We’re all looking forward to the warmth of summer, but the long days can be a challenge to families, especially those with social and financial difficulties. The cost of living crisis will make the summer holidays tough this year for our families in St Petersburg.
This year Sunflower have taken the decision not to run their usual rural summer camp for parents who grew up in orphanages and their children. This is partly because of cost, but also because the families in their current group would find the journey and change of environment stressful. However, Sunflower is always adaptable. Instead they will use the time to develop the skills needed for families to spend time together well in St Petersburg without spending a fortune.
As ever, the group are already preparing themselves. The programme is drawn up in response to the particular difficulties the group of single mothers are experiencing. One of the mums said, ‘I won’t know how to handle the kids in front of everyone.’ So, our colleagues are doing some training to raise confidence in taking children out and about. They’ll be teaching the basic rules to keep everyone safe in a busy urban environment. Another day will be devoted to spending the day at home. Families will be able to try out activities and learn how to plan a day that doesn’t disrupt their child’s routines.
Altogether six families will spend six days together. They will learn how to choose activities that suit the whole family, not just the adults, how to keep control without being aggressive, and how to respect routines. The aim is to prevent the fall in children’s well-being that often happens during the summer. We also hope that the activities will all be easy for families to repeat themselves without the support of the staff bringing benefits to the children well beyond summer 2026.
The major cost will be staff time. It is our skilled colleagues that make these simple activitles life-changing for struggling families.
