Hacks to keep kids entertained
22 answers /
Last post: 25/01/2024 at 9:21 am
How do you keep children busy over the long summer holidays? Come here to share and discover:
· Free days out
· Savings on family schemes like National Trust, Merlin Pass and more
· Ways to organise fun childcare
· Great things to do for kids of all ages
· A daily schedule for organising your time
Don't forget to check the Aldi website regularly also for their summer savings. You can find toys, garden essentials like paddling pools and much more!
Stick to a timetable. Brekkie, make beds, etc. Make buckets of ideas: pick one out in the morning to decide what you're doing but you can all contribute ideas to go in whether it's fishing, painting, sports, creating your own board game walks, challenges get a bird or plant identification app and go hunting for things nearby, geocaching, Scavenger Hunt etc .
Sprinkle these in between other things on the timetable like chores, naps, etc
Plan, plan, plan is the key. I tend to schedule 2 activities across the day - one in the morning and one late afternoon / evening. It could be simple things, a picnic, trip to the local park etc. Giving them a chance to get out some of that energy means that the other daily things go much more smoothly. Then I intersperse with bigger trips further afield once a week which gives the whole family something to look forward to and a break from the regular routine 😁
The best tip I ever had was from my gran:
"Remember you're a parent, not a clown."
What she meant was that you shouldn't feel that you need to directly entertain your children every waking hour.
It's fine to expect them to entertain themselves for a few hours a day.
It's ok to let them be bored.
And it's perfectly acceptable to get them helping with the housework, as that not only teaches them valuable skills, it also gives you, the parent, more quality time to spend doing more important things.
Most children have toys and books, so encourage them to use what they have.
If you have access to a safe outdoor space, let them use it.
Let them play with friends in your garden or theirs, or in the local park, and don't feel that you have to hover over them all the time.
For older children, get them a bus pass, pack them a lunch, and send them off together somewhere while you relax at home.
Not filling their every moment with fun activities will actually do them good in the long run.
My summer holidays (not in the UK) were 3 months long...so the UK holidays are over when they've just begun for me! I just appreciate every day...dot a few days out. Don't over plan or at don't overplan too far in advance. I try to make a plan for our 'free' days a couple of days in advance looking that weather and maybe ask a friend if they are free.They only young for a short period!!
When it comes to keeping my kids busy, I love to mix things up. We enjoy exploring local parks, going on nature scavenger hunts, trying out fun DIY crafts, and even having little cooking sessions together. It's all about creating wonderful memories while having a blast.
Stick to a timetable. Brekkie, make beds, etc. Make buckets of ideas: pick one out in the morning to decide what you're doing but you can all contribute ideas to go in whether it's fishing, painting, sports, creating your own board game walks, challenges get a bird or plant identification app and go hunting for things nearby, geocaching, Scavenger Hunt etc .
Sprinkle these in between other things on the timetable like chores, naps, etc
I love a good timetable but the best bit of this is a bucket of ideas. It's so fun to pull out new ideas and have that little bit of chance and fresh excitement every day.
You could even add in silly things like 'everybody has to wear red' or give each other funny nicknames for the day.
Love your ideas!
Plan, plan, plan is the key. I tend to schedule 2 activities across the day - one in the morning and one late afternoon / evening. It could be simple things, a picnic, trip to the local park etc. Giving them a chance to get out some of that energy means that the other daily things go much more smoothly. Then I intersperse with bigger trips further afield once a week which gives the whole family something to look forward to and a break from the regular routine 😁
Oooh great tip! We don't have to do a bunch of things every day. I love the idea of having something each week to look forward to, which also provides opportunity for planning, conversations and some anticipatory excitement!
The best tip I ever had was from my gran:
"Remember you're a parent, not a clown."
What she meant was that you shouldn't feel that you need to directly entertain your children every waking hour.
It's fine to expect them to entertain themselves for a few hours a day.
