Boredom Busters for Kiddos

This post is #15 in my September Writing Project. Details are here.

Prompt: How do you keep your kids from getting bored?

There’s a part of me that really wants to be a “Pinterest mom.” I’ve saved so many pins with the best of intentions. And yet, very few of those projects and ideas happen around here. So here are a few of my super-easy, minimal-planning-or-equipment-required ideas for when the kiddos start climbing the walls and making your crazy. (For reference, my kids are 2 1/2 and 5 1/2.) 

Painting

Obvious, right? But make it better by painting outside. I keep finger paints, paint brushes and sheets of poster board handy. If the weather’s nice, I spread the poster board out on the driveway and let the kids go to town. The paints washes off their skin easily and they end up with masterpieces we can hang  in the house. 

Build a Tent

It worked for us when we were young. It still works for kids today.

Create an Obstacle Course

You don’t need anything fancy for this. Sometimes I combine this with the tent. We might skip to the tent, crawl through it, run to the bathroom door, hop over a few things and come back. The kiddos love it if I time them on my phone and will spend a long while trying to beat their best time.

Freeze Some Stuff in a Bowl

Get a plastic bowl. Put a little water in it. Dump in a few of their little figurines. You know your child has a ton of them. Freeze. Repeat until the bowl is filled and frozen solid. Put it outside (or I guess in the bath tub if it’s cold) and let them try to melt it.

Let Them Cook With You (or Just Mix Stuff In a Bowl)

My daughter has been mildly interested in cooking and baking for the last few years but my son isn’t there yet. He loves to help though. Sometimes  when I’m making dinner I’ll get a mixing bowl and spoon for him, and let him mix together his on concoction. We use cereal, sugar, oats and sometimes chocolate chips. He feels like he’s part of the meal-making process and I don’t have to worry about little hands in the meatballs.

Bring Out Your Old Stuff

Did you save anything from your childhood? Anything at all? I bet your kids will like it. We have every car my husband so much as blinked at as a child. Our son spends literal hours driving them around the house. I saved my Girl Scout badges and Bean can spend 30 minutes laying them out, arranging them just-so and asking about them.

The “What’s On My Butt” Game

I wish I could remember where I read about this one because I would totally give credit. Lay on your stomach. Tell the kids they can put whatever they want on your butt. Then they give you clues to try and guess what it is. I like to add some kind of incentive to keep the game going, like giving them an M&M each time I get one right.

Separate the Kids

This might seem counter-intuitive, but it’s worth trying. If they’ve been playing together for awhile, both Bean and Dude will complain of boredom. I try to split them up for a few minutes—sending Bean upstairs to look at one of her books and Dude down to the basement to play at the train table. It works like a reset on their brains and when I bring them back together 20 minutes later, they’re full of fresh ideas and excited to be back with their buddy.