“Even for parents who love hanging with their kids, you can only take so much family time before you start to get stressed,” says Craig A. Knippenberg, a writer, and social worker. When you are quarantined with kids, you might be tempted to indulge their desire to camp out in front of the TV, but resist the urge. According to the National Cancer Institute in Michigan, viewers are at greater risk of developing heart disease, cancer, diabetes, pneumonia, and the flu when binge-watching for more than three hours. Loneliness, depression, and lack of self-control may be underlying symptoms leading to binge-watching. For safe and healthy alternatives, Rain City Maids will show you what FUN things to do at home while homebound with the kids.
Bring on the games!
Everyone loves the classics—even the ‘to cool for this’ teen. Who doesn’t remember such games as Monopoly, Connect-4, UNO, Jenga, Battleship, and Clue? However, don’t forget these modern games like Apples to Apples, Tantrix, Fluxx, Cards Against Humanity, and 5-Minute Marvel that are sure to become classics. When you’re looking for a way to create bonding, friendship, healthy competition, and sportsmanship, break out the board games, cards, and healthy snacks and settle in for a fun family afternoon.
Create a masterpiece
Creativity is a great way to express how you feel. Given the current events, many families are facing prolonged periods of isolation and potential depression for all ages. Gather your coloring books, crayons, coloring pencils, paper, markers, scissors, tape, glue, and any other art supplies. Next gather building blocks, Lincoln Logs, clay, Play-Doh, and any other building materials. Finally, grab the family. Have each member create a personal piece using whatever is available, and when finished, join the pieces together and take a picture. Document your journey together!
Get moving
Recess anyone? If you can’t go to the playground, bring the playground to you! Exercise is an important part of everyone’s health, especially now. The Gym1 Deluxe Indoor Playground comes with a core doorway unit, swing, ladder, rope, trapeze, and rings. Easily enjoy full exercise in your home.
Learn something new
It’s time to turn lemons into lemonade. If you have little ones who are itching for TV, give them ABC Mouse instead. This system is for kids 2yrs – 8yrs and provides them with hours of educational entertainment. Adventure Academy is geared for kids 6yrs – 12yrs and is a magical school with the world’s largest collections of educational games, books, and challenges. For all ages, try the Duolingo [iOS app] or the [Android app]. “With Duolingo, you’ll practice with fun lessons that will leave you eager to learn more, and develop reading, writing, speaking, listening, and conversation skills along the way!”
Practice charity
Facing a pandemic is incredibly frightening. However, instead of focusing on the news show your kids how you can help society by giving back. Such websites as Freerice.com and Beanbeanbean.com can help your kids give back. By playing the game on their site you generate money towards their charity. Greatergood.com compiles a list of many different charities you can contribute to online, including ‘daily free clicks.’
Read-a-thon
The book—the pre-electric tablet, is a great tool to bring the family together and get their minds off of the coronavirus pandemic. Sometimes it’s nice to escape into a different world to help make sense of what’s going on around you. To liven up your reading time, create a read-a-thon series where each player must complete an approved book series. The first person to finish is declared the winner and will receive a prize of your choice.
Truth or Dare Treasure Hunt
You may think you know your family, but things are about to get personal with the Truth or Dare Treasure Hunt Game. To start, the elder(s)/host(s) of the house will create 8-10 clues in varying difficulty per person. Example clues include, ‘find your favorite drink’ or ‘If a hug was something you could carry, what would it be?’ When finished, reflect on the items returned then have a pizza (or your favorite food) party and movie night.
During these difficult times, it’s important to remind parents to remain open-minded—this is not a time to fall victim to fear. While binge-watching isn’t ideal entertainment for long periods of time, it’s not something worth fighting over. Keep the conversation open—be an active listener rather than readying yourself for a snappy response. The most important thing you can do for your kids to help them feel safe, especially when their world is completely inside-out, is to help them establish a sense of normal in a sea of chaos. Therefore, listen to your kids, stay open-minded, BE CREATIVE, and encourage your kids to stay active!
