What children and adolescents do and learn in the summertime can have profound effects on their health and well-being, educational attainment, and career prospects.
To explore the influence of summertime activities on the lives of young people, the Board on Children, Youth, and Families held a workshop on August 25, 2016, “Summertime Opportunities to Promote Healthy Child and Adolescent Development.” The participants included people working in all facets of summertime activities: program providers, advocates, researchers, funders, and policy makers. The discussions covered a wide range of topics, including the value of play, healthy eating and physical activity, systemic approaches to skill development, program quality and measurement, and the interconnected ecosystem of activities that supports healthy development. The workshop highlighted the latest research on summer programming, as well as gaps in that research, and explored the key policy and practice issues for summertime opportunities to promote healthy child and adolescent development. This brief summary of the workshop represents the viewpoints of the speakers and should not be viewed as the conclusions or recommendations of the workshop as a whole.
Read the complete report by clicking the link below.
Summertime activities for healthy child and adolescent development