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How do you get your children busy and active over the holidays? Tell us for a chance to win Ready Steady Mo!, signed T-shirt PLUS £100 John Lewis vouchers

179 replies

SorchaMumsnet · 21/07/2016 16:30

Run in a straight line, Run round some bends, Run with your family, Run with your friends

Ready Steady Mo! is a fun action-packed rhyming picture book that will get kids reading, and running too.

To be in with a chance of winning the book, signed T-shirt and a £100 John Lewis voucher, just tell us - how do you get your children busy and active over the holidays?

This discussion is sponsored by Hachette and will end on 31 August

Books T&Cs apply

How do you get your children busy and active over the holidays? Tell us for a chance to win Ready Steady Mo!, signed T-shirt PLUS £100 John Lewis vouchers
OP posts:
asuwere · 22/07/2016 18:16

So far, every day, I have given them the choice of cleaning their room or going out to play, so far their rooms are uncleaned and I have had tired kids every evening. Smile

Purplehonesty · 22/07/2016 19:07

We've been to lots of parks and spent a lot of time in the garden these past two weeks. We have a big drive so lots of bike riding, scooting and driving (crashing) remote controlled cars

Our favourite is to go down to the beach after tea when it's quiet and cool and the DC love digging channels down to the sea from the pools on the beach.
They'd spend hours doing that, making dams and splashing about.

We've camped once and will probably go to our holiday cottage up north for a weekend or two. There is literally nothing there but a beach so waiting for a good weekend weather wise!

BananaChew · 22/07/2016 19:31

We have lovely NDN with children a similar age to my eldest. They spend the entire summer hols out riding their bikes, or playing in our garden. This summer we've invested in a tent so they can camp out! Very lucky to have ready made play friends on our doorstep.

AnneEyhtMeyer · 22/07/2016 19:33

This is the 3rd year of DD doing the 10 Minute Shake Ups from Change4Life which she has loved.

Also dog walking, trips to parks and theme parks (lots of walking at these!), swimming lessons and playing with friends.

amapola · 22/07/2016 19:49

Cycling daily. No excuses for any of us including myself. If it is not raining I ditch the car and the bikes are out, use them for everything, park, shopping, going into town.
Also they are enrolled in several sports activities, gymnastics, hockey and athletics. They do it in a group with coaches so it is a bit organise and the competitive site comes out as bit

CMOTDibbler · 22/07/2016 20:20

We just get active together - on days when ds isn't at holiday club (where he'll do 7 different sports every day) we'll cycle, run or swim together everyday. On holiday we'll either be cycling or in/on the lake

StillNoFuckingEyeDeer · 22/07/2016 20:29

We go to the beach and splash about in the sea, go cycling or go to the park.
I like to go running and the DDs always want to come with me these days, so I have to take them out for a little run after I get home (they're 5 & 3)

OhHolyFuck · 22/07/2016 20:48

Geocaching! Went 'treasure hunting' today with DSs and found bits of our city we'd never been to before, walked miles and had a lovely day together

SnookieSnooks · 22/07/2016 21:11

I just let them get on with it .... So far they have been playing Pokemon Go, tidying their rooms, baking cakes, watching tv, reading. They also came swimming with me

foxessocks · 22/07/2016 21:28

Trips to the park and the countryside for picnics. Bike rides. Swimming on rainy days or trampolining.

forkhandles4candles · 22/07/2016 21:31

We have to do it with them. Otherwise they would just loll around. So it is all of us out to the park for pick nicks, or on trips to castles and libraries.

UnikittyInHerBusinessSuit · 22/07/2016 21:40

Pokemon Go!

