What is your go-to list of things for bored kids to do?

[eclipse]

So, my kids have plenty of toys, books, etc, a yard to play in, etc. But, they are "bored" all.the.freaking.time. And, of course, everything I suggest is just as "boring." Frankly, I get it, because I haven't been much fun lately. I've been having back problems for months, and some days it's hard to to much more than limp to the kitchen to make food. We don't get out as much as we used to, because it just hurts me too much sometimes. /whine

Anyhow, I'm looking for your go-to list of things for kids to do (mine are 9,7,and almost 5) that can be done at home, mostly inddependantly, not to expensively, and not so messy that I'll have to do most of the clean up. Any ideas?

[zebra15]

My ds is 9, he loves legos, *some* activity books, knifty knitter, his computer, reading, but his most favorite by far are the legos.

[Linda on the move]

playdough.

my 12 year old still likes it. We have a rubermaid container with various playdough toys and she can go for hours.

[Cascadian]

Honestly? If I leave them alone for long enough, 'bored', the most creative play springs out of their minds. Seriously. Some of their best fantasy games have sprouted from boredom

[sewchris2642]

Chores. If they are so bored that the only thing that they can think of is to bug me, I can always find something around the house that need doing. Usually they quickly find something on their own. If, however, what they come up with to do requires my input and involvement, I will consider it, depending on what I need to do at the time. Then I'll suggest that if they help me, I have more time for them.

[Linda on the move]

I agree with chores. Sometimes chores related to toys are VERY helpful. One summer, I would do things like set the timer for an hour and tell the kids to "organize" all their baby doll stuff. It was their job. It had to be done. They would then spend the rest of the day playing with dolls. If I had suggested they play with dolls, they wouldn't have liked the idea.

"organizing" legos can also take up an entire day.

[starbuckmom]

My kids are younger than yours but I did take a bucket of water w/a bit of soap and some rags and let them wash their outside ride on toys! They loved it! Since it was hot out, them getting wet was just a bonus and my oldest likes taking the hose and washing everything off when they are done! This was done outside of course

[mommajb]

chores or being sent outside

if they can't figure it out themselves I might send them on a bike ride or assign more (outdoor) chores

they tend to figure out something to do quickly

[mamadelbosque]

My stock phrase april-october is "GO. OUT. SIDE."

[mommajb]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

My stock phrase april-october is "GO. OUT. SIDE."

Why stop then? A good walk in the cold is quite bracing and my garage could use sweeping year round if it has gotten so rough that they need outdoor chores.

[mamadelbosque]

Cause' after that it depends - if its super cold and wet you just get too bloody cold too fast and its not worth the hassle (or the laundry), and occasionally we have too much bloody snow to make it fun (had 2'+ for like a month last winter. Which actually sucked - cause' ds1 couldn't get through it to play in it!!). Oh and we don't have a garage unfortuantly.... so no option to play/clean in there

[phathui5]

When my kids used to whine about being bored, they got to:

- put toys away
- sweep
- wipe down baseboards
- go play out back
- make any unmade beds
- vacuum with the Dustbuster...

[AllisonR]

Originally Posted by sewchris2642

Chores. If they are so bored that the only thing that they can think of is to bug me, I can always find something around the house that need doing. Usually they quickly find something on their own. If, however, what they come up with to do requires my input and involvement, I will consider it, depending on what I need to do at the time. Then I'll suggest that if they help me, I have more time for them.

ITA. Mine are only 3 and 5, but if they complain, my first suggestion is they can help me fold laundry, unload the dishwasher... I ask in a positive tone, but it is still stuff that needs to be done. On the other hand, if they do make a suggestion, even if I do not like it, I try very hard to agree to it. DD keeps wanting to play go fish. I can't tell you how bored I am with go fish, but I do play with her when I can.
OP, why not send your kids outside when they are bored. Mine sometimes don't feel like being outside, but I join them, at least in the beginning, and suddenly it is 2 hours later and they don't want to come in again.

[meemee]

its been one of those summers here too.

i have just one so i have to be her playmate, so not sure if this would work.

this summer has been a summer of cooking. and cutting and cleaning. dd has really enjoyed it and has become quite a good cook. she works independently. i am not there in the room with her.

but i also had her read to me. my books. an encyclopedia on mayan myth, about cacao pods, about a missionary's accounts of land in california during first contact.

few things happen. one is eventually she herself becomes engrossed in the topic.

between her pronunciation and context somehow it always reduces to a tears streaming down the face laughter fest.

its a much needed 'break the ice' to inspire her to find something to do.

i have had her give me pedicures and manicures, comb and braid and beautify my hair and put on makeup on me in unique ways.

