I’m Bored!

Help!  It’s Spring Break!

Spring break is almost upon us and parents are scrambling to figure out how to keep the kids entertained.  First, it’s not your job to “keep them busy.” Let them be bored – it spurs creative thinking on their part.  Especially if you keep the switch to the wifi off! When they whine about boredom, here are some suggestions to make Spring break fun.  And, if they slide into video game oblivion, don’t worry.  Remember the “break” word in Spring break and realize they need some unstructured, veg-out, down time from their daily routines too.  It’s only one week!

Suggestions:

• Board games inside
• Go for a walk in nature reserves or the zoo
• Play hide and seek outdoors in a new park
• Give Easter treats that are different than chocolate – sidewalk chalk, bubbles, skipping ropes, remote control cars, balls, badminton sets
• Go geocaching
• Bake or teach older kids to cook
• Send them outside with a small task to do.  Once they are outside, kids find interesting things to do on their own.  It’s just getting them out that is hard.
• Teach a new card game
• Drop your tweens and teens off at the local library to try new programs on the computers.
• Dig out those Christmas puzzles, craft kits, paint by number kits and building kits that never got opened or didn’t get finished at Christmas
• Go to a second hand children’s store and pick up some treasures.  We just got a kit of Snap Circuits that kept the kids busy for a week building the circuit boards.
• Dig out the Nerf guns and bullets – let them go wild in the house.  Even better, someone could host a couple of kids and a Nerf party in their house or a nearby park.
• Have a theme movie week – The Harry Potter movie fest. Watch one movie per day
• Camp inside the family room
• Start a project such as cleaning out the basement or painting a room.  Get the teens to help.
• Pay the teens to do a big job such as categorize and print all those photos on your computer.

Happy break!

Judy Arnall is a professional international award-winning Parenting and Teacher Conference Speaker, and Trainer, Mom of five children, and author of the best-selling print book, Discipline Without Distress: 135 tools for raising caring, responsible children without time-out, spanking, punishment or bribery and the new DVD, Plugged-In Parenting: Connecting with the digital generation for health, safety and love as well as the new book, The Last Word on Parenting Advice  www.professionalparenting.ca (403) 714-6766 jarnall@shaw.ca