Ways for kids to spend their holidays without any screen time!

I love the part of the year where it comes to an end not for the fact that another new year is to begin but for the simple fact that it brings along so many festivities with it.

Come October and begin the lists of holidays, the lights on the streets and everywhere else. It seems the entire world is engulfed by a different kind of kindness and warmth. The illuminated streets and houses somehow manage to emancipate the dullness and fatigue that lingers in our life all year through.

As a parent, I love the fact that the beginning of October brings with it tons of holidays which means more time to sleep in and more time to relax and have a holiday schedule. The frigid part of this fascinating phase is how to keep the kids engaged without increasing their screen time.

I am a parent who believes that we cannot completely do away with the screen time for our children as they are sauntering in a world where technology is eventually everything. There are however a few tricks that I have tried and tested over time and with variations, they seem to keep the screen time to minimum!

This blog is an addition to the previously written blog about list of activities that help keep children occupied for a good amount of time. Read the previous one here keeping kids engaged

Board Games – When you have a growing toddler who loves outdoor sports and are forever, full of stupendous amount of energy, you really wonder if board games can do anything. The surprise comes in when playing these board games not only engages them for more than a few minutes, but it also enhances their mental skills. Pick board games that have color, illustrations, some numbers and require application of mental ability. We have already got our hands-on international business, junior monopoly, guess who games, Pictionary and guess the word kind of games. These games are fun to play as a family and also helps keep your child’s wilderness intact.

Outdoor Play

This is the best form of play despite all the technology and games that are a rage with kids. Right from running around to playing a sport, this suits all ages. Kids are easily distracted and often yearn for attention. When kids are outdoors, it is easy to engage them into different kind of games, right from spotting pretty flowers, different coloured vehicles outside to playing different sports, they will love it all. The best part about being outdoors is that as a parent you too can warm up while playing with the kids. This time spent outdoors also helps them burn their energy, eat well and also sleep well, just make sure that kids are not over stimulated as it can hamper their moods and make them cranky.

DIY/Craft Activities

This super excited Mumma just made a list of party decor for the little Spidey’s Spiderman themed birthday, thanks to Pinterest. This is where I feel all the access to many things digital is beneficial because there is so much you can do with the normal everyday items lying around in the house. There are so many fun pages on Instagram and Pinterest that let you explore and create cute and interesting things for kids. You can even create different games using cardboard boxes, wool, tissue paper rolls etc. You can go through my previous blogs to have a look at various DIY activities that have been tried by us. DIY for little ones

No Fire Cooking

Festive season calls for lots of preparations for yummy delicacies. The good news is that you can involve slightly older kids in the preparation. Right from mixing ingredients, rolling laddoos to cutting fun shapes for salads etc. Kids love to imitate parents in the kitchen, give them a safe kitchen equipment and let them also enjoy the time they spend in the kitchen. Now having a child in the kitchen definitely involves some amount of mess. Let the children create the mess and then help them clean it, this way they would know the importance of cleaning up after a task.

 

Colors and Paints.

Oh, we love colors and for now we do not restrict our colors to just papers! We have begun painting our old light-colored t-shirts and we love flaunting what we paint. We also like sticking fancy decorative things to our clothes and sometimes tracing with a stencil on our clothes. I think I enjoy this more than my child as it lets me paint my world red, blue, yellow and lot many colors.

A grocery shopping trip, a trip to the beach or a simple picnic in a garden are many other ways to entertain kids and have fun yourself. Invest in different kinds of books, the story books, the word books, the illustration and activity books. There is no greater gift than reading to your child and introducing them to the fascinating world of books.

Happy Holidays – Yes a little to early to wish you but isn’t Christmas just around the corner