Effective Ideas to Keep Your Kids Busy at Home
Nobody said that parenting is going to be easy, but it has become more and more challenging lately, with kids at home almost 24/7.
Working from home is a struggle when you have kids because little children need lots of attention and they tend to get restless when they get bored.
If you want to buy time for yourself, whether for work or to get some things done around the house, you need to keep the children occupied with activities that capture their interest.
Keep your kids busy at home with these tips:
1. Enlist their help with chores.
Household chores are not just for you and your older children. There are plenty of kids’ choresthat are perfect for the little ones, too, like making the bed, sorting the laundry, feeding pets, or putting toys away after play time.
Toddlers generally love doing adult stuff, so getting them to help out with chores wouldn’t be hard. However, things might be a little different with older children. To encourage all your kids to help out at home, get them a kids debit card and try to set up a rewards system where they get an allowance for every chore they accomplish.
2. Have a routine,
Following a daily routine will give everyone in the family something to do or somewhere to be at specific times of the day.
If your kids are attending remote classes, arrange set activities for them before and after their class schedules. If you have a baby or a toddler at home, you and your partner can take turns in supervising the children, so the other has time to focus on work and other tasks that he/she needs to get done.
3. but change things up a bit to make it interesting.
Having a routine helps but kids get bored easily, so you’ll want to make things interesting and give them something to look forward to.
One good way to go about this is by designating a theme or specific activity for each day of the week. You can set a couple of hours for baking on Mondays, arts on Tuesdays, a family movie night on Fridays, some backyard activities on the weekends, and so on. There are plenty of creative ideas to explore, imagination is your limit!
4. Nurture their green thumb.
Since you kids have more time on their hands than usual, what about getting them started in a backyard gardening project?
Gardening can be a fun way to teach young children about plants and just about as good an opportunity as any to introduce them to a new hobby. Besides, it would benefit them to spend a few extra hours in the sunlight.
5. Allow them screen time.
If you’re one of those parents who think letting your children spend time in front of the TV or computer make for irresponsible parenting, cut yourself some slack.
A few minutes of screen time every day won’t hurt. In fact, it could even be educational for your kids if you use it wisely. There are a lot of scholastic shows and games to keep your children engaged while you work and go about tasks around the house.
6. Encourage independent play.
As parents, it’s natural for us to want to make our children’s days as productive as possible. Sometimes, though, we run out of ideas – and you know, what? That’s okay.
Those lulls in their days will encourage your children to play and explore on their own. Independent play is important for your child’s development. It can stimulate your kids imagination and encourage them to learn more about themselves.