With more emphasis on indoor entertainment these days, it’s been a lot harder to find ways to keep the children occupied. At this stage, it’s highly likely that you’ve exhausted every idea in the playbook and that the children are getting restless; however, there are still plenty of indoor activities and hobbies to help your children avoid boredom.
Television and video games have been the go-to form of entertainment for a lot of parents, and there’s nothing wrong with that, as modern-day cartoons are actually extremely educational and well made. However, too much of this medium can cause issues such as eyestrain and headaches. So instead, here are three great indoor hobbies your children can try that aren’t screen based.
Reading
Reading is one of the most educational and beneficial pastimes you can get your children into. Not only does it help them develop their English and linguistic skills, but a lot of books have the potential to teach them something about the world and make them more informed.
Getting your child to sit down and engage with a book for at least an hour a day is a great way to break up their screen time and its portability means that books can be read wherever there is light.
Of course, getting some children to read can be a hard endeavor because books have been made to seem nerdy and uncool. If this is the case, why not entice them with an age-appropriate graphic novel or comic book? These have comparably as much text as regular books and the visual element may be enough to get your children hooked.
Painting
The idea of letting your children loose with paint in the house may be giving some parents a heart attack; however, painting can be a beneficial activity if managed and regulated correctly. Painting can help teach patience in your children, as a lot of time and effort has to go into each creation, and it can be a really relaxing activity to help them deal with the stress of the current situation.
Do bear in mind that not every child is going to be a fantastic artist, but regardless, it’s still important to be enthusiastic about their efforts and give them the encouragement to keep going. Plus, with a Hobby Lobby coupon, you should be able to get all the painting equipment you need to get your little one’s creative juices flowing.
Baking
Baking is one of the most rewarding activities a child could partake in, because at the end of their efforts, they’re left with some sort of tasty treat to either share or gobble up themselves. Baking is a good thing for children to get into as not only does the measuring and weighing help aid their mathematics skills, but it also helps them build an appreciation and understanding of food.
Don’t leave your children unsupervised in the kitchen alone though, and make sure to use baking recipes suitable for children and only get them to do things that suit their age. You don’t want a three-year-old slicing tomatoes with a sharp knife, for example.