How to entertain children during the school holidays
IT’S RAINING again! We begin each summer looking forward to trips to the beach and long days spent outdoors but this year — like so many times before — a succession of damp and dull days has left many parents wondering what else they can suggest to keep their children entertained.
A UCC study into how children in Cork preferred to spend their time found six to nine year olds were happiest when playing with friends regardless of what activity they were doing.
Not surprisingly, they were least happy when it was raining and they had to stay inside.
Ball games, cycling their bikes and playing tag or hide and seek are the most popular summer activities, according to survey of 1,000 parents with children aged 10 or under, by toymaker Chad Valley, which released 100 Tips for 100 days of Play in response to their survey.
“Play is really play when it is free and unstructured and this form of play can mean lying in the grass daydreaming, or making tents in the bedroom,” says Dr Helen Lynch, a play researcher at UCC.
“Children’s lives are typically very structured these days but holidays give them the chance for some down time and free play time.
"I remember feeling responsible for dealing with my children’s boredom. But a little boredom is good for children, it is a sign of needing change and seeking motivation to try something else.
“When a child comes to you and says they are bored it needs to rest on the child’s shoulders how to dealt with it and for the parent to help the child find solutions.
“Begin with the child’s play preferences: Some children love making things, others prefer story telling, or songs and music and reconsider being outside when it is wet, children can play in the rain if they have the right clothes.”
Indoor play should be a mix of structured table top activities and active free play, says Lynch.
Treasure hunts or making obstacle courses out of furniture can be great fun on a wet day and parents might also consider setting up a corner of a room with a tent or small trampoline.
Parents sometimes think that if a child only spends a short time on an activity that they haven’t enjoyed it but that is often not the case, says Lynch.
“When free play is available to them, children often play intensely for short bursts of time. Think of how long a five-year-old is expected to sit still in the classroom.
"Have the table top activities close to hand and easy to set up as 10 to 20 minutes of an activity might be all they need. It’ s good to think ahead and call it something like the Rainy Day Box and to have a dressing up box and so on.”
Going to the library is another way to while away a wet afternoon and Aoife Murray of Children’s Books Ireland advises letting children browse and choose what they want to read for themselves, based on what appeals to them and their interests.
“Don’t worry too much, if it is too advanced they will tell you,” she says.
At book clinics, CBI is often asked to recommend books about animals and suggest Dick King-Smith who wrote Babe, for ages 7+.There are lots of other reviews available on their website.
Often children get stuck reading one series that they like and are not sure where to go next and here your librarian or local bookstore can be a great help.
“A lot of parents are concerned about the amount of time that children are spending on screens but technology can be a really useful tool for learning a new skill,” says Denise Callan, one of the parents on the www.Mykidstime.ie team.
Setting up your tablet or smartphone at the kitchen table for a short while can get children started on learning a new craft or game. Or if they are baking, they might watch a video on Pinterest on how to ice the buns they are making.
Mykidstime has lots of suggestions for rainy day activities, including downloadable lists for scavenger hunts and — in response to requests from parents — video clips of childhood activities like How to make a fortune teller out of paper.
There’s detailed instructions on making a stop-motion video using Lego and a tablet or smartphone and Geocaching, a form of modern-day treasure hunt using a GPS–enabled device — guaranteed to get the most reluctant hiker off the couch and planning a route, Callan says.
Unlike previous generations who were more likely to have family living nearby, Callan says more parents are reaching out into online communities in search of advice and support.
“Most of the issues parents have are universal from teething to preparing for your child to go to college.
"What we also have, what our grandmothers didn’t have is a huge weight of a marketing industry trying to tell us that if we buy this, we will parent better.
“We all have the skills to entertain our own children, sometimes we just need to be gently reminded of that.”
www.mykidstime.com
www.childrensbooksireland.ie
www.ahaparenting.com
www.50things.org.uk
1. Have an indoor scavenger or treasure hunt. Hide an alarm clock and give children a series of clues that will have them running all over the house to find it.
Or go on a micro hunt — give them a small box and see how many tiny objects they can find in 10 minutes.
2. If the weather is bad, why not create a den indoors and read stories aloud to each other, play some board games or learn a new card game.
3. Use old cardboard boxes to create your dream playhouse, or castle or fort... the possibilities are endless.
4. Chalk works very well in the rain becoming thicker and more like paint. Use a range of colours and let the rain mix them together to create a unique work of art on your driveway. The rain will wash it all away afterwards.
5. Find a suitable spot in the garden where children can dig to their hearts content and using a variety of different sized and containers and buckets make some delicious mud pies.
Or bring out a few old toys such as tractors, cars, animals or any little figures that can be used for outdoor muddy play and let children use their imagination and make an outdoor playland.
6. Play a memory game — pick 10 objects and cover them with a cloth, remove one each time. Whoever can identify the missing object is the winner.
7. Make some pizza and use peppers, sweet corn and pieces of ham etc to create a face good enough to eat.
8. Using household objects, create an obstacle course for children to navigate around.
9. Bring your Lego characters to life in a stop-motion video.
10. Create a Rainy Day Box, with scissors, paper punches, paper clips, sellotape, glue, stickers, old cards egg boxes and so on for arts and crafts projects.
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