As parents my husband and I try to limit our kids screen time as much as possible. We don’t have a hard and fast rule for the number of minutes per day our kids can be on their devices because, let’s be honest, some days are made for movie marathons, other days I just forget they’re playing video games because I’m knee deep in work. But we generally stick to a no screens on weekdays policy, and just a few hours on weekends. During the summer they are allowed more time, but only after they complete their “lists” (more on that in another post!).
In central Texas it doesn’t get too cold or hot during the year, meaning I can kick my kids outside to play almost any time. But when they’ve had their fill of our backyard or the woods at the end of the street they come inside, flop down on the sofa and sigh, “I’m bored. What should I do?”
Full confession: I usually just give them a chore to do, and 90% of the time they backtrack and say they’re actually not bored. That usually fixes the “I’m bored” problem for an hour. But when I’m in a more hands-on parenting mood I suggest one of these top 5 screen-free and mess-free activities.
Something you should know: when I say mess-free what I mean is messes that are unusual or difficult to clean. You won’t find me suggesting your kids play in shaving cream or bake you cookies. Most of my suggestions do have your kids using paper or taking out their toys. Those kinds of messes are unavoidable and enjoyable in my book.
1. Start A Restaurant
This is one of my daughter’s favorite things to do. She sets the table in our craft room with our play kitchen plates, silverware, and cups. She creates a menu and a restaurant sign. She either invites the rest of our family to visit her restaurant, or she sets up her stuffed animals in the chairs. Oftentimes she ropes one of her brothers in to be the cook while she pretends to be the waiter.
If your kid isn’t old enough to write their own menu they can just draw pictures of the food they want to serve. They can also make placements, decorate the table, and make fake food out of paper if you don’t have plastic food.
This game is a great way for kids to be creative, but I can see a lot of other benefits too. You can talk to your kids about the different types of food they would serve at a restaurant, what foods they like or dislike, and what kinds of food they want to try next time you go out as a family. You can model proper restaurant etiquette, and ask them how it feels to be the one serving instead of the one ordering. Or you can just let them do their thing while you throw in a load of laundry or answer some emails!
2. Take A Bath
Bath time isn’t just part of our nighttime routine! When my kids are antsy I let them take baths together with their swimsuits on. To be honest, they just play with toys the same way they’d play outside the bath, but now with water.
I see you there thinking, wait isn’t this a mess-free list? And yes, water does get on the floor from time to time. But it is just water, easy to mop up with a towel.
When my kids take a fun bath they get to pick out toys they don’t always use in the bath. When they were smaller I would sit on the bathroom floor with a book or my laptop so I could keep an eye on them and make sure they didn’t drown. Sometimes I add a few drops of lavender oil or a cap of bubble bath, but usually I just fill the tub and let them go for it.
3. Build Me Something!
This is a good activity for kids who have a hard time coming up with things they want to create. My daughter thinks up all sorts of ideas on her own, but my sons need some prompting. Once I assign them a task, though, they’re all over it.
If your kid is really into a certain character this activity is especially good for them. I recently told my boys to build Diagon Alley from Harry Potter. They used Legos and each picked a different building they wanted to create from scratch. We have several Harry Potter Lego sets that they built a while ago then disassembled, so it was easy to find pieces to fit the theme.
If your kid is into Bluey they can make a Bluey house out of blocks, Legos, paper and tape, or even pillows. Rinse and repeat with your child’s favorite character. Bigger kids can get harder assignments such as – build a car using paper, tape, and plastic straws (see the picture below!).
The thing about this activity is the thing they build doesn’t have to be good, it just has to exist. The paper car my kids built has no wheels. Does that matter? Absolutely not. Bluey’s house doesn’t have to look like the real one. It can have mismatched colors and no real doors or windows as long as your kid has fun with it. Some kids are naturals at imperfection, others need to know it is ok not to be perfect.
4. Practice A Skill
Is there a skill your kid wants to learn? Cartwheels? Making a paper airplane? Blowing a bubble with bubble gum? This activity takes a little bit of effort from the parents on the front end, but once you get your kid started with the basics they can take it from there.
For example: your kid wants to learn how to cartwheel. Take them outside, or in your living room if you’re blessed with one big enough, and show them how to do it. Then tell them to practice and report back when they’ve made some progress, however small. This gives you the opportunity to praise them for their hard work, and encourage them to continue in that work.
“You did such a great job with that cartwheel! It is looking more fluid than last time you showed me. Do you think you can practice getting your feet higher when you turn over now? I can’t wait to see the progress you make!”
I love when kids are able to figure things out on their own and when they can be proud of an accomplishment. For parents, this activity gives us an opportunity to show our kids how good it feels to put hard work into something. It it also a good way to talk to your kids about practice and perfectionism. We try our hardest and sometimes things come easy, other times they don’t. What I reiterate to my kids is: no one is perfect the first time. Most things that are worth doing will be hard, and you may want to quit. But the feeling of accomplishment you get when you do something hard is worth it!
5. Games Of Things
How many windows are in your house? What about doors? How many yellow blocks do you have in your block bin? Can you find all the big rectangle blocks? Can you line up your stuffed animals by size?
Games of things (counting things, sorting things, finding things) are the kinds of activities that keep your kid busy while making you feel like they’re doing something educational. Elementary school kids can get extra points by using the tally mark system to count things, then counting by fives to get the total number.
You can even make it into a scavenger hunt game. Make a list of items and set your kid off to find them.
A sample little kid list is:
- Five blue things
- Five red things
- Five yellow things
If your child doesn’t read just make colored squares on a piece of paper and tell them to put things in the squares of the same color.
Big kids can get a more complicated list.
A sample big kid list is:
- Two items that rhyme
- Five Lego minifigs from different sets
- An item for every color of the rainbow
This activity is great for indoors and outdoors!
Now go be creative!
Kids are fun and creative, and watching their creativity bloom is pure joy. It is one of the things I love most about being a parent. But when my kids spend too long attached to a screen I find it really dampens their creative side. If you’re working on limiting screen time don’t worry if it take a while for them to enjoy their time and don’t be afraid to set limits!
Catherine Michalk 