activities for a child?

Question

How many times do you take your kids out to mcdonalds, the park, roller-skating, swimming, etc??? I have an 8 yr old daughter and i feel like i have to take her out everyday to have fun. She is perfectly fine at home sometimes, I think it is just me!!! What do people do at home with their kids???

I have a 4 and a half month old son now and I don't want to end up feeling like I have to take him out all the time too but I think with my son, he will be way more bored than my daughter is, she can actually enertain herself when she is at home wherea my nephew is bored all the time

Answer 1

bake cookies, read, watch movies, crafts. there are plenty of things to do at home. have her help cook supper. little girls usually love to do that.

Answer 2

My 5 year old wants to be on the go all the time! We only do McDonald's once a month if that. We go to the park once or twice a week. During the summer I like to take them to amusement parks, zoos, and museums (I like this a little too much..it gets expensive!) At home we plant in the garden a lot. We make crafts (search the web, there's a ton). We play in the yard. We color a lot and practice writing letters.

I understand what you mean though, I think it's me who wants to keep him busy. If we aren't doing something, I feel guilty for making him bored. I also have a 2 year old who is perfectly happy to play at home doing anything.

Answer 3

Why not plant a garden or bake together? Read book/stories out loud to each other. There are plenty of fun things to do. Paint eachother's toes! Pitch a tent in the back yard and do a camp out or set up a sprinkler. Do a craft. Of course, some quiet time is always good too.
Have fun!

Answer 4

I used to read with them. We would walk by the lake. Color, paint, and they liked to dye different shapes of macaroni and make pictures by pasting them on cardboard. We would pick Queen Anne's Lace when walking and bring it home, put it in a vase with food coloring in the water and next day the lace would be the color of the food coloring. We would collect leaves and iron them in between wax paper. Lay out by the pool and look up into the clouds and see which clouds had shapes we recognized. Also I had girls and they helped with chores around the house every day. That was the only way they could get their allowance each week. When they got older we baked together and they enjoyed learning to cook. Basically, you need an imagination LOL Also you take the tops off of your margarine bowls, save your old cards and then cut the picture on the card to fit inside the margarine bowl cover and glue it in. Let the child sprinkle glitter around the margine bowl cover on the inside after you put a thin elmers glue around it. Poke a hole in the top and thread yarn through it and let them hang it in the window of their room and at Xmas time they can trim a tree in their room.

Answer 5

She sounds like she is an outdoors lover. Try playing board games or work puzzles. Get her involved with cooking dinner and cleaning up. I use the "refrigerator helper"...they get the items you need to and from the refrigerator. or get them to sort the laundry like a game. Colors here and white there..... ready.... GO. It helps you and teachs them to be more independant as they get older. But remember its not fun unless there is a prize for helping or winning. And it doesn't have to be candy....make it a trip to the park later....if she helps as much of the house hold chores, you will have time to get out and have fun at the pool or where ever. Think like a kid and play hide -n- go seek or buy a big poster board and make a drawing to hang on her door....saying....(Name)'s ROOM and cut and paste pictures from those magazine that you never read on there. My husband said that when he was young, his mom let him have a section of his room in a special kind of paint or pens that could only be seen under a black light and friends would come over and sign that one section of wall and when the black light was on he could see what they wrote. and the fun part about that was it couldn't be seen on the wall in regular light. So it wasn't tacky if your parents or other company showed up. Maybe install a large dry erase board or chalk board, or maybe draw on the sidewalk with chalk. Just be creative and try to remember when you where little what things you enjoyed.

Answer 6

It depends on how hyper your child is. There are several activities that you can do with them if you are at home with her. If you are into baking, she would enjoy making silly cookies with you, get her involved in the process. Another activity that my 7 year old loves is making crafts like bracelets, necklaces and earrings. There are varieties of bead kits at a low price at Wal-mart and sometimes at the Big-lots, if there is one in your area. We also make funny face sandwiches together instead of going out to McDonalds. Imagination is all it takes. Sometimes it is hard getting them to stay home but maybe going out 1/2 of the time and doing quality baking, crafting and just being silly together is well worth it.

Answer 7

I never take my kids to McDonalds. Yuck.

I think the more they are taken out, the more they tend to be bored at home.

Older kids can entertain themselves most of the time. Mine play with toys, go on the computer, have playdates, swim etc. Sometimes we will go out to lunch to a deli, the library or shopping.

Answer 8

I feel the same way.I have to take my 4 and 5 year old to parks everyday,But they seem to have fun when we play tag or set out the sprinkler outside but I always feel like I could be doing more.

Answer 9

just play a board game or ask her what she wants to do sometimes. most kids use their imagination to have fun and they use it the most at home. another great thing for older children is a small pet; a hampster or guinea pig that she can take care of and learn responsibility while having fun.

Answer 10

I know what you mean. Mine is always wanting to go outside and it never seems enough. But when we stay in I find that doing those silly activity books keeps us busy or we usually watcha a movie and eat some popcorn.

Answer 11

probably once a wk-if that-she expects that of you so waht happens if you cant do that anymore-need to get her ready for the real world-we have fun at home playing outside or riding our bikes,tennis going to the playground which is free!