12 Wacky Ways To Occupy Kids That Require Very Little Effort
If you’re the type of parent who’s never far from glitter glue, face-paint, a cupboard-full of home baking equipment and pens you can use in water, look away now. This is for the, what I like to call, average parents. Parents like me.
The announcement of school closures has been a real shock to the system for those of us who are usually happy to leave the messy stuff – you know, papier-mâché, potato printing and bead necklaces – to teachers and nursery workers. You see, I’m not good at that. I’m very, very bad at it.
And while they’re well-intentioned, the plethora of WhatsApp messages and YouTube tutorials suggesting ‘fun’ activities for parents to do with their kids just end up feeling like a whole lot of extra work, to me. No, I don’t want to learn how to make 500 flour-filled ninja balls, thanks – I’m just trying to sit down for a few minutes to get some work done.
If you, like me, are completely clueless when it comes to crafts, and are looking to occupy your kids as best you can (with minimal effort), this is for you.
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1. Make chores sound fun
I don’t care how you do it, but for the love of all that is holy, make it sound like emptying the dishwasher is the leisure activity of a lifetime. My three-year-old literally gasped with anticipation when I told him he could empty the washing machine of wet clothes. I know. Living the soap-sud dream. My eight-year-old was less impressed with my dustpan-and-brush idea, but did enjoy a spot of role play with a handheld vacuum cleaner in the car. She even invented a whole persona and business, ‘Chloe’s Cleaning Service’ – but I think that was just to get a tip.
2. Run a Kitchen disco
No work involved at all – just chuck on Beyoncé and a disco ball, if you’ve got one, and tell them it’s party time. It...
