Family Matters

Yesterday, I started posting a series of 100 ideas for parents to keep their kids busy and happy. Today, I am adding 20 more tips and I hope you will find them helpful.

All you need to do is go over them and schedule them into your weekends and holidays. I promise that by the end of the week, you will have so many ideas you will be asking for more weekends and holidays with your kids.

20 more fun things you can do with your kids (21-40):

1. Have a barbecue at home or with friends. You can have it outside or on your balcony. Ask the kids to chop or slice vegetables and if they are old enough, ask them to keep an eye on the sausages. Any barbecue is easily 3-4 hours of fun.
2. On hot days, you can use the hose to sprinkle the kids with water. If you have a sprinkler system, you can play games running away from or through the water spray.
3. While we are talking about hot days, you can encourage the kids to fill water pistols and have fun. Join in the fun too if you want it to last longer. Our 19-year-old daughter was so afraid of having a birthday party she considered canceling it. She thought that because she did not drink and was not planning to get drinks, no one would come. Well, all her friends came and throughout the party, they used water pistols to have fun - it was the best liquid to use for fun…
4. Have a scavenger hunt in the house. Rainy days are wonderful for scavenger hunts. We love scavenger hunts on birthdays. It involves presents that the whole family can enjoy and join in and everyone is happy.
5. Pack a bag and some sandwiches, take something to sit on and go for a picnic. Picnics are the most exciting meals for kids and they are as cheap as eating at home. In fact, get your kids involved in the preparations for some extra quality time.
6. If you want things to be really exciting, take the kids camping. The price for putting up a tent at a campsite is so small it is well worth the hours of giggling and jokes at night. Camping also reminds your kids of all the things they take for granted back home, while keeping them a safe distance away from TV and computers.
7. When you go camping, have a campfire. Alternatively, if you can, have a campfire in your backyard. Unfortunately, where I live it is not allowed, but friends of mine built a metal fireplace that looks like a barbecue in their backyard and it feels like a campfire.
8. Whenever there is fire around, buy marshmallows and roast them on skewers. Try buying the marshmallows before the kids ask you to. It is wonderful to hear their cheers when you take the bag of marshmallows out and the kids get right into the roasting business.
9. When camping, tell your kids stories about ghosts, fairies and witches and even about your childhood. Ask them to tell stories too, and you will be surprised with what comes out.
10. If you have the equipment, go fishing with your kids - it will sure teach them patience and (if you catch anything) can make them very proud of themselves.
11. Go to the local bowling club. Many bowling places have special prices on school holidays. Many bowling alleys allow you to bring your own snacks and so for not much money you can have a few 3 hours of fun. Most places even offer special equipment for little kids.
12. Baking is a great activity to do with kids. It teaches them to enjoy making cakes, cookies and other pastries. They get messy and excited. We say, “It tastes better when you make it yourself”.
13. In the same way that baking can be a wonderful time with kids, cooking is a great activity for parents and kids. You can get your kids involved in making dinner, lunch and special dishes. On top of the help, they will learn to feed themselves and be a bit more independent with their lunch boxes.
14. Go to the playground with your young kids.
15. If you have a hammock, swing on it with your kids. We have a hammock that can hold 4 people.
16. Visit a museum. There are many free museums around. Register yourself to their distribution list and be notified whenever they have a new exhibition. Any museum can keep a family busy for 4 hours. During the school holidays, there are many activities for kids in the local museums. Just stay tuned and write them down in your diary.
17. Have a garage sale. Instead of spending money, you can make money and get rid of some of the old things in your house. It clears up mental space and teaches your kids to let go.
18. Go canoeing or kayaking. You do not really need to own a canoe or a kayak. There are many places where you can rent them for a couple of hours.
19. Go for a hike with your kids to a local forest or mountain. If you take your lunch with you (plus water, hat and sunscreen), you can have a full day of free fun and great exercise for you and your kids.
20. Go for a walk on the beach barefoot. This is one of my personal favorites.

As you can see, many of the activities cost little or nothing and you do not really need to be a millionaire to have a great time with your kids and bond with them.

Join me tomorrow for 20 more new and exciting, cheap or free ideas.

Happy and joyous time with your kids,
Ronit

If you have more ideas of what to do with kids, please share them in the comment box below.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…

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