By admin 
On vacation, the daily routine is abandoned, habits are disrupted. At the age of young readers of Pomme d’Api, any change is a discovery: fording a river, having a picnic in an unusual place, staying up late, seeing your parents dance… A hodgepodge of children’s testimonies and parents to talk about the pleasure of turning everything upside down during the holidays.
Upsetting…the clothes
The answer from Mathieu, 4 years old, comes through without a shadow of hesitation: what he likes, in summer, “is being in underwear all day”. The heat and the context relax everyone’s outfits. And the children appreciate this lightness, and are surprised at what we allow ourselves: “We walk barefoot in the street”, “We can be completely naked in Grandpa and Grandma’s garden”…
Merwan, 6 years old: “One day it was super hot and then it started raining really hard. Mom said, “Everyone barefoot, everyone outside!” We ran in the rain in shorts, without shoes, without K-Way®. We were all et bt we weren’t even cold. I loved !”
“The great holiday upheaval”, supplement for parents of Pomme d’Api magazine, August, 2017. Text: Anne Bideault. File illustrated by Marie de Monti.
Shake up… meals
During the school year, meals are taken at set times (or almost!) and their preparation is timed. In the evening, between 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., it’s a rush! In summer, the Holidays pressure is less and summer ingredients make life easier (oh melons, oh tomatoes, receive my eternal gratitude…). Ask your children: ice cream and picnics, these are the summer foods for them! Not to mention the festive extras that we sometimes allow ourselves: a dinner at a restaurant, an ice cream on the seafront, a stopover on the vacation route… So many unusual experiences that delight children.
Antoine, father of 3 children: “We parents like to get together with adults sometimes. So we suggest that the children eat alone, far away from their parents, that is to say at the other end of the garden. They love to come and fill their plates at our table and leave “like adults”.
Nathalie, mother of 3 children: “One day, we declared a “parents’ strike”. It was up to the children to prepare the meal. They took their mission very seriously. The older cousins took charge of operations, and the younger ones did the serving, like in the restaurant. Aperitif, starter, main course, dessert, we had it all! They still talk about it. I think we’re going to have a parents’ strike again! ”
“The great holiday upheaval”, supplement for parents of Pomme d’Api magazine, August, 2017. Text: Anne Bideault. File illustrated by Marie de Monti.
Turn the house upside down
Spending part of the holidays at home can be a real moment of renewal for the family. As long as you don’t have to pay for all the minor outstanding work! This allows us to take time together, in the familiar world, to rediscover the things we own, do things we never do, play with the games forgotten in the back of the cupboards. On the Pomme d’Api Facebook page , a mother says: “We camp in the games room and eat in the garden. The house expands its limits, and each room finds a new ‘function’”.
Marcel, 4 years old: “We made a cabin with the picnic mat and chairs. It was our house. We were allowed to eat there.”
Stéphanie, mother of a girl: “As we don’t have a garden, I put cushions and rugs on the balcony, a box with books, a parasol, and that’s where we read stories and let my daughter rest in the early afternoon.”
“The great holiday upheaval”, supplement for parents of Pomme d’Api magazine, August, 2017. Text: Anne Bideault. File illustrated by Marie de Monti.
Shake up… the use of water
Heat and water… In summer, even if we don’t choose the sea as our vacation destination, water is not confined to the bathtub and shower tray. Of course, there is the excursion to the river, the lake, the water park, the municipal swimming pool. But not only that: even in places without water, you can get wet. “In summer,” emphasizes Clara, 5 years old, “we can have water fights, and even if our clothes are wet, it doesn’t matter!”
Tanguy, 5 years old: “Grandma gave me a brush and a jar filled with water. I painted with water on the terrace: it left marks. And then they would disappear with the sun.”
Merlin, 5 years old: “I like it, because at Grandpa and Grandma’s house, we wash in the garden. Grandpa takes the water jet, we get naked with the cousins, and we wash ourselves with soap in the shape of a large cube. And we run all over the grass to escape Papi!”