Top Things to Get Your Kids to do if They’re Bored

Trying to manage your children when they’re bored can be a nightmare. Kids tend to get bored often, and you might have planned something only for external factors to ruin it. Keeping your children stimulated in day to day life is important for their future development. It will help to improve the way their brain works. Also, it increases their capacity for learning and social interactions.

It is vital to make sure that your kids have healthy interests and that they maintain an active and exciting play time. You need things that are going to hold your child’s attention whilst also amusing and entertaining them.

Nowadays it is even more difficult to keep your kid’s from becoming bored. Modern children have changing interests and hobbies and, as a result, can grow out of things they used to show an interest in. The easy solution would be just to set them down in front of the television and leave them to it. And this is okay, kid’s should watch TV. They need to know what’s going on in the world. But you should make sure they aren’t watching too much TV. This can affect their brains as they are developing, cause headaches and stunt social skills.

You need to come up with ideas that differ from one another, so the children are constantly entertained and stimulated. This may even lead to the development of new hobbies and interests that they may well carry into later life.

So how do you keep your kids amused and entertained when they’re bored? Well, this is the million dollar question. There is no right answer, and every case will be different dependent upon your children and their existing interests. But here are some ideas of things to get your kids to do if they’re bored.

Play Outdoors

The great outdoors is full of endless possibilities for amusement and variety. In years gone by children would often play outside, enjoying the excitement and adventure of the outdoors. Sadly in more recent times  iPhones and Playstations have taken priority over playing outside.

Try to encourage your kids to go and play outside. There is so much they could do. Playing football or another type of sport, is always a great option. Then there is going for bike rides, playing in the park and swimming.

Video Games

It is probable that your children already play video games on a semi-regular basis. This is a good thing. Video games are important as they teach kids how to lose and to be competitive. They can also develop imagination and teach children about narrative and storytelling.

There are many possibilities for video games these days. You may have consoles in the house. If not, then it’s likely that you will have a PC on which your kids can play video games. You can even access online games. For example, online databases of free games that can be played over the internet are available at the click of a button. The ability to play games online will give your kids much more variety. But make sure you monitor the type of thing they are playing.

Board Games

Board games are a great option for keeping your kids entertained. They are fun and competitive and don’t involve the use of electronics. If you want to have a ‘technology free’ day, then you can encourage the use of board games.

Another great aspect of board games is that many of them are strategic. As a result, they encourage critical thinking and problem-solving. You can also have fun social interactions whilst playing board games.

Creativity

A great way, to develop your kids brains and stop them from becoming bored, is to encourage them to do something creative. This could be something like painting or making something from Lego or Play-Doh. There is no limit to what your child can create, and they will be able to use their imagination to do anything.

You may discover that your children have a particular talent for something creative. They may decide that something interests them a lot, and they want to pursue it as a hobby. This could well develop into something more significant as they get older.

Chores

A good way to encourage your children to entertain themselves is to make them do chores. If your kid comes to you and says ‘I’m bored’ then getting them to do chores will have two positive effects.

To start with it will help to instill a good work ethic in your children and illustrate to them the importance of work. Second of all it will encourage them to come up with things to do themselves to avoid chores.

Development experts say that you should try to avoid relieving your child’s boredom. Instead encourage them to do this for themselves. This will help to develop their imaginations and make them less bored in the future as they will be able to come up with ideas on their own.

Take a Trip

A great way to relieve your children’s boredom and encourage exposure to other areas of life is to take a trip. You might decide on a day out as a family. Perhaps you will go sightseeing or take a trip to the zoo. You might even go a stage further and plan for a short holiday or weekend away.

It is important for kids to get out of the house and experience culture and history. Taking a trip will allow them to do this and will also have an air of mystery attached to it.

Build Something

If your children complain of boredom then a good way to combat this issue is to build something for them like a tree house. Or better yet, get them to help you. This will encourage creativity, and they can have input into the design giving them something to be proud of. If a tree house is too much then a simple cardboard fort or race car can be equally fun.

The practical nature of building something will keep the kids preoccupied. It will also give them their first experience of DIY.

Learn a Musical Instrument

A great way to combat boredom among your children is to encourage them to learn a musical instrument. These are great because they provide hours of entertainment and being able to play an instrument is healthy.

It will help increase creativity and channel emotions and aggression. You never know, your child may even develop a talent for music and go on to become a talented and popular musician!