Indoor hobbies!

[Looloohoohoo]

Hey was wondering if anyone had any ideas.
My daughter is 8 and I’m in desperate need of ideas for her to do in the house. Preferably things she can work on long term that will keep her engaged and bring her confidence up.

She suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, is scared of anything, gets bored quite easily and isn’t very interested in things like playing with toys or drawing etc. So far the only idea I’ve come up with that I think that she would be remotely interested in is knitting (I haven’t done that since I was a child!) which we could turn into a positive like making hats for babies in hospital.
I’d like to offer her a few ideas instead of just one.
I’m willing to learn a new skill to teach her or learn together.
Anything practical, online, tech stuff. Anything that will have a positive impact on her.
Thanks in advance ❤️❤️

There is a website you can go on where you help with animal conservation and research etc by watching videos taken by motion activatesd video cameras set up in the wild and you report what you see that set it off such as a bear, a monkey etc my kids loved it in lockdown but I cant remember what it was called now. Hopefully another mumsnetter might be able to tell us.

I’m not 8 years old, lol but I found sewing a great indoor hobby when I was experiencing anxiety and panic attacks as a result of an assault. I could immerse myself in it when I had little or no interest in anything else. You can make it as simple or as complicated as you like.
Doesn’t have to be expensive either.

You used to be able to get plaster of paris kits to make & paint popular characters.

Jigsaw puzzles?

Jigsaws? Unidragon on Amazon have some gorgeous ones.
Diamond art?

scratch.mit.edu/ she could have a play around on scratch, it's used to help kids (an adults!) learn the basics of coding, in a simple way and they can create games etc

Do you have much space? My DD enjoyed making a 'village' during lockdown. She semi planned it out then made little houses, incorporated lego, made roads with sheets of paper etc.

She got a real sense of achievement from creating something, and could play with it afterwards with play people etc.

She also makes newsletters where she research's topics, types out her findings and then emails them to grandparents. Grandparents give lots of positive feedback

Cooking
Paint by numbers
Child yoga - lots of YouTube channels for yoga I’m not sure if there is one that is aimed at kids but probably
Listen to podcasts - there are some that are stories aimed at kids. One is called 6 minutes.
Cross stitch
Making jewellery

I used to love sewing, knitting, reading, decorating a dolls house, pottery, flower pressing, basket making.

Do you have a sewing machine? If not Amazon are doing one for £63

Hobbycraft have loads of patterns eg some separates

I first learned to sew basic garments as a child and have returned to sewing a few times. If she doesnt want to make anything for herself is there a younger cousin or sibling she could make something for?

Or with the sewing she could start with making a cushion or draw string bag for her room. Or even turn doing up her room into a hobby, she could do some art and you get it framed.

We love a bit of doll making - there are loads of simple templates online or you can make any shape and sew two pieces together to make a blobby monster.

Make out of old clothes and stuff with the filling from an unloved teddy or cushion. Have fun drawing or embroidering the face, making dolls clothes and beds etc.

You could make a massive list of things to try!

Coding is an excellent idea.
Also language learning, using apps or maybe online tutoring.
Musical instrument? Keyboard, guitar ukulele...
Macrame (very hipster right now!). Friendship bracelet making
Gardening. Now is a perfect time to think about seeds.
Photography

Calligraphy

How about bobbin, my DD loves the look of it so we may give it a try

Was reading recently about a young lady who actually set up a business making personalised shopping bags!

She could start making a couple for herself maybe with some embroidered initial or applique picture and see if that catches on with her friends.

@Ugali

scratch.mit.edu/ she could have a play around on scratch, it's used to help kids (an adults!) learn the basics of coding, in a simple way and they can create games etc

They also have an app scratch junior

Making mosaics.

Can be as cheap as using any old smashed pottery bits and PVA on virtually any old thing (I've seen gumboots covered with mosaics and used as planters) and grout, to using exquisite glass tiles of the type that were used in Venice and Ravenna.

There's a lot of YouTube videos giving instructions at various level.

@Hellocatshome

There is a website you can go on where you help with animal conservation and research etc by watching videos taken by motion activatesd video cameras set up in the wild and you report what you see that set it off such as a bear, a monkey etc my kids loved it in lockdown but I cant remember what it was called now. Hopefully another mumsnetter might be able to tell us.

www.zooniverse.org/projects

Learn sign language?
Online Ukulele?

Cooking
Learning to play chess

Thank you so much for your replies. These are amazing ideas! I will definitely be trying most of these with her and see what one she clicks on to.

Sewing, knitting and crochet are both therapeutic and creative. You might find some kits a good way to start, simple cross stitch, embroidery or toys. You don't have to make for charity (although that's a lovely thing to do) she can make some things for herself or to gift. A lot of craft shops do child friendly workshops but children are often quick learners.