Gazelda · 22/07/2016 21:41

Making the most of the fabulous green areas around our home town. and we have fabulous park rangers that organise activities and nature walks.

throwingpebbles · 22/07/2016 21:45

A mixture of ways- got a few fun bits for the garden; we tend to go on quite "active" days out (eg adventure playgrounds) and also my son is booked to do sports camps on the few days I need to go in to work and now he has asked to do some extra sessions on his days off Smile
We also have a very active and outdoorsy holiday planned

I am naturally very quite lazy so I like to balance this out by sitting and reading stories with them or a trip to the cinema

RhubarbAndMustard · 22/07/2016 21:59

We've made lists- stuff to do at home (trampoline; making dens; fun with bubbles), stuff out and about for free (beach, park, woods), and treat trips (castles, zoos, etc). We sit down and plot out our week so we always have something to do a each day and tick off the list as we go.

CopperPan · 22/07/2016 22:13

I look up different activities and festivals that are happening in London as there is always something going on over the summer. We have free sports activities for children over the summer in our local borough and that's a great way to keep them busy.

Theimpossiblegirl · 22/07/2016 22:15

The girls got the 10 minute shake up packs from school and they are Finding Dory themed, so they are super keen to do it. We also have a dog so have daily walks. They are fairly active kids so it isn't hard to keep them active. Getting them to go to sleep however...

Theknacktoflying · 22/07/2016 22:19

Boredom is good - this stupid idea that you have to entertain kids and keep them constantly busy ....

Ensure that you are told when there is blood, but leave them to it

throwingpebbles · 22/07/2016 22:23

Haha so true "theknack" I like doing trips out and adventures but also love an afternoon pottering at home and letting the kids make their own entertainment.

finova · 22/07/2016 22:46

We like camping but it's hard work. So we've started doing long day trips on a Saturday so we get whole days running around on a beach then get to sleep in our own beds!
We've also discovered loads of fab bike trails near us. Just take a bit of finding.
Finally they love just helping in the garden, sweeping, weeding etc

ouryve · 22/07/2016 23:01

My eldest is a bus enthusiast, so we travel around on public transport several times a week, seeking out interesting places for him to take photos or spot vehicles he hasn't seen before. Neither boy is particularly sporty, but we rack up a lot of steps, this way, particularly if we get a train to somewhere completely new for him.

On days when we take a break from the bus (it's rather expensive!) we have a wander around the village.

Cheguevarahamster · 22/07/2016 23:07

Mine go to a local sports camp for a few days. They are very exhausted and dirty when they get home.

We also have a 'Boredom jar' - the kids help me to write different activities to do when they are bored. They take it in turns to pick. Activities such as 'Scoot around the block", "run up and downstairs 5 times", "go swimming", "play football in the park". They love it!

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VilootShesCute · 23/07/2016 05:20

We don't fill every day with activities I can't be doing with that but ds is happiest when outside so it's normally me being dragged out to watch him play basketball cricket or football, and as I can't run at all (spd) or walk far he is the ball boy, fetching every stray ball that goes off. Double the exercise for him! Tennis camps in summer holidays and cricket with daddy in evening. He doesn't seem to get bored of running non stop...

Dd is three so she just accompanies us and gets knackered.

DinosaursRoar · 23/07/2016 07:24

We try to have a plan for at least part of each day, ideally outdoors- mine are like puppies who need exercise to stop them going crazy.

Getting a trailer bike for dc2 (3) means we can all go for bike rides together.

My lovely mil bought us national trust membership so can do regular trips round their gardens and the ones near us do seem to have regular trails and clue hunts to keep mine entertained.

LifeIsGoodish · 23/07/2016 08:40

We leave a tent out in the back garden all summer, and anyone who wants to can sleep in there. This always means plenty of outdoor play after supper/before breakfast. Before anyone huffs, they are very good about keeping the noise down! No trampolining after 9pm or before 8am, either.

Screentime has to be earned by 200skips/bounces, or something similar. They usually get carried away and do vastly more.

The trampoline has proven a great activity toy because they do more than just bounce on it. Latest craze is badmintoline - badminton with one dc on the trampoline and one dc on the lawn.

Send them on errands to local shops - this is a novelty for youngest, and also for middle as she gets to go further on her bike (oldest is now blasé and won't do it Grin)

Garden sprinkler. Never used for watering plants, only ever brought out for water play.

Mega-bubbles in open parkland, especially on a breezy day.

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