Joyce J
16 December 2022
We share some fun ways to spend time with your children.
When we were young, the question of how to spend time with our children was a big deal. Now, there are plenty of ways to spend time with your children, many of which don’t cost a lot and provide an unforgettable experience. Here are some ideas:
Go for a walk
Get some fresh air and explore your neighbourhood together.
Take your kids for a walk, whether it’s just the two of you or a day trip to the park. Take them to the local shopping mall, and let them explore the stores there.
You don’t have to be in a hurry. Go somewhere quiet in nature, where they can really enjoy themselves while they are with you.
If you have time and money, take them to places like waterfalls, lakes or alligator ponds.
It doesn’t matter whether these places are cold or hot; just let your kids play as long as they are comfortable.
Kids tend to get bored quickly when things start getting too hard; this is also why it is important for parents to set some limits when it comes to their children’s free time: ask them what they want for dinner and make sure that you follow through on their requests.
Have a picnic
Spread out a blanket and enjoy a meal outside in the park or your backyard.
Make homemade pizzas
Let everyone choose their own toppings and get messy making dinner.
Ever tried to make homemade pizza? Now’s your chance to be creative and let your children choose their own toppings. You don’t have to be a chef or cook your own pizza. Just make something you’re proud of and show it off to the kids. It doesn’t have to be fancy, either.
Just make something that’s kid-friendly: Pizzas can be made in a microwave oven or on a stove top. Use store bought pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings such as pepperoni, onions and mushrooms. Add fresh basil leaves if you want garnish, too.
You can also make the pizzas in small batches using a food processor or blender — both are ideal for this type of project.
The pizzas can also be perfectly shaped by cutting out shapes with cookie cutters or by using an ice cream scoop (the perfect shape will result in thinner pies).
Play tourist
Visit some local attractions that you’ve always wanted to see but never have.
If you’re like me, there are some things your family members do that you wish you could do but always wait to be able to afford. This can include the desire to drive a certain car, go on a certain vacation and visit a particular landmark or place. It doesn’t have to be expensive either, because sometimes the most enjoyable time is when all of you are together.
Now it seems everyone has those kinds of experiences they wish they could do but can’t afford. What if we could offer them? What if we had lasting memories and memories that were free? What if we had experiences that were unique, memorable, fun and worth remembering?
Have a movie night
Pop some popcorn and snuggle up for a family-favourite film.
A recent survey found that more than half of parents don’t like to watch the same movie with their children more than once. A majority of parents don’t even remember what the movies are about.
This is a great time to introduce your children to a movie you both love — any kind, really. They’ll learn something new and enjoy the conversation between themselves and their favourite character.
Some suggestions:
– ‘The Great Escape’ (1959) A retired British commando (John Williams) travels from London to Paris in a stolen plane. After an encounter with a French resistance fighter, he lands in occupied France and becomes a part of their fighting force while avoiding Nazi spies and helping the citizens escape from German rule.
– ‘Catch Me If You Can’ (2002) Johnny Depp plays con artist Frank Abagnale Jr., who manages to get away with fraud after getting caught by FBI agents, only to be caught again by his own father as he tries to flee the United States for good.
– ‘Chariots of Fire’ (1981) Johnusson’s history class in England takes on the challenge of racing around London on foot while staged as chariots following their teacher’s footsteps. This horse race is nothing more than an elaborate prank by the students to gain approval from families who have recently lost loved ones through war. It’s nothing but pure entertainment for those children who love watching history being made!
– ‘The Exorcist’ (1973) Based on the novel written by William Peter Blatty, this horror film follows three reporters investigating the case of a young girl who is supposedly possessed by an evil spirit when she refuses help from one priest and later driven mad by exorcism rituals performed on her at night time in her family’s home . The film also stars Linda Blair , Nicholas Rowe , Harvey Keitel , Max von Sydow and Willem Dafoe .
– ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939) The classic tale has been adapted into three films since its original release: ‘A Lion in Winter,’ which features Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale; ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ starring Margaret Hamilton as Dorothy; and most recently, ‘The Wizard of Oz: The Yellow Brick Road,’ starring Morgan Freeman as Kansas City police chief Rooster Cogburn .
Make a fort
Get creative with blankets, sheets, and pillows and build your own indoor playground. It’s important for kids to have a fun and exciting life outside of the house, but it can be tough to find time for it.
