Bored & Broke
What do you do when you kids are bored out of their minds and you are up to your eyeballs in past due bills with no money to spare? In today’s unfortunate economic position, millions of parents are looking to find cheap and fun activities for their children to participate in. I, for one, am definitely one of those parents who need help in finding these inexpensive yet interesting activities for my child. After days of my son giving me the “Really? Colouring again?!” look, I decided to turn to none other than my imagination to see what fun (and cheap) activities could be in store for us.
Scavenger Hunts
Scavenger hunts, much like the highly-anticipated Easter egg hunt, can be done anywhere from your yard to your living room. Depending on the age of your child you can adjust the difficulty. For my child, a nearly 3 year-old, I drew around 10 different objects on a piece of cardboard for him to find. For example, the if we began the scavenger hunt indoors ad I wanted him to find his red ball, I would draw a red ball with the word “ball” next to it as well as an empty box so that he can check it off once it’s found. I am not going to lie, his favorite part was saying “check” and marking things off the list. Either way, it got him running around and it was adorable to see how focused he could get as well.
Simon Says
So I didn’t exactly make this one up but it sure is a fun way to interact with your child….for FREE! For those of you who haven’t played this game in about a thousand years, you basically tell your child “Simon says raise your arms” and hopefully they follow suit. For younger children this may be difficult but a great spin on Simon Says is to simply mimic each other. If your child sees you hopping on one leg he or she will surely join in. Moving around and playing like this benefits you as the parent as well. Every little bit counts when it comes to exercise.
Watch a Movie Classic
Is it raining outside? Is your child feeling a little under the weather? Sit down and relax with your child and watch one of your favorite movies as a child. Sounds like something you do a little too often? Well your child may be stuck in front of the TV sometimes but you are probably more likely to be popping in and out of the room while doing chores rather than spending quality time with your child. Cuddle, chat, eat popcorn, have fun, and most importantly,… sit still and actually watch the movie.
