Boredom Busters For Kids
I am bored there is nothing to do! These words ring loud warning bells for parents and alert them that it is time to find something for children to do. Many children do not want to be pushed away with a response that is boring, like find a toy or a book to read. No, children today want some action and they hope their parents will provide it.
It is not always easy to come up with exciting ideas, but here are 10 suggestions of things you can try at home. These activities do not involve computers or any form of screen time.
Here are 10 suggestions of fun, creative and activity-based things you can try at home -
1. Organise a scavenger hunt.
This is a great activity to play inside or outside. You need to make a list of the things to be collected and give each child a box or basket to collect the items in. Make sure beforehand that the objects to collect are all visible because you don’t want your scavenger hunters to tear your
house or your garden apart. Make the hunt more challenging by setting a time limit with a timer.
Another interesting idea is to give the children a matchbox and tell them this is a mini scavenger hunt. There is no list, but they must find as many things as they can that must fit into the matchbox. The child with the most things wins the prize.
2. Have a picnic party.
Organise a simple picnic to have in the garden or even inside if the weather is not great. Put out juice to drink and some goodies to eat. Play some party games during the picnic party, like musical bumps or hide and go seek. Pass the parcel is another enjoyable game for everyone. Make pass the parcel more fun by hiding extra prizes between the different layers of paper. In that way everyone gets something.
3. Play board games.
There are so many wonderful board games to choose from and entertain children of all ages. They will learn counting and sharing skills too. Board games and card games are entertaining for the whole family. Your children like it when you join in and play the game with them if you have the time.
4. Try some easy science experiments at home.
There are many great ideas to try at home with household ingredients. You need to supervise this activity, but it will be fun to see the children’s reactions.
Here are some suggestions:
Make invisible ink with lemon juice.
Try to make slime with borax and glue.
Make a lemon fizz with food colouring dropped onto a sliced lemon. Add a little baking soda prinked onto a sliced lemon. Watch the fizz reaction.
Make non-sticky putty from cornstarch and dish soap.
5. Have a ‘baker-baker’ morning.
Depending on your child’s age and ability in the kitchen, make arrangements to have baking activities. This could just be icing ready-made biscuits or store-bought cupcakes. You may want to make your own cookie dough and cut and create your own biscuits. Mix colourful icing and have some biscuit décor like sprinkles and silver bobbles to finish the decorating. Then everyone can enjoy a teatime treat.
6. Dress up and act out.
A dress-up box full of fancy dress clothes, shoes and bags and scarves too, is a great way to entertain at home. Kids love to dress up and then even produce their own plays for your enjoyment. They can mime to songs or dance to music. You can teach older children how to play charades.
7. Make a tent indoors and camp in it.
Children love to get creative with old blankets and sheets and make a tent or den inside. Let them drape blankets over a table and have a camp-in experience. They will love creating the tent and dragging their bedding or some sleeping bags to pretend to be camping there.
8. Organise a treasure hunt.
A simple hunt for some items spread around the house is a fun indoor activity, or you can take the treasure hunt outside. Younger children respond to picture clues, while older children can read little rhymes or written clues to find the spot where the next clue is hidden. When all the clues are found and they have the treasure.
9. Search and rescue.
This is another challenge for children who love to find things. You can hide cut out hearts and tell the children they need to find however many you have hidden. When they are found, another child takes a turn to hide the hearts.
10. Artistic Freedom
Put out a roll of butcher block paper. Unroll as many feet as you can use in the space you have. This is your artists canvass. Supply the artists with markers, stencils, stickers, stamps and stars. Depending on the age of the children, add water paints and pastels. Give the artists freedom to create and see how many little Picassos you have in your household.
Hopefully, with these suggestions, you will not have to hear those three annoying little words - I am bored- in your house ever again. You will be well-equipped with some brilliant ideas to save the day from boredom.