids in for the summer, too.
O'BRIEN: Mary Giles with "Parenting" magazine. Parents, it's not too late. It's never too late. You can always come up with something. Thanks for your insights.
GILES: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: We appreciate it. You have a great summer.
GILES: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Mary.
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