| How to entertain your child without switching on the television |
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Indoor activity guide |
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| Despite your best intentions, April showers and other hindrances can keep you all cooped up indoors. Although it is tempting to switch on the television on days like this, there is definitely worthwhile alternative. Entertain yourself and your children with the following suggestions, suitable for all ages and abilities. |
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Age - up to 5 years
Simultaneously the easiest to entertain and the biggest handful, the most rewarding thing about children of this age is that everything is new and exciting to them. Even traditional chores such as cleaning up have an exotic value to children up to five. Cherish this wholesome innocence while you have it.
Reading to children of this age is very important. Not only is it entertaining for you and them, but is proven to increase their successes in school. A nice colourful book, with a good story and vibrant pictures will captivate your child. Try taking on the voices of the characters in the books as this will enrich the experience considerably for the child. If you let them follow the words while you read, they will learn very quickly.
If the weather is really bad, why not have a picnic. indoors? Lay down a picnic rug in the middle of your sitting room, fill a basket with food and drink, and eat off paper or plastic plates with picnic cutlery. It may not be a real picnic, but your child will enjoy doing an 'outdoor' thing indoors.
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Age - 6-10 years
Around this age, you really should be nurturing your child's creative side. If you have Lego or other building blocks to play with, have a rummage around and make something together. Likewise, plasticine is fun to play with, and allows your child to do something creative. To further encourage their curiosity, ask your child if there is one thing that you do that they would like to learn, and teach them.
Board games aimed at 6-10-year-olds are generally quite simple, but help develop important social skills, i.e. learning to lose graciously and be dignified in victory. For children closer to 6, they learn the importance of sharing, waiting turns and will increase their attention span by making them follow the unfolding of the game.
When there is no going outside, it can be hard for your child to expend their natural childlike energy. Of course, you do not want them careering around the house, as they may hurt themselves or break something. But playing a bit of music and having a bit of a dance will give them a chance to expend some energy, improve flexibility and increase coordination.
Children love to be the kitchen, so why not involve them in baking. Activities such as measuring flour and sugar, and stirring ingredients together are fun, especially as it can be an enjoyably messy experience!
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Age - 11-15 years
By this age your children will have made their own friends and will prefer to hang out with them. You could invite a friend round for them to play with, and they will occupy themselves. This takes the pressure off you, and allows them to develop independent interactions between people that are so important.
But similarly, they will be becoming mentally sharper and more capable of logic and intelligence games. Nurture this by encouraging playing board games together. Pictionary is especially good for encouraging quick, lateral thinking, and is a lot of fun too. Trivial Pursuit improves general knowledge and charades improves vocabulary and comprehension.
Although reading is a big part of school life, it is good to teach your children to read for pleasure. If your child is showing an interest in something, buy them a book about it, and they will be very willing to while the hours away reading quietly.
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