Governments and health officials urged people to stay indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that people, including many children, might be spending a more than average time with unhealthy screens at such a young age. Sure, the pandemic restrictions are lessening thanks to the rollout of safe and effective vaccines. But as of now, some health organizations have not allowed kids under 12 years old to take these vaccinations.
How to Keep Your Children Engaged
To keep your children engaged, make a plan for your kids and choose activities they can enjoy. You can also involve other family members to participate. You can also try to engage them with food and provide them with snacks as they keep active with the activities you introduced them to.
Some schools and community centers are closed, while many local authorities have suspended a few sports festivities. With protecting your family, you can be hesitant to let them play with the neighbors due to the risk of infection. While parks and other public spaces are perfect for social distancing practices, some parents still don’t want their children running outside. However, children have needs, and physical activity is one of them. It boosts their immune system, relieves stress, and promotes physical health.
Outdoor Activities
Even with the pandemic still going on, children aged 3 to 5 years old should at least have a total of three hours of light to moderate activity each day, while those aged 6 to 12 need an hour of vigorous exercise and activities. With that in mind, here are some activities that you can do with your children to keep them active:
- Scavenger Hunts: Hide colorful objects around the house, even inside, if you wish to have more hiding spots and give them challenges on what they have to find. You can set a theme like a pirate treasure hunt or a color hunt, with kids bringing the color items you name.
- Hide-and-Seek: Hide-and-seek is a classic physical activity that everyone will love. You have to set limitations on how far they can go and impose that no one can hide a foot away from your house. Take turns on who can be the seeker, and you can even add twists to the game, like whoever gets found first would have to dance or perform an act after the game to make the activity more challenging.
- DIY Playground: If you are up for the challenge, you can start a DIY project with the kids and build your children’s playground in your backyard. You can start with a swing set and a treehouse combo or go with a classic jungle gym. Sourcing the materials you need for the build might be a challenge. As such, you’ll need to reach out to stainless steel pipe suppliers for the swing body or the jungle gym. As a cheaper alternative before getting the real deal, you can tie a rope and an unused tire for the swings.
Indoor Activities
On the other hand, the activities you prepare for your children don’t necessarily have to be outdoor physical activities. You can encourage them to do things that will activate their brain and promote learning. Here are a few activities you can do to spend time with your children indoors:
- Arts and Writing Activities: Prepare coloring tools and stationery on a table and assign your children some activities like creating puppets and making a story out of their creations. They can also paint pictures, read books, and write short poems or stories. They can also dress up as their characters and let them present to you what they have written.
- Board Games and Puzzles: These tabletop games are one way of stimulating their minds and helping them improve creativity, problem-solving skills, and other cognitive functions. Some recommended puzzles you can play with your children are word games, card games, jigsaw puzzles, and coloring books. You can also introduce them to some board games for their age.
- Cooking and Baking: A fun way to bond and hone some skills is to let your children help in the kitchen. Encourage them to be assistants with baking cupcakes or other delectable pastries. You can assign them to whisk some eggs, mix the batter, do the icing, and do other steps safe for them. They can also pick out recipes for dinner, and you can make them all together. It will be a fun activity for the whole family.
Many health experts recommend parents to keep their children physically active, and in these times, they might feel restricted cooped up in the house. Instead of playing video games or watching TV the whole day, you can get creative by engaging them in all sorts of activities that you can do, both indoors and outdoors. Set a schedule and plan something that the family can enjoy.