[sewchris2642]

Originally Posted by mommajb

chores or being sent outside

if they can't figure it out themselves I might send them on a bike ride or assign more (outdoor) chores

they tend to figure out something to do quickly

I got the "do chores" from my mom. That's was her stock suggestion for when we were bored. She also pulled the "go outside" card as well. I had forgotten that one. I don't use it as often as the chore one. It can get way too hot for outside and that's usually when they pull the "I"m bored" routine.

[sewchris2642]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

My stock phrase april-october is "GO. OUT. SIDE."

Your post reminded me of Saturday. I was watching Matilda, Lindsay, and Parker. Erica came to pick up Tilly and we were waiting for Joy to come and pick up Lindsay and Parker so we could go grocery shopping together. I had put down the dog's water so she could drink and the kids kept playing in it and dumping it. So after we mopped up the kitchen floor, we filled up dish pans for them to play in outside. After we got tired to refilling them after they dumped that water several times. I turned the sprinkler on, we stripped them down, and told them to have at it. It was heaven. Erica and I got to sit in the shade and talk while the kids ran off all their energy. It lasted a good hour. And the grass got watered.

[eclipse]

Yeah, booting them outside is tough. Past about 9AM, our backyard is too hot to play in. It's all concrete, and there's not much shade. The front yard is more habitable, but I have one child with a serious bee phobia and there are tons visiting our flowers this time of year. I did send the 4 year old outside yesterday to "water everything." That was fun. I think part of the issue is that when my back was really, really bad, I let them have way too much screen time because it was the easiest thing to do, you know? And now that I'm cutting back, everything else is "boring."

[Shahbazin]

That's tough, with the cement in most of the back; I was going to suggest yesterday (before the computer ate my long post!), that what my kids do includes: building stuff out of mud & having little plastic animals/people interact in it, making "pretend" gardens with cups of mud, picked weeds/flowers, catching bugs/caterpillars for pets & watching them in a plastic jar, working on real gardens with trowels & seeds (with supervision), weeding real gardens (bermuda grass is pretty unmistakable), watering stuff (you've got that already!), painting on easels outside, playing elaborate stories with those stick hobby horses (OK, I was the one to do that - we used to act out episodes of "Fury of Broken Wheel Ranch"), making playhouses/tents/caves out of old bedsheets draped over fences/trees or swingsets; after the mud/paint stuff, they clean themselves up in a little wading pool before coming back in. We have a sidewalk in front, & they do hopscotch, chalk art & the like.

The chore thing is always good, also - & most kids do like to help out, if you've explained that they're needed.

Right now my 2 are doing some elaborate story in their bedroom with their little plastic animals & people, involving the edges of their bookshelves (cliffs?), & their bedcovers (caves?)

The art/playdough thing is good, if you put down some plastic sheet or tablecloth, so it's easy cleanup. Do your kids like puzzles or boardgames?

[just_lily]

When I was a kid I stayed with my grandparents while my parents worked. They had a really huge garden and a large raspberry patch. Whenever I told my grandmother I was bored she would give me a bowl and send me out to pick raspberries. I would pick a few, eat them, and then inevitably find something else to do out there. I never ended up bringing any raspberries in for her, but it got me out of her hair. It has only been since having a child of my own that I realized how brilliant she was!

Do your kids have any near by friends that you can trade play dates with? Maybe an afternoon at someone else's house followed by an afternoon with friends over to play would be a nice break for everyone.

[JamieCatheryn]

I have an actual list on my computer, including pictures on the margins for most of the items (the kids don't read by themselves yet).

•Read books
•Play music and dance
•Painting
•Coloring
•Build a blanket fort
•Play with cars
•Play with trains
•Play dress-up
•Build with blocks
•Play Legos
•Baking
•Finger knitting
•Make a new toy
•Pick up and put away
•Vacuum and sweep floors
•Do the dishes
•Take a nap
•Go to the backyard
•Take a walk
•Visit the park
•Go to a forest
•Visit the zoo
•Visit the library