Keep Kids Entertained During the Summer

The summer holidays are the best part of your child’s year, but this doesn’t mean that after the first week or two of doing whatever they want, they won’t come up to you and complain that they are bored. To combat this boredom, you will need to be creative and encourage your children to be the same.

As soon as the kids voice the dreaded ‘I’m bored’ take action immediately, by planning what can be done to counter this boredom. Together you can create a summer holiday calendar using paper, colored cardboard and some fun stickers or glitter. This ensures a fun craft activity for the day, and will help you both keep track of the plan for the summer. Once the calendar is created, sit down together and discuss what activities could be done and when to do them.

Here are some ideas:

1. Go Swimming

Summer is the perfect time to go swimming, so be sure to plan at least one trip to the swimming pool. Take an inflatable beach ball or some dive rings for when going down the slide for the hundredth time loses its appeal.

2. Build a Fort

Being active outside is a big part of making the most of summer. Find a sheltered area in the garden, edge of the yard or woods, gather some branches, twigs or planks of wood, and get a bucket of water and create some mud. Now arrange the branches and twigs into a fort and keep them together using the mud. Make sure that all participants are wearing old clothes that can get dirty. Building a fort is great fun and ensures that time is spent in the great outdoors. If you really don’t like the mud idea, opt for using string instead.

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3. Send Them to Summer Camp

One week at a summer camp may not seem like a lot, but this will be one fun packed week. Summer camps are changing more into adventure camps with activities including shelter building, climbing, kayaking, archery, paintball, and even Quad biking. There’s plenty to do at a summer camp, and your child will have the chance to learn new skills, make friends, and simply have a fun time. If you’re not into sending them away, check into local parks and recreation facilities who often offer day camps to keep the kids busy while you’re at work.

4. Have a Water Balloon Toss

This game is another outdoor activity, and can be played with two or more people. You’ll need some water and a pack of water balloons. A nice warm day is best for this game, as the whole point of it is to get wet. Fill the balloons with water and stand two large steps away from each other. If there are more of you, form a circle, but make sure that the gap between each player is about 2 steps. One balloon is tossed to the next person. The aim is not to break the balloon while handling, tossing or catching it. Once you’ve got the hang of the game, why not mix it up a bit by adding another balloon or two and tossing one anti-clockwise around the circle.

Fun things like going to the movies, and playing video games with friends should also be included in a fun summer, but try to encourage your kids to find entertainment outside or through active play.

Guest writer Sarah Oxley writes on behalf of Doit4real, who are an organization providing summer and adventure camps for kids. Sarah is an outdoor enthusiast, who hopes to inspire both parents and children to rediscover the great outdoors.

Image: kevin_p

Tags: family, featured, kids, summer, vacations

Category: Vacations