30 Activities for Kids that don’t include screens!

30 Activities for Kids that don’t include screens!

Have you been scouring the internet looking for activities for kids that don’t include using screens?

How to keep kids occupied

And off the screen. This is the biggest problem parents of this generation face, whether your child is 2 or even 16!

Technology is all around us!

Most of the things that children do nowadays are on a computer, tablet or through a mobile phone. Technology has speeded up learning on the one hand by putting out information for everyone to have access to, but it has also made our kids a little less involved in the world.

Studies show…

There have been several studies wherein it is conclusive that children under the age of 5 have behavioural problems if their usage of phones, tablets or computers were not regulated.

Some studies even say that the developmental milestones of children at this age aren’t reached when there is too much screen time. But with weary parents (believe me, I feel you), screen time has always helped to give them a respite from parenting and keep the child busy for those few precious moments of “me” time, aka cleaning the house or getting a cup of coffee.

To attack the problem in another way

Knowing that children of the ages between 2-5 are just a bundle of energy and are very enthusiastic in learning more about the world around them, aka pushing your limits as well as theirs.

So perhaps, it would be prudent to look at this problem this way instead: what can you do to keep them occupied that is fun, hopefully educational, and could possibly help expend that energy that our little ones have?

 

Here are a few things that we have read up on and some we have used:

Kids Activities 1 – 10

1) Climb those trees! With supervision, of course.

2) Why don’t you use this time doing fun and simple science experiments? Relatively simple and not too much mess. Love and Marriage Blog have some great ideas here!

3) Bring out the dry pasta and do some arts and crafts.

4) Do an afternoon picnic after their naps (if they still take them) at the park.

5) In line with the picnic, ask them to help prepare what they want to eat as a snack: cheese slices, fruits, juice, water, and whatever else they feel they want to consume, ask them to help you pack the picnic basket to help them prepare for the activity.

6) Teach them to bake cupcakes or cookies.

7) Teach them how to make pancakes.

8) Encourage them to create artwork! Show them the “art space” on the wall where you will hang the best of the best after. (And not just the fridge)

9) Get large poster paper, and on top of a waterproof surface, grab some paint, brushes and some water and let them go to town. Remember the Art Space on the wall.

10) Send them on a Scavenger Hunt: 5 quarters, 2 rocks, 10 beads….anything that you can find in or around your home. PRO TIP: You can use this to help CLEAN their mess. See where we’re going with this?

Kids Activities 11 – 20

11) Give them a bit of responsibility by giving them a simple chore like watering the indoor plants. Show them how it is supposed to be done, and tell them that they are in charge of doing that for a month. If they do it properly, MAYBE you will give them more! (Brainwashing them that chores are cool is a Godsend to me.)

12) Spare half an hour and make a Fort with your little ones that they can play in in one corner of the house. Ideally, this is in or near their room or play area, and then they can bring their toys and things into the Fort without too much of a mess.

13) For those who want to Marie Kondo their closet, they can give their kids their unwanted clothes to play with and get in costume.

14) This is the time to bring out those board games. Candyland is always a winner.

15) Nothing helps kids get rid of their energy as much as swimming. A wading pool, inflatable one, a neighbour’s pool, grandma’s house, or the clubhouse pool, it doesn’t matter. Summer will be back before you know it so as soon as it starts warming up, bring out the sunscreen, make sure there is a lifeguard on duty and let them play. They’ll be begging to stay in longer than you’d think.

16) Do a campout in your living room or better yet, your garden!

17) Through the campout, try and show them or learn with them the constellations at night.

18) Visit a museum and talk to your children about the stuff on display.

19) Make the next meal with them. Just make sure to make it easy so you don’t go nuts.

20) Get that little kitchen garden started! Ask them to help you with getting seeds out of fruit, or helping get vegetable scraps together. Show them how to plant these and watch them grow. Check out this cute little garden starter kit you could use with your children.

Kids Activities 21 – 30

21) Make a little racecourse using old toilet rolls for “tunnels”.

22) Have a little reading party OUTSIDE. Get some iced tea or lemonade, maybe even after your picnic, find a comfy blanket, and bring a pile of books to go through with your little one.

23)  If the wind is blustering away, pull out a kite like this colourful delight.

24) This may sound crazy to some, but ask them to help you wash the car. They, of course, will not be able to reach certain parts, but you better believe that bumper will be getting a lot of attention from your little one.

25) Bring out a puzzle that you can do together, and you can have a sly educational session about colours and shapes using the puzzle pieces.

26) If you have a big enough glass door or window, get some whiteboard markers and let them draw on the glass doors.

27) Play hopscotch! Easy and can be done outdoors or indoors, so long as there’s enough room, and using yarn or string for the boxes is a great idea.

28) A little messy, but finger painting will always be fun.

29) Make homemade DIY bubbles!

30) Build and make stuff with blocks and Lego, or even little pieces of fabric and string that you have around the house.

The point is…

In conclusion, whatever you decide to do, try and do them together and just have fun with your kids.

So these are some activities to help keep them off the screens and engaged while allowing you have some “me” time as well. A WIN-WIN for everyone! Good luck!

Finally, please save this post to your parenting or kids activities board on Pinterest!

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