We understand that school holidays can be a challenge with kids at home. If you’re trying to get work done, it’s very easy to get stuck in a habit of letting them watch a lot of TV or YouTube or spend time on their phones so you can at least achieve something. As chiropractors, we’ve seen the negative effects of excessive screen time on their posture as they sit at strange angles, craning at their phones or lying weirdly when holding a tablet.
But some of us are parents, too, and we get it—it’s a constant juggle, and devices keep kids quiet and occupied. We’re here to support you in finding a balance, so here are a few ideas if you’re trying to find alternatives to screen time so you can reserve it for when you really need it. We hope you find them helpful.
Make up a scavenger hunt
Print out a list of things to find around your house or garden. Make some easy and some just challenging enough to buy you some extended time – ie find a pink flower, look at the cookbook shelf and find a recipe for beef stew, find two blue matchbox cars, find a toy that starts with M
Set up a craft station
Places like Kmart, the Warehouse and Spotlight have great craft starter kits with a bit of everything. Set a timer and tell them to come and show you what they’ve done when it beeps.
Jigsaws and board games
If they are old enough, get them doing jigsaw puzzles or easy board games—prizes for completing puzzles could draw this out a bit.
Make a snuggly reading corner
Go to the library together and get some books they like. Then go home and create a lovely, cosy reading corner with beanbags, pillows, and maybe even some snacks!
Kids in the kitchen
If they are old enough (and won’t kill each other in the process), set them a baking challenge. You can be the MasterChef-style judge at the end!
Bring on the hut building
Sacrifice your tidy lounge and let them go mad building forts.
Get creative with pens and paper
Print out some great step-by-step drawing guides from the internet. They’ll feel so proud when they’ve drawn something that seemed hard but was actually easy when you have a guide. Colouring-in activities are also great if you print out their favourite images or characters and origami if they have the patience for it.
Embrace Audio books
If they are tired, lying down with an audio book playing can be fantastic.
Invest in independent toys
Lego and sticker books can be hours of independent fun. If you can’t afford Lego (we know it’s not cheap) look on Trade Me or see if you have friends who might be ready to get rid of theirs – or could lend it to you.
Utilise the parent network
Sometimes, it’s worth having someone else’s kids for a day to give them a break so they can do the same for you another day. It takes a village, right?
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