Today’s guest post comes from Diana Forest. Enjoy!
Do you spend more time than usual at home with the kids at the moment? With children who are also sufficiently alert to become restless? You’re not alone! Here we have gathered our best tips on things to do with the little kids.
Staying at home with children, whether it is to wait for an illness or due to quarantine, can be a roller-coaster path between cozy, screaming, laughter and frustration. How to plan the day depends of course on the child’s general condition? If the child is ill or hungry, it may be time to take it easy on the couch or quiet walks in the carriage, while a nicer child may need to be employed a little more.
Regardless, it can be good that you can adhere to the child’s normal routines, by all means do not forget to often offer proper food and drink. And if you haven’t already – set up a cozy play corner in the home where the child can easily walk to play off.
Why is it important to do family activities at home?
Although some still have to go to work or school despite the current circumstances, most of us are at home many more hours a day than usual. This means that we now have to balance the responsibility for household tasks with maybe working from home, helping the children with their school work and keeping them busy.
But the positive thing with all this new found time is that we can now do things that we have long postponed, like sorting old clothes, repairing furniture, painting the walls of a new one, fixing in the garden etc. And we now also have more time to rest and have fun. Rest is very important, and it is something you should definitely take a chance on when you have time.
At the same time, it is also important to devote some of your free time to doing things with the family, things that are fun for everyone. And why not learn something new at the same time?
There is no doubt that covid-19 is a serious problem worldwide and it does not seem that it will disappear in the near future… But you have to try to see it positively: it gives many families the opportunity to spend time together and also teach them to handle the situation with the questions to ask kids.
The best way to handle the situation is to make fun and engaging activities together. It gives us time to relax and recapture lost time with those we love … Time that we have not always been able to give each other in the chaotic and stressful life we have been so used to living.
Tips on things to do at home with toddlers:
1. Set up a cozy play corner. Choose a place in the home with a cozy and soft rug where you can set up a few different “play stations”. This way you can collect the toys in one place and the child knows where he or she can go to play.
2. Paint. There are no restrictions here, sprinkled with paint and water. If you are worried about getting stains, then plastic the entire table so the baby gets dressed properly.
3. Add puzzles. Puzzle games are the best for kids learning. You can play puzzle game with your kid if you’re stuck at your home. It will not only help in their learning but also help spending time together with joy.
4. Build Lego. Duplo for the younger, small lego for the slightly older. Perfect for letting your imagination flow.
5. Make a slide. Perfect if you have a staircase at home, otherwise a sofa or bed also works, to put a mattress on and couch down together.
6. Clean together. Involve the children in the chores, it will be more fun for everyone!
7. Wardrobe. Have the children tear out the wardrobe and put back (take care to clean).
8. Coffee rep. Make coffee rope with dolls and boy animals.
9. Sing and dance. Turn on music on speakers or the TV and let the kids dance away.
10. Bake together. Baking is a real vab classic. Why not try our popular chocolate chip cookies or cinnamon buns recipes?
11. Read books. Prepare your favorite books and have a cozy time.
12. Build a hut!
13. Hug and tickle. You can easily get an energy dip during the day and what could be better to lighten the mood than cozy hugs and lovely baby laughs?
14. Facetimea with favorites!
15. Be out as much as possible. Fresh air is good for everyone. Go out and take a walk, maybe to the park if the child is doing well, otherwise a quiet walk in the carriage. Do you have proximity to a forest – pick cones, leaves and sticks in a bucket that you can then take in and paint. Bring a picnic!
16. Make a home spa. Put face mask (on you) and paint the nails together.
17. Biologics. Turn your living room into a movie theater and pop up with popcorn or other snacks and drinks.
18. Play treasure hunt. Hide small things in a room that the children can look for.
19. Make your own magic wand. Mix 1 dl hot water, 2 dl flour, 1 dl salt and 1 tbsp oil which you mix with any caramel color. Play loose!
20. The taste. Cut up different pieces of food, fruit, or other, and let the baby taste and guess what it is.
21. Tornlekenken. Build as tall a tower as you can. Compete for who builds the tallest tower and take cards on the tower.
We mentioned routines in the beginning, and this is usually good especially so you have control of energy and blood sugar levels! Schedule suggestions can look like this:
- Breakfast
- Play / craft while
- Go out and get involved (bring fruit / snack)
- Home for lunch
- Rest or read a book
- Fruit / snacks
- Play / Crafts While
- TV time
- Dinner
- Quiet evening activity or evening stroll
- night Ning
Author Bio: I’m Diana Forest, a working mother and a writer, who likes to share her journey as a mom. I have been working with the healthcare industry for a decade.
