“If you think you can take a deep breath at the end of a long school year, I’ve got some news for you: There’s more work to do. Sorry!” writes Vanessa Kroll Bennett today. “Because no matter where your kids spend the summer, hanging out in the neighborhood or camping in the woods, riding the bus downtown or a first job, there are many, many conversations you need to have to prepare them for independence.”

So let’s talk about what you need to talk about.

— Kelly Faircloth, Executive Editor

Sarah Aswell has a resolution this summer: “Swimming was always such a special treat for me as a kid. Really, some of my favorite family memories were summer days on the beach, even when it was cold, even when it was rocky, even when it was windy. What if, in my 40s, I reclaimed a child’s attitude for swimming, just for one summer?” What if, indeed?