To ask you what keeps your children entertained?

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My children are 5 (next month) and 6.5.

The trampoline, ipads/tv/films, colouring/drawing and barbies for my eldest are pretty much what keeps them entertained for longer than half an hour.

I'm not saying I want them entertained so I don't have to play with them, I want to find something they can get involved with/play with that grips them for a while.

For example, when I was younger I used to play with my farm animals for hours or pretend to be a teacher and put all my friends into different groups etc. (Did anyone else do this? 😂) or I would play shops for ages.

Admittedly I was raised by only my father who, although brilliant, didn't play with me or my brother. So we had to entertain ourselves, whereas I think myself and DH are quite hands on with playing.

I don't know, maybe we just didn't have as much technology so we're able to hold concentration for longer?

The kids are getting cabinitis, as we all are! I'm just stuck for ideas.

Thanks!

I think you're right and it's a good skill they need to learn. Nothing wrong with not wanting to play with them, either! You shouldn't have to play with them all the time or provide passive entertainment.

Do you let them get bored and ignore the whining or do you generally provide something if they ask enough?

I don't have any easy answers because I seem to have dropped the ball on this for DS1 (11) but I would say that it needs to be them, not you, coming up with the ideas.

Maybe you could have a kind of family brainstorm and they could suggest ideas of things they'd like to do, so that you can facilitate anything that needs it (e.g. more art materials, or whatever), you could make an ideas box that they can pull ideas out of if they feel bored.

Honestly, I'm a big believer in letting them be bored. Nothing good comes of trying to keep kids occupied for their entire working day, I think it stifles their imagination and creativity.

Your post did remind me though, my sister and I used to play schools all the time. We had an old fashioned slate board and would take turns at being the teacher we also loved board games, things like buckaroo would probably be suitable for a 5 year old, and can be a two player game.

Do you have a garden? We play a game with chalks where I write numbers 1-20 around, or letters of the alphabet and they have to find them in order. Keeps them busy a while.
Treasure hunt where you hide clues around the house.
Obstacle course.

I agree that sometimes they need to be bored, but I struggle with the 'I'm boooooored, there's nothing to doooooo' and my reply of 'you have hundreds of toys, I'm sure you could find something to play with!' is never good enough.

I have to admit I do get irritated when there is so much they could do, toys they pleaded with me to buy, that they now show little interest in!

My kids are exactly the same age as yours, OP. I was debating posting something similar as mine don’t just “play” with toys. We have lots of playmobil, Lego, sylvanian families etc, and they’re just not that interested. Added to this, I’m rubbish at “playing”, and it’s not a great combo. I also remember reading lots by myself as a child. My two just won’t.

Anyway, that’s not helpful! Things I’ve found to entertain them for a bit:

Kinetic sand / play doh set out on the table

I’ve collected all recycling bits, so they get all the old boxes and tubs, I give them scissors, glue, sellotape and they’ll make “robots” and “cat houses” for quite a while 🤣

Hex bug games

Marble run

We love playing Monopoly together

Lego mostly here. DS is doing the 30 day Lego challenge with both his mate round the corner and his cousin in New Zealand! They make the same thing in the same day then WhatsApp each other the results - lots of variations and they are very very happy (although we've had to come together and brainstorm another 30 challenges as we've been locked up a month now ).

Minecraft.

Junk modelling with egg boxes, milk bottles, loo roll tubes, biscuit boxes etc. He's currently playing with his box-carten-loo roll "town" called Easter Bunnyville

Science experiments from an awesome book my brother gave DS for his birthday. Science, technology, engineering, art, maths - fabulous book. You need ice, string, balloons, tape measure, random craft stuff. Easy to follow instructions. Lots of recording results and making pie charts etc - keeps him occupied a good two hours or so.

We have films and boardgames at night.

He must read to his toys at least 20 minutes a day (he is a book-avoider!).

Nerf gun fights with DH, and I made a big nerf target out of a cereal box,he gets points for hitting various triangles/squares, each round getting 50cm further back from the target - and he has to add them up! Maths, yay!

He hates reading, writing, drawing, colouring in. He doesn't have siblings. We're in a flat no garden. He hasn't left the house in a month. If he's bored, he pootles about.

I've just downloaded a stop motion app to the tablet, so he can start making Lego/Playmobil/war films for us to enjoy.

If he's bored, we'll stop and do something together, but both of us are working from home, DH flat out, me in the afternoons. We do Joe Wicks 3 X week and lots of obstacle course-type exercise during the day (Mission Impossible over chairs, under tables, step carefully through the minefield of plastic dinosaurs and pegs, that type thing).

It's exhausting, but you do what you can.

If your kids like drawing/colouring, could they make a story?

I think my, let's face it - lazy, parenting style has worked wonders for me.
I wouldn't consider playing with them at those ages unless I wanted to. (And I do, board games, bike rides, walks, a snuggles movie). And it's worked..
It's just non- negotiable.
My dds have never ever said 'I'm bored' to me. I recall having a conversation, just a general one, when they were around 5, when one of them asked what bored meant, and I explained it's a feeling for people with no imaginations. This is probably why they never say it. So, it worked. They know what my response would be if they dared say it.

We've been setting up what's app calls with classmates for our yr1 5 yr old. They love it, they can spend an hour just walking round the house, showing each other their toys via video and chatting about what they've been making/doing at home.

1 call a day, around lunch time has really helped break up the day and given all parents involved a little break to get some work done.

“If you can’t find something to do you can tidy your bedroom/playroom”

They soon find something to do.

Mine are 7 and very nearly 5.

Long role play works well for them, even if I have to give them a prompt: restaurants, shops, a farm, going on holiday. They'll spend a good couple of hours eg packing a suitcase, making passports and tickets, catching the plane, going to the beach, going out for a holiday dinner etc

They don't do small world play but will spend time with Lego, especially if they have a theme to work from eg a town, a cafe, a castle

Trampoline, swing ball, netball and football, bikes and scooters outside

Den/pillow fort building

They also like planning a dinner - picking a menu, helping make it, setting the table, making place cards and decorations. DD1 will also write a restaurant review