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

[Fivemoreminutes1]

They do lots of little jobs to earn pocket money which they can put towards buying things from gift shops on days out. We’re going to Warwick Castle soon and they know the gift shop will be awesome so they’re working very hard!
I’m saving every bit of food packaging I can - cartons, cardboard tubes, egg boxes, bottle tops etc… and we’re going to have a good junk modelling session when I can’t fit any more in the garage!
Yesterday I needed some time to sort through some paperwork, so I gave them a grater and some carrots, and promised that I’d make carrot cake if they did all the grating for me. It took them half an hour, but they grated every last carrot and enough to make two cakes, so now one is in the freezer!

[languagelover96]

Astrology- hours of pleasure

[littlecottonbud]

During the last few days - a paddling pool with a gazebo over the top, bubbles toys and music to dance to.

[jacqui5366]

Baking, hand print painting , collecting leaves on walks to make pictures with, papier mache balloon models, visiting free museums, paddling pool, gardening.

[LittleDeeAndME]

When it worked, baking (cornflake buns and peppermint creams), lego, hide and seek (them hiding and me pretending not to have seen them)

When it didn't making hand print paintings - all the mess and the blue faces when they thought it was HILARIOUS to paint themselves - just was not worth it.

[EsmeeMerlin]

We go for a lot of days out but try to spend as little as possible. We live in greater London so make use of merlin passes, free museums, free events etc. Today my preschooler did a dinosaur trail at our local shopping centre and received a free goody bag. Killed a couple of hours. We also visit friends and family and my eldest is signed up for a few free sports camps our borough is running. We will also visit the library weekly to take part in the reading challenge. We also have 4 different parks we can easily walk to.

For indoor days they have summer scrapbooks to do, homework from school and plenty of games, toys, puzzles etc.

[TheLovelinessOfDemons]

DD 13 occupies herself, DS 9 with ADHD always seems to be bored without a screen, although yesterday after school his friend had a pool party, which he enjoyed.

[RainbowStarsForever]

Get outside every day - play in the woods, playground, walk in the countryside. Day trips out. Inside - board games, television, games on ipad, baking.

[TheNarwhalBalloon]

Comics are a big hit here for absolute silent contentment... favourites are the Phoenix and Calvin and Hobbes

[ImFree2doasiwant]

So many ways! Indoor/outdoor treasure or scavenger hunts, or clue trails. My DC are 4 abd 6 and LOVE helping with housework. Tidy their rooms, dust and hoover, wash up their plastic plates and cups. Digging for fossils in the garden, colouring, puzzle books, taking photos and videos on their cameras. I challenge them to make make play scene with their dinosaurs/farm animals etc. They love the play kitchen and food and enjoy pretend play with it. Freeze small toys inside tubs/balloons of water and give them some tools to get them out . If I really need quiet time they get an hour with the kindle (now they've learnt not to argue over the 1 kindle!) Or listen to the Yoto.

[MrsFrTedCrilly]

We have an “bored jar” a selection of activities to choose..large jar full of pieces of paper..

It’s had suggestions like craft and art ideas, find a book to read, jump on the trampoline for 30 mins etc things that both children enjoy…
But also suggestions to vacuum a room and tidy up…
It has reduced the cries of I’m bored!!
I stole the idea from a friend so can claim credit as a semi evil genius

[MrsFrTedCrilly]

*can’t

[MarryBanilow]

Keep them off gadgets and take them outside to the woods/ beach/ park - lots of exploring to be done and fun to be had

[pushchairprincess]

When it works --- eye spy, (with wonderful clues (not) ) paddling pool, garden ride on toys, the park, feeding the ducks, crayons, lego.

When it does not work ANYTHING competitive - always ends up in tears, baking - everything has to be EXACTLY the same for each other , playdough and ANYTHING with glitter

[LassoOfTruth]

My DD is nearly 4 now but still loves “washing up”. I put a chair for her to stand on at the kitchen sink and fill the sink with plastic plates/Tupperware etc., let the water run a little. Once or twice she’s been so engrossed she’s had a wee wee accident!

[CorpusCallosum]

Dad is 2.5 and we do loads but the favourite has been tractor hunt.

I pulled a load of tractor pictures off the internet and used PowerPoint to arrange them on an A4 sheet. Printed off 2 pages, cut one up, laminated everything and used Velcro dots to make it into a matching puzzle. I hid the loose tractors around the house and gave DD the whole sheet in the morning then we hunted the tractors. She was thrilled and kept shouting MORE TRACTORS!!

😁

[Morred]

Definitely the garden for us. DS is nearly 3 and likes making “mud castles” (like sandcastles but with soil…), picking flowers (supervised!!) for a vase, chasing bubbles, picking the ripe raspberries and watering. He also likes a beetle hunt where I hide some beetles (made of scrunched up tin foil, pipe cleaners, etc) around the garden.

He’s also a demon on a balance bike so we get out and about on that.

[hedgehogger1]

The biggest cardboard box you can find and some arty bits/colouring pens seems to work well

[caravandreamer]

In summer i put a long piece of tarpaulin plastic on the grass and pour bubble bath on it and water and my 5 kids plus about 10 kids from our road all take turns to jump and slide along on their bellys on it. Its great fun for them and i get lots of peace while they are busy !! (The other kids mums love it when i do it as they get some peace too! )

My next trick is a few big cardboard boxes and felt tips for them to make shops, cars, boats planes out of, we even had one make a tv and my kids & kids from the road all took turns being the news reader, some of the news that day was crazy !!

[Fivemoreminutes1]

Yesterday I hid all of the 32 tiles that come in a Lego Dots bracelet set around the house for my Dd to hunt. Only when she’s found them all can she have the bracelet to put them on. She spend ages looking yesterday, and has only found 23! I hope she finds them all soon because I can’t do any hoovering until she has…

[DoItAfraid]

@MargosKaftan

Quiet requires screens.

Busy is usually messy.

Love this post. So relatable.

[pancakegirl]

Pls help me i am totally lost in that new MUMSNet format. I need some advice about what to do for a week around the BARBICAN (london) with a 4 year old but i cannot see where i can post this type of question. I tried facebook but i cannot find anything. I am aware of all the big museums and we will visit them but i was thinking more of doing like swimming or going to a park or more local things like that.

[Chocolatebuttercream]

@pancakegirl post in chat or in the local forums.

I used to work near the barbican but it was a decade ago. There is (was) a lovely little swimming pool about 2 mins walk from the tube station. Ironmonger Row Baths is also close and is fab.

[pancakegirl]

Oh that is amazing. thank you. I was starting to despair that anyone would respond. that's exactly the type of insider's knowledge that i was after! thanks again

[Chocolatebuttercream]

If you can wrangle a visit to the indoor gardens at the Barbican building they are unbelievably beautiful and perfect for a little one, but I suspect they are for residents only.