How do you keep your children busy? Share your stories of when it worked (...and when it didn’t!) with Boden - £200 voucher to be won

[BellaMumsnet]

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We all know that keeping our kids busy can get tricky, particularly during the school holidays when it seems like we're always looking for new ways to entertain them. That’s why Boden would love you to share your stories (successful or not!) of filling your children’s days.

Here’s what Boden has to say: “This summer, Mini Boden is continuing its popular Mini Missions series with exciting new challenges for sunny days. Mini Missions Summer Camp is packed full of easy activities to keep children entertained, with new ones to discover every few weeks. Missions include den building, picnic planning, foraging and stargazing – and Minis can collect badges for each mission they complete. Plus, place a Mini Boden order in July and get a free Summer Camp poster and stickers in your delivery (while stocks last). Get ready to get stuck in…Discover Boden Mini Missions here”

Perhaps you set them up with a box of crafts or enlisted the help of the older DC to play endless games of UNO while you finished that important Zoom call? Maybe you relented to an afternoon of TV or gaming in return for a chance to have a cup of tea in peace? Maybe your DC came up with their own entertainment...using your wardrobe as a dressing up box! Or perhaps you’ve encouraged them to try out some of Boden’s Mini Missions?

Whatever tactics you’ve employed, whether they’ve been rolled out every summer or swiftly abandoned, we want to know about them.

Post your stories in the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Insight T&Cs apply

[KatherinRosa]

Good old finer painting!! Works like a charm! 😄
My child loves to finger paint and it usually keeps her busy for 20 minutes or so, depending on how big the paper I give her is!

[Gazelda]

Tie dye. Don't do it, honestly.
Kits cost a fortune, then you have to find cotton bits to dye so I ended up buying a load of new socks and t shirts.
It creates a bloody mess. Then you have to was everything on cold, but can't mix colours, so did about 6 separate washes. (Sorry environment). They all turned out murky.
She loved it though! And wears the grimy looking socks with pride.

[GreenCrayon]

Cardboard boxes are the king (or queen) of entertainment value vs funds spent.

This week its been unbearably warm and everything feels like way too much effort so me and the toddler have been making the most of a huge box given to us by our lovely neighbours.

So far he's coloured it in, played hide and seek in it, filled it up with as many toys as possible, sat in it to read his books and we've cut holes into one side so he can post things through it. All whilst Mama sits on the sofa melting and mumsnetting.

[Duvetflower]

Grit your teeth for the first three days of holidays. After that they relearn how to amuse themselves.

[GooodMythicalMorning]

Lots of paper and pens, we used to make jewellery but they've grown a bit big for that now.

At the moment they just like to run around and play outside, only need their imagination!

[cheeseandwine2019]

Tuff tray with activities - pots of water, play doh, food colouring on food! Mud kitchen!

[polar2019]

Water trays with jugs, cups, bottles to pour between for my. 20 month old - especially in an empty paddling pool on a day like today which keeps everything else nice and dry. We also do loads of painting with textured rollers to make patterns (it's cleaner than paintbrushes too)

[Bitofachinwag]

I don't think you should "keep children busy". They need to learn to be creative and manage their own time.

[scrivette]

I like to have 'breakfast picnics' at the park. Will be especially useful for the days that I need to work from home as it means that they have been out and released some energy before having to do quieter activities at home.

[FurForksSake]

Asking them to plan a three course meal works well. Give them my recipe book collection, some ground rules and off they go. They have to write out the menu and a shopping list. We then go and buy the ingredients and they help cook. We get all the posh place settings stuff out and they decorate the table. Always goes down well and is a lot of fun.

For older children you can give them a budget or give them a bag of ingredients and access to store cupboard and ask them to make a meal.

[MotherofPiggies]

I agree with the posters saying to let your children create their own amusement at home, peppered with going out and about to the park etc. My kids used to love making their own ‘films’ in the garden with lego figures - something I would never have thought of!

[ApplesandCustard]

Another vote for 'fence painting with water' here. I challenged my DS (10 yo) to bake a cake when it was raining a couple of weeks ago and he loved it! The younger one (2yo) say and watched and helped with the mixing a decorating when it had baked. It was nice to see them playing together for once!

