For many parents, what with childcare being so expensive, working from
home or going part-time is the only affordable option. This can allow parents
to alternate their days at home and so their child will always have someone
there to look after them. Those that have this as an option are very lucky as
many parents do not. Yet as I am sure all full-time parents will admit, finding
ways to entertain your child after around the first week or so feels nigh on
impossible. Of course this is no representation of your care or ability in
looking after your child, merely a reflection of how fantastically active their
minds are compared to ours!
Here are some proactive activities that may inspire you to come up with even
more fresh ideas to entertain your child with.
Go Outside
This may not sound appealing given the current weather, but encouraging
children to go and play
outside, explore nature and let their imaginations grow is an integral part
to their development. There are so many aspects of basic science that can be
explored outside: weather systems, plant cycles and laws of nature that your
child can discover will all get their curious minds going even before they
start school. Getting them to accompany you on errands can be an efficient way
to do this: walking to the shops, posting a letter, walking the dog, all give
going outside a purpose and from there it is easy! Playing I Spy, or telling
stories about your environment, exploring under rocks and branches on the
ground will uncover an entirely different world!
It is also important to allow your children to get messy. There is scientific
proof developing that asserts allowing our children to get dirty can strengthen
their immune system and can, therefore, help them develop a resistance to
illness, infection, and even allergies.[i]
Although it is not particularly great for your washing, it can benefit their
health, excite them, and often involved minimum input by you! If you are not
particularly confident at how to excite your child with the great outdoors,
there are so many outdoor
games for children that you can simply oversee without having to get
involved (unless you want to!).
Create
Many parents may be uncomfortable with the idea of getting ‘creative’,
even if it is merely to a child’s level. But you are able to create things
every day without realising. When you make yourself a meal, why not involve
your child and turn it into more of a game, or a fun activity. Even the making
of a sandwich can become exciting if you try!
If you are working from home but still minding your child, you can
incorporate them into this. Asking them to help you do things, or merely
encouraging them to copy you and turning it into a game will work. Children are
very happy to improvise, and as their parent you are their main source of
inspiration so they will most probably want to imitate you and be a ‘grown up’.
Encourage this and you will have created a game to keep them entertained for
hours!
Imagine
Part of a child’s innocence is their incredibly active imagination. They
do not understand the world as fully as adults might, so they make it up as
they go along! This is a very useful insight to tap into when it comes to
looking after children, especially if all you need to do is have
a rest! If you use their imagination you can change even the most mundane
tasks, such as going up and down the stairs, into an adventure. By getting them
involved with the reading of stories, or playing a part in them in some way, they
will be so much more interested and engaged in the activity. This works especially
well in more educational things: if treated as a game they will happily do
anything!
One trick that worked very well with my children was pretending that our
stairs were magical. Each time anyone went up or down them one of them would
turn into a portal into a different dimension, but it was never the same one.
This provided hours of fun if I were to pretend that I had accidentally stepped
on the bad step. Its effects were anything from getting stuck there, only being
able to talk backwards, or even pretending everything around me was twice the
size! They would often play along which resulted in hours of fun in their own new
‘dimension’.
As much hard work as it can be, being able to see your children grow up
day by day is an incredibly rewarding achievement that not all parents are able
to do. Creating fun and mentally stimulating games and activities is very
tiring so it is important to remember that your child can help to create these
for themselves. They do not have to sit in front of a screen in order to enjoy
themselves, but if you are completely stuck you can always try some educational games to tide them
over while you think of something else!
Thank you for reading, if you found this helpful or interesting feel
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