It's ok to let them be bored.
And it's perfectly acceptable to get them helping with the housework, as that not only teaches them valuable skills, it also gives you, the parent, more quality time to spend doing more important things.
Most children have toys and books, so encourage them to use what they have.
If you have access to a safe outdoor space, let them use it.
Let them play with friends in your garden or theirs, or in the local park, and don't feel that you have to hover over them all the time.
For older children, get them a bus pass, pack them a lunch, and send them off together somewhere while you relax at home.
Not filling their every moment with fun activities will actually do them good in the long run.
Amen to all this! It's a great opportunity to learn some life lessons, get bored and just ... have a summer!
We were massive fans of geocaching when my lad was little. We could easily lose a day making a big loop out of it. We love walking too here so we bought a book for top walks in our county which has lead us to finding lots of hidden places we hadn't seen before. Our other free favourite activity here still is to get the bikes out. We found on Fb a group that had people in it with similar style bikes to ours so we go out with them once a week in the evening. Just for a short cycle, but its a lovely social thing and a good family activity. We always either walk or cycle as much as we can over using the car/petrol
I love budget ideas to keep kids entertained. The thing I find is that often they can be the simplest ideas. Some of the ones I (and my mum friends) rely on:
- On a warm day give them a bucket of water and a paintbrush and get them to draw pictures on the patio or have them 'paint' the house. They can go down and paint the side of the building with water, making shapes, going over areas that dry. The hotter the day, the better!
- Get a big roll of kraft paper or tape a bunch of regular A4 sheets together, have your child pose on a it and draw around them with a marker. Then get them to decorate the lifesize portrait of themselves before hanging it up on the wall. so cool!
- Do a round-robin of playdates. We take it in turns to host and it's always fun for kids to have a new house to explore and new toys to play with. Even if it's only for a couple of hours, it can be a real 'event'!
- Challenge the kids to plan and run a big event. We've done a stone wedding (just like what it sounds – we went out to pick the perfect rocks, then decorated them, made 'clothes' out of paper, created a backdrop, played music and made them walk down the aisle. there was even a wedding tea party afterward. Other ideas: setting up a 'shop' or restuarant for lunch, dog talent shows, whatever they can think of! (And it takes up a couple of hours AT LEAST.)
And at the end of each of these take pictures on the phone. It gives each of them a real sense of occasion.
xx😍
I think trying not to over plan every day is the way to go, let kids get bored and create their own fun. Load of blankets to make a table fort, even if they are sitting in it on a tablet! I remember making a dolls hairdressers in my living room and doing my friends dolls hair-great fun. What about bug hunting in the garden or the local park, use an app to name them if you can find one. Then pick your favourite bug, get a load of sticks/leaves/moss and make a big picture of it.
Things don't have to cost money to be fun, your attention is worth so much to kids.
We were massive fans of geocaching when my lad was little. We could easily lose a day making a big loop out of it. We love walking too here so we bought a book for top walks in our county which has lead us to finding lots of hidden places we hadn't seen before. Our other free favourite activity here still is to get the bikes out. We found on Fb a group that had people in it with similar style bikes to ours so we go out with them once a week in the evening. Just for a short cycle, but its a lovely social thing and a good family activity. We always either walk or cycle as much as we can over using the car/petrol
how nice to connect with new people using an FB group.
It's amazing to me how much the kids enjoy exploring new areas or getting out in nature!
Strawberry picking always goes down well. Exploring castles, we're lucky to have some ruins nearby which you can walk around in for free so have had fun with making up stories and playing around in there. If the weathers fine a general sandpit is entertaining for a variety of age groups.
When it comes to keeping my kids busy, I love to mix things up. We enjoy exploring local parks, going on nature scavenger hunts, trying out fun DIY crafts, and even having little cooking sessions together. It's all about creating wonderful memories while having a blast.
Scavenger hunts are awesome! We do it every couple of weeks, always a blast.