[awonderfuladventure]

Mine are too old now to be kept busy but it would be theme parks and Aqua parks if I had to try to. And food, feeding them nice food always wins.

[KillerFlamingo]

We love catching fish in the river, exploring the woods in all weathers, picnics and adventures.
We have tons of books and games, mostly second hand but lots of fun, there's so much to do and not enough time!

[Jellycatz]

We split the day up and include outside activity like putting the tent up, planting or chalking on the driveway. Chill out time watching a film or playing a game, art and reading and cooking. I find if the activity isn’t too long they don’t get bored and it feels like a lot has been fitted into the day! Some days are more successful than others!

[Fivemoreminutes1]

Freeze a load of small plastic toys in a giant block of ice (use an old ice cream tub or a freezer-proof mixing bowl). Tip the block of ice gently out onto a table, patio or garden, give the children spoons, forks and other utensils and they can hack merely away at the ice until their toys are released. You could add food colouring to the water before it freezes for extra fun!

[Fivemoreminutes1]

Hang up some old (dry) sheets on the washing line, arm your children with water pistols or squirty bottles (washing up liquid ones work well) and a large bucket of water for re-fills, and they can spend ages shooting at the sheets until every last corner is wet.
We’ve taken it one stage further and painted targets on to the sheets and drawn a ‘shooting line’ behind which they have to stand!
Definitely keeps them busy and saves the poor cat from getting wet!

[Marmitemarinaded]

My approach is outside.
Any weather!

Exhaust them
Then return home and don’t feel guilty if they flake in front of TV!

[thelegohooverer]

I put in the groundwork when they were small- playing with water, and mud, building with sticks and stones, hidey holes behind bushes, watching birds and clouds, climbing trees, digging for dinosaur bones, planting, chalk games, obstacle courses etc.

Now that they’re tweens, I’m reaping the benefits. They’re old enough not to need me in the garden, and there’s something about being outside that stimulates their own creativity.

My moment of genius was implementing a rule that they had to be outside for at least 2 hours before I will even consider anything electronic.

[changeyourname]

My sons and I create a summer bingo activity sheet with small prizes (such a comic) or outings (to the not so local parks that they enjoy) to reward each line completed. I include any summer homework activities they have been given from school, a few quiet independent activities like reading a book or completing a jigsaw, and I pop some life skill ideas in there too, this year is learning to make a cup of tea and their own favourite sandwiches. The boys include things like building sandcastles, trying a new ice-cream flavour, all of the fun things that they want to do over their summer holiday. It helps us to take the pressure off choosing activities in moments where they are struck with boredom, and saves me nagging them to get on with homework as they have the incentive. Once they have a full house they can choose a day trip idea, which is usually something like a trip to the local water park or ice-skating.

[CopperPan]

I like to get out with my dc at every opportunity we can, it fills up the days quickly - getting ready to go out, travelling there and back, looking around, having lunch. We're in London so there's always somewhere interesting to visit, like museums, galleries or just wandering along the Thames Path or doing the usual touristy things. I keep up with a lot of the venues on social media so I'm up to date with all the new exhibitions and hands-on activities they have.

[paralle]

My kids have big age gap so have very different needs and can’t play together for long time. I have to book different clubs/ lessons for them individually.

[OnlyToWin]

Always found stickers to be a winner.

[rosalindwi]

It's good to have a routine, otherwise the children don't want to go to bed and you lose your evenings. Orchard toys games are easy to play and often have an educational slant. They are also suitable for little toddlers to older children so great for getting the children playing together. Starting the day playing some of these goes down well. Then a little snack and drink. Sometimes a little screen time is OK when preparing lunch and then on the afternoon getting out for a short walk to the park or local shop. Simple things like making milkshakes or a teddy bears tea party at home are popular for the under 7s. Obviously would be great if I did all this - far too often resort to the telly!

[kennythekangaroo]

We've also done the getting out and about - just a dog walk or bike ride locally is fine. Doesn't matter about weather - it's just as much fun in the (Summer) rain.