What To Do With An Active Kid In The Summer. (Or, 5 Reasons I Highly Recommend Golf Lessons)

By Laura Mayes | May 30th, 2012 at 1:44 pm

Before I had a child, I imagined that my (imaginary) kid would be a girl, like me, who enjoyed reading and art and sedentary activities because, like me, this child would have the athletic ability of a writer.

However, in real life, my (in reality) son is the most active person I’ve ever met. Instead of reading a book, he’d rather see how far he can kick it, or throw it, off the roof.

So planning summer activities that A.) engage my active son, and  B.) don’t kill me, is a bit difficult. I do what I can, but in reality, it’s best for everyone if I outsource some of this active activity….a few hours of soccer camp here, a few swimming lessons there, and before we know it, it will be September. Right?

This whole action/reaction thing applies to vacations as well. Because on vacations, this is what I like to do:

And this is what Harry likes to do:

This is a problem.

But here’s what: I’ve just recently discovered the beauty of the family resort. (Why has no one ever told me about this before?) See, there are these really smart family resort options out there…places that are created for ACTION! Or not. Whatever your preference might be. Think: the activities of a giant cruise ship without the seasickness or the pirates or whatever. And waaay more affordable…at least from what I’ve seen on both sides.

For starters, there are activity options everywhere. You’re just walking down the path and bam, there’s this:

Or this:

And then besides all the unexpected activities everywhere, there’s usually a main attraction. In the case of the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, it’s golf. Lots of golf.

In fact, we were completely surrounded by a beautiful golf course ready for action. ACTION! And my child was in heaven. While we were there, it unexpectedly turned into an inpromtu golf came and he took his first golf lesson, fulfilling a (6 year old) life dream. According to him, “I so learned how to play golf so awesome before the summer even really started!”

Check it.

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  5 Reasons I highly recommend golf lessons for an active child.

  For starters, it's a sport. Sport = ACTION!

  /babble-voices/laura-mayes-hitting-refresh/2012/05/30/what-to-do-with-an-active-kid-in-the-summer-or-5-reasons-i-highly-recommend-golf-for-an-active-child/#5-reasons-i-highly-recommend-golf-lessons-for-an-active-child
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  1. It's supervised and structured.

  It also involves a club and hitting things. A CLUB! TO HIT THINGS!

  /babble-voices/laura-mayes-hitting-refresh/2012/05/30/what-to-do-with-an-active-kid-in-the-summer-or-5-reasons-i-highly-recommend-golf-for-an-active-child/#1-its-supervised-and-structured
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  2. You can burn lots of energy chasing and/or collecting balls.

  There's walking. And moving. And LOTS AND LOTS OF BALLS!

  /babble-voices/laura-mayes-hitting-refresh/2012/05/30/what-to-do-with-an-active-kid-in-the-summer-or-5-reasons-i-highly-recommend-golf-for-an-active-child/#2-you-can-burn-lots-of-energy-chasing-andor-collecting-balls
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  3. Once you experience the short game, you can progress to hitting things even further.

  You get to hit things. VERY HARD AND VERY FAR!

  /babble-voices/laura-mayes-hitting-refresh/2012/05/30/what-to-do-with-an-active-kid-in-the-summer-or-5-reasons-i-highly-recommend-golf-for-an-active-child/#3-once-you-experience-the-short-game-you-can-progress-to-hitting-things-even-further
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  4. This sport also introduces the concepts of stillness, mind control and inner peace.

  ALSO HITTING THINGS!

  /babble-voices/laura-mayes-hitting-refresh/2012/05/30/what-to-do-with-an-active-kid-in-the-summer-or-5-reasons-i-highly-recommend-golf-for-an-active-child/#4-this-sport-also-introduces-the-concepts-of-stillness-mind-control-and-inner-peace
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  5. It's a really great skill and a really great way to pass some hours being active.

  BY HITTING BALLS! LOTS AND LOTS OF BALLS!

  /babble-voices/laura-mayes-hitting-refresh/2012/05/30/what-to-do-with-an-active-kid-in-the-summer-or-5-reasons-i-highly-recommend-golf-for-an-active-child/#5-its-a-really-great-skill-and-a-really-great-way-to-pass-some-hours-being-active

And what was I doing? Well, this is about as close as I get to golf…

And it was delightful to watch all the activity from the sidelines.

Of course, after golf camp, one needs some R&R by the pool.

Thankfully, there were a number to choose from just a few steps away.

Which brings me back to my original idea of a vacation.

A big thanks to Westin Hotels & Resorts for sponsoring this campaign. Click here to see more of the discussion.

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