110 Creative Ideas to Keep Kids Busy WITHOUT TV, Technology, Media or…Dare I say it…Video games!
When spring break or summer vacation roll around, many parents may wonder what to do to keep their kids busy. These tips are great for any time of year, however, and a few will even work for winter! The reason I took the time to come up with one hundred ideas was to help parents connect with their children AND keep kids busy without using television and video games as a means of entertainment. I strongly believe that media, video games and television are terrible for kids…especially when over used by parents as a means of keeping their kids occupied. Sure, there are times it is OK or even a great thing… however, in this techno crazy time we live in, it is WAY overdone and kids do not even play or use their imaginations anymore!
Anyway, use what works for you and your family. There are tips for just the kids, you with the kids, older and younger working together and family stuff too! Obviously, some are age specific and others gender specific. However, there are enough ideas listed that any Mom can find several to use and keep her children busy!
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Copyright © Lara Velez, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved
If we limit(or even get-rid-of) the t.v. and video games when the children are quite young, they will enjoy the simple pleasures of life so much more. For those children who have basically grown up with t.v., video games, etc. it will be quite a struggle to lean towards a more old fashioned way of life.
The building of self-esteem/confidence will shoot through the roof when children begin to learn how to do simple tasks and learn basic know- how that will carry through as they grow into adulthood.
I was a t.v. watching fanatic growing up. I am 34 years old now and wish I would have been steered in a more self sufficient life-style. I have only recently been introduced to the hard-working and satisfying life. I only hope to learn something new every day and be able to pass that down to my 3 year old son. He is all boy and thankfully, he loves to be outside pretending to hunt, fish, drive a tractor, etc. I have begun homeschooling him for preschool and he soaks it up like a sponge. It is we adults that put limitations on children. Children’s minds are extraordinary and have been designed by God and in His image! Wow.
Amidst our busy lives, make sure to take the time to slow down and teach your children to observe the beauty of nature. Remember, life began in a garden with plenty of vegetables, herbs, animals and love. All of this reminds us to thank our Creator for the numerous blessings He gives every second of every day.
Thanks for the great ideas — my daughter would love the camera idea. I think I’ll pick one up at the store tomorrow and get her taking pics of flowers in our backyard. Then, we can print the pictures and she can make herself her very own scrapbook.
One other idea that we use is to make just plain round sugar cookies and then frost them thickly. Then, my daughter can decorate them any way she wants with sprinkles, chocolate chips, marshmallows, and tons of other small candies or whatever else you can think of.
Jane
I’ve printed this list out and am now keeping it close to hand. I’ve been trying to get my kids to turn off the TV all summer and these ideas will definitely be used. I recently introduced my daughter to dress-up and now it’s impossible to get her to wear normal clothes!
These are great ideas. We used to complain that we were too busy to do some of these things with our kids, so we would often (too often) let them use TV and video games as a pacifier. We have found that, with a little time invested, we can spark their creativity and then they WANT to do things that are more creative and positive. It’s a nice change and has been a great summer.
These are some fantastic ideas!!! I have used some but others I didn’t even think to use.. My son has a hard time with not wanting to watch TV so we only let him watch 1 hour a day.. I am excited to try out these new ideas and see how he likes them! Thanks again