Children demand so much attention and are full of energy. Keeping them engaged is a big task. I have a 4-year-old cute angel who always keeps my head freshly baked all day- every day. I am sharing with you ways by which I keep her engaged.
1. Our Pet Dog Boomer
We owned a handsome golden retriever named boomer. Unfortunately, we prematurely lost Boomer to kidney failure last year. However, she grew up spending a lot of time together with him – playing and cuddling together. He was such a sweetheart and so well socialized that we had absolutely no reason to worry about letting both of them play together. There is a wealth of evidence that dogs are good for kids, and we are going to keep another real soon. Both I and my husband want a Saint Bernard and we are waiting for my daughter to be a bit ‘bigger’ so that it is safe to keep a large dog. If you are new to dogs, you must know that larger dogs can unintentionally knock smaller kids down while playing.
2. Painting
As she grew older, after her third birthday, her dad got her some watercolor, and boy did she love it! Initially, she was using crayons, but she loved dabbling with watercolors so much so that the interest has till now sustained for close to a year. She would get us to take a printout of her favorite cartoon character printables and she would just be busy with colors for hours.
3. Hide & Seek and Pretend play
Like all toddlers, my daughter really enjoys hide and seek and pretend play. It’s often we spend time playing hide and seek and do some pretend play. But I must confess that it’s tough to keep up with her energy!
4. Spending time outdoors
Luckily we stay in a sprawling campus of a government institute in a hill station. It’s easy for her to go out for a walk without worrying about traffic or pollution. Some days, we just walk around the campus, where I am trying to negotiate her constant gibbering. On other days, she would want to ride her scooter or ride her cycle. However, on some days when she is cranky, a drive inside the campus does the trick to calm her down.
5. Playdates
As a single child, she gets bored sometimes. We just can’t keep up with her energy. On some days we go to her friend’s place and let them spend some time together playing and on other times her friends come over for a play date.
6. Seeing and feeding fish
My husband loves to keep fish. We have an aquarium and have recently made a backyard raised pond with fish in it. My daughter likes to spend her time feeding the fish, watching them swim, and speaking to them. Just a word of caution if you have or plan to have a waterbody in your backyard, seriously consider the safety issues as it is a drowning hazard for toddlers.
7. Bedtime stories
After a long day when we go to bed, she is usually not in a mood to sleep. We are sometimes worried if she gets the sleep she needs. As a transition from her hyperactive state of mind to a sleepy mood, we utilize bedtime as a storytime. We read her storybook to her and she tries to repeat me, asking an occasional question in between. Over time, I have improved in my storytelling skills to keep her engaged long enough. But there are days when we are totally exhausted and either of us is not in a storytelling mood, we sometimes spend the time reciting rhymes or singing her favorite songs together.
8. Blocks, Toys, and Puzzles
Another way my daughter likes to spend some time is by playing with her blocks, toys, and her puzzles. But mostly, she would not like to play alone – she needs a playmate. Usually, in the evenings when her father is free, he sits and plays with her, helping with the blocks and puzzles. They also sometimes play a ball game which she loves, but it does make me go nuts as they make a huge mess of the house. But I am trying to get her along to clear the stuff she had put all over the place and put it back in her toy box. I have luck somedays where she does help me in the cleaning process, while there are days where she totally wouldn’t budge an inch. Some days are better than others right???
9. Homework and Play-learn
Occasionally, homework keeps her engaged sometime in the evening. This includes some writing work, coloring, crafts, etc. On some days she is quite enthusiastic about completing her homework and on other days she is not. If she is not in a mood to sit on her study table, we spend time together having fun learning her numbers, alphabets, clours, and with her Picture Book.
10. Screen Time!
For the formidable foe, that it is, it is impossible to keep a child away from the screen. Nevertheless, we try and keep it as little as possible. We may not have enough control over her screen time to our liking, but we sure do control what she watches. Enough is known about the adverse effects of screen time and media exposure. However, if used judiciously, it can have benefits. She has picked up so much vocabulary from it and sometimes surprises us with her choice of words! We often sit together with her to watch her favorite animated movies. Sometimes, she starts with it and leaves it in between and we do something else as the movies play in the background (not a great thing to do though!).
Here are some of the simple ways I try to keep my daughter occupied. Let us know how and what you do to keep your child occupied. We are all ears to know the tricks and tips which can help other struggling parents get some ideas. Let us know in the comments below. We all need the support of one another in this parenting arena.
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