If you have a little one (or two), chances are they’re walking around the house with their heads down, or playing in the bathroom. Or they’re out playing in the backyard with no supervision. And then you have to worry about what your toddler is up to while you’re trying to do something else, like read this article or cook some food.
Well, don’t worry about that. We’ve got your back! Here are five fun things you can do with your children that won’t put a damper on their day either:
- Play games!
- Play with dolls and pretend play!
- Play with LEGOs and build amazingly detailed models of houses!
- Go on adventures together!
- Take walks in the park or take a jog in the neighbourhood together!
For some reason adults feel uncomfortable when their kids play imaginative games like LEGO® building or pretend play; maybe because they feel like they are overstepping their bounds by taking away control from their children by making them act out pretend scenarios they aren’t supposed to be participating in anyway? But neither are we talking about taking away control from our kids; we’re talking about helping them just enjoy being kids and being free from peer pressure and social pressures that sometimes cause us adults to put others down for doing what we ourselves would never do out of fear of people thinking we were “bad” or “wrong.”
This is why we need more fun things for our kids: because it helps them stay playful rather than bored without our supervision, it gives them an outlet for creative expression without anyone telling them what to do, and it makes us happy as well as busy parents who want to spend quality time with our children instead of stressing about how much time we actually spend with them daily.
Have a dance party
Turn up the music and let loose with some silly dancing.
Let’s face it. You guys are going to spend a lot of time together. It’s your little family and you love it. So why not have fun?
What better way to spend time with your children? If they’re good, they can go swimming in the pool and help you clean up the mess afterwards. If they’re bad, you can use them to tip the scales in your favour by giving them grubby clothes which will make them feel like royalty.
Let them have fun with your life-style. Let them wear an outfit that makes them look like royalty, even if it makes you look like a clown for a while.
There are more than enough opportunities now-a-days for families to spend some quality time together, without causing unnecessary stress towards one another and without making one child jealous of another child’s success.
The fact that this article was written by a mother is perhaps evidence enough of how universally applicable this advice really is; we all want our children happy and prosperous and we want our parents happy and prosperous in return, right?
Bake cookies
Spend some time in the kitchen whipping up a batch of sweet treats.
Kids love to bake. It’s an easy way to spend time with them. They can help in the kitchen, and you can enjoy a little time together with them. You’ll love how good these cookies taste!
Play board games
Board games are great for families because they are cooperative and have many different levels of play, making it easy for all ages to join in on each game. They also have different rules making it easy for kids to get involved in the game without being overwhelmed by the complexity of the rules.
Read books
Check out our list of children’s books that parents should read to their children at home . Many of these books have activities that can be done during book readings (eg colouring pages). This is a great way to spend some quality time with your children!
Toy with water guns
There are tons of fun water gun games that you can play with your kids at home , but don’t worry if they get too much – just send them outside again! Your family will definitely have some fun bonding while playing water gun games together.
Conclusion
These are just some of the many ways you can spend quality time with your children without breaking the bank.
As I alluded to earlier, our children all have different needs. Some of them can be satisfied with a simple “I believe in you” or “You can do it.” Others need more, and then some more. Some of us can only spend limited time with them.
It’s not a matter of what we spend time on but how we spend it and this comes down to priorities. We all have our own priorities and these will dictate what activities and activities we choose to pursue at any given time.
Our children may be the same, but they aren’t the same as you kids are. You share the same goals — which is why we want you to find ways to get your kids involved in something that works for them rather than being stuck doing the same thing over and over again.
It’s important for us as parents to let go of control and let them do their own thing as long as they’re still learning, growing, and developing into happy, healthy individuals. It’s not about how much time is spent with them or how much money is spent; it’s about the quality of time spent with your kids. For instance:
Playtime at the park
This has been my favourite way for my kids to be together because they love going there by themselves without me having to worry about another encounter with another child (or adult) at the park while they ride their bikes/scooters/motorised scooters around there (in search of treasure).
They have fun playing together without worrying that there are people around who might take notice and make fun of their playtime — or worse yet, become friends with them because they’re “cool” in front of their peers!
Plus, I don’t ever have to worry about getting run over by some kid in a bike helmet who happens upon them while they’re playing in the park while wearing his dad-style helmet (one that is quickly removed from his head when other people see him).
And if he’s not just being random aggressive like he usually is (and I’ve seen him happily play with other people), he may actually want a little bit more out of life than just riding his bike somewhere on a bike path when he knows he’ll be able to enjoy himself without someone distracting him from his game!
