5 Reasons Why a Slow Summer Might Be the Best Gift You Give Your Kids This Year

Activity By Lilo
Slow

Summer invites us to slow down. It’s that glorious time of year again. School bags are finally empty, the days are long and golden, and Montreal is — let’s be honest — absolutely magical in summer. The Plateau is buzzing, the parks are full, and there’s that collective exhale that every family in the city seems to take at the same time.

And then comes the list.

Swimming lessons. Tennis clinics. Art workshops. Academic catch-up. Music camps. Three birthday parties and a trip to see the cousins. Before you know it, the calendar looks exactly like it did in February — except with more sunscreen.

Here’s a gentle question worth sitting with this June: What if we did a little less?

Slow Summer. Not nothing. Not screens-all-day-every-day. But less rushing, less optimizing, and more of that slow, wandering, slightly-bored kind of summer that many of us remember from our own childhoods — and that turns out to be quietly extraordinary for kids.

1. Boredom Is Where Creativity Is Born

Here’s something that might surprise you: researchers have found that when children are left with unstructured time and nothing to do, their brains don’t switch off — they switch on. According to psychologist Dr. Sandi Mann, boredom actually stimulates the mind to seek out creative solutions. Slow mornings with nowhere to be, slow afternoons with nothing scheduled — that’s when kids aren’t being entertained or directed, and that’s when they start to invent.

The kid staring at the ceiling for twenty minutes? She’s about to build a cardboard spaceship. The boy wandering slowly around the backyard? He’s developing an entire mythology about the ants under the porch. This isn’t wasted time. This is the good stuff.

As the Child Mind Institute puts it, boredom helps children develop planning strategies, problem-solving skills, flexibility, and creativity — and builds tolerance for not-so-fun experiences, which is honestly one of the most useful life skills there is.

2. Over-Scheduled Kids Are Tired Kids

There’s a reason child development experts keep sounding the alarm about packed summer schedules. An over-scheduled child can feel anxious, depressed, and under constant pressure — even when all those activities are meant to be fun. The joy gets squeezed out when there’s no slow breathing room between one thing and the next.

Montreal families know this well. We love our city’s incredible offerings, and it’s tempting to sign up for everything. But kids — especially those who are sensitive, introverted, or neurodivergent — often need slow, significant downtime just to recover from the stimulation of everyday life. Summer is their chance to fill that tank back up.

Experts suggest that avoiding over-scheduling and incorporating real slow downtime into the summer isn’t just nice to have — it’s essential for preventing burnout and helping kids actually enjoy the season.

3. Slow Summers Build Emotional Resilience

When children have to sit with a feeling — even the mildly uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what to do — they are quietly building one of the most important muscles they have: emotional regulation.

Dr. Teresa Belton, a researcher who has studied boredom and child development, explains that tolerating boredom helps children manage discomfort and develop patience. These aren’t small skills. These are the foundations of resilience — of being able to face a hard moment later in life without immediately reaching for distraction.

A summer that includes some slow, unplanned afternoons is a summer that teaches kids: I can sit with myself. I can figure it out. I’ll be okay.

4. Montreal in Summer Is a Playground — Just Let Them Play In It

Here’s the beautiful thing about raising kids in this city: the slow summer is the adventure. Mont-Royal is right there. The Canal is right there. The Parc Maisonneuve, Lafontaine, Angrignon — all right there. Kids who have unstructured time in Montreal will find their own magic: catching fireflies at dusk on the Plateau, dragging their parents to the same corner dépanneur every afternoon for a freezie, building friendships at the park that feel like they’ve known each other for years.

You don’t need to program joy. In a city this alive in summer, sometimes you just need to step outside and get out of the way.

5. Meaningful Activities Hit Differently When There’s Space Around Them

This is perhaps the most important one. The camps your kids do attend — the ones that are truly worthwhile — are so much more impactful when they’re not sandwiched between four other things. When a child arrives at camp rested, unhurried, and genuinely excited rather than exhausted and overstimulated, they absorb so much more. They connect more deeply with other kids. They take more risks. They laugh more.

At Langmobile, our summer camps are designed to feel like an adventure, not another item on a checklist. Whether it’s our locations in Saint-Lambert, NDG, or our exciting new spot at Bancroft Elementary on the Plateau — we want kids to show up ready to play, explore, and surprise themselves. That only happens when there’s a little space around it.

A Final Word for the Parents

If you’re feeling the pressure to make this summer count — to fill every week, optimize every hour, and ensure your child emerges in September having levelled up in some measurable way — take a breath.

The research is clear, and so is the intuition of anyone who’s watched a child spend an entire afternoon building a fort, or digging in the dirt, or lying in the grass staring at clouds: the slow moments are the ones they’ll remember.

Give them a summer with some empty space in it. Sign them up for the things that genuinely light them up. Then let the rest of the calendar breathe.

That’s the gift.

Ready for one meaningful adventure this summer? Langmobile camps are now starting — and spots are filling up fast. Visit langmobile.com to find a location near you.

Sources:

  • Child Mind Institute – The Benefits of Boredom (Updated November 2024) — childmind.org
  • American Council on Science and Health – Let Them Be Bored: Why Your Kids Need More Free Time (May 2026) — acsh.org
  • American Behavioral Clinics – Preparing for Summer: Managing Anxiety and Stress in Kids — americanbehavioralclinics.com  

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