It’s time for your children to visit the pediatrician for a check-up! You gather your three anxious, jumping jelly beans into the minivan and start your journey to the doctor’s office. “I don’t want to get a shot!” “Mommy, are we almost there yet?” “Susie won’t stop poking me, Mom!” You finally arrive and they say it is going to be about a 20 minute wait. Oh, great. The easiest thing to do right now would be to stick an Ipad in front of your children’s faces and you know they will be occupied playing games until the doctor is ready to see them. But do you really want to resort to that? It is great that we have made such vast advances in technology and we have these amazing devices that have the ability to entertain for hours, but for children, this should be a regulated reward. It is not a bad idea to teach your children to spend their time doing other things to pass the time rather than relying on electronics.
Take this parenting advice and occupy your children with tech-free boredom busters!
1. Make slime: If your child is really into science or they just like slime (most kids do) then this is a great idea. All you have to do is mix school glue, water, borax, and food coloring together! The mixing process may get a little messy, but once your are done, your children can take these globs of colorful slime wherever! As long as they get the okay from mom.
2. Get out the craft box: If you’re at home, and your children are in an antsy mood, shift them into an artsy mood! Gather all your art supplies like paint, crayons, markers, oil pastels, and get to work! This can occupy your children for hours. If you are on the go, there are many portable art kits that you can purchase for your little Picasso.
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3. Mad Libs:Â Mad Libs is a word game where you are given a template of a story, and you have to fill in random missing words. One player prompts others for a list of words to substitute for the blanks in the story. Then, they read the story out loud and it usually comes out in a funny way that barely makes sense. If your child is at an age where they are honing in on their language skills, this is perfect! Your kids will be having fun and learning about verbs, nouns, and adjectives at the same time. You can even indulge in other games similar to Mad Libs like Scrabble, My Word!, Mad Gab, or Boggle.
4. Make bracelets: There are so many cool ways to make bracelets for both boys and girls. You can get your kids a book that details how to make bracelet patterns with string and then get them a portable box with a bunch of different string colors in it. They can also make bracelets with beads, noodles, or shells! This activity will be able to get your kids focused. If they get really good at making bracelets, they can even try to have their own little business at the end of your street or at the beach. They can sell their bracelets for $1 each and start being young entrepreneurs.
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5. Go outside!: Prompt your children to put down the iPad and video games and do some fun activities outside while there is nice weather. They can have some running races with other kids on the block or play hide-and-seek. Plan an exciting treasure hunt for them if it is really a struggle for you to get them up and out. A family bike ride is never a bad idea. Hula hoop, draw with chalk, play in the sprinklers, have a water balloon fight, organize a lemonade stand. The possibilities are endless. There are so many different activities that kids can indulge in that don’t have to revolve around technology, you just have to open your mind to all of the options. If you can get your children occupied for long enough, you may even be able to squeeze in a date night with your hubby!
What are some other tech-free boredom busters? Comment below!
