Make a den in the garden to stay out of the sun for a little while and have fun reading a book together – a fun bright coloured story from ‘Uh Oh Milo!’ is perfect for younger children, and a great way to get conversations started with little people, around manners or temper tantrums.
What to do when they say “I’m BORED!” – let the BORED JAR do the talking! Find a lovely jam jar and decorate it with glitter and other crafty things and then get your kids to write on some slips of paper lots of fun, simple, inexpensive ideas for things to do to pop into the jar. So when they moan. ‘I’m bored’ they can pick out something from their jar and voila – they have something to do, make or play. Some ideas: building a den, going to the library, playing badminton in the garden, go mini beast hunting, painting a rainbow.
Rotate activities. Most kids are attracted to novelty and will be more willing to play with something that feels new. Put aside some of your kids’ toys and games for a few weeks. When you reintroduce them, they will find them more appealing and fun all over again. You could also swap toys with friends because other children’s stuff always seems somehow more interesting than their own don’t they?
Wash the family car together. Two birds, one stone. Stay cool, have fun, clean the car – and spend quality family time together. Sounds like a memorable and productive way to spend a summer afternoon and stay cool to me!
Have a water balloon toss up! Get the kids to fill lots of balloons with water. Depending on how many kids there are, you can set up different water balloon games. You can keep it simple and play ‘keepy uppy’ or have one person in the middle of a circle and when they drop the balloon – it bursts open soaking the player!!!
Tips provided by parenting expert at uhohmilo.com, Sue Atkins www.thesueatkins.com
