It’s a well-known fact that children respond well to routines; morning routines, dinner time routines and bedtime routines. But when these routines are broken during a holiday for instance, it throws everything out of sync and can sometimes result in a change in your child’s behaviour – and often for the worse.
When not in school, most parents have the headache of keeping their child entertained. Even on holiday, you will still have to fight the battle against your child’s boredom, as they can easily become disinterested, disengaged and bored.
To avoid your child reaching this point– as this is the time when they are most likely to begin misbehaving- we’ve come up with 10 ways you can help your child fight the boredom during your holiday this year.
1) Indoor Games
Pack some indoor games so you are prepared if the weather takes a turn for the worse- especially if you’re holidaying in England, or if the kids stay up late one night. Take some classics such as a pack of cards, Dominos, Monopoly, Scrabble, Cluedo, etc. so you can guarantee all round fun regardless of the different ages playing.
2) Stories
Get imaginative and create stories, encouraging your child to take part too. These could be stories you tell before you go away, set in the place you are going on holiday to, or they could be stories told whilst you are travelling out to your day trip destination.
3) Films
Check if there is a DVD player in your accommodation. If there is then select a variety of films to take with you, preferably ones your child hasn’t seen before, and if boredom begins to creep in, you can put a film on which is bound to gain their attention if it’s new.
4) Outdoor games
If the weather is good enough for you to go outside, make sure you’re prepared with some outdoor games. An inflatable ball, a Frisbee, bat and ball, a badminton or tennis net and rackets etc. for all the family to join in on!
5) Research the area
Before you leave to go on holiday, research the area and see what sort of activities there are to do. This will help you plan your time better so you will have a clear idea of which days you are doing what activities and which days are free for relaxing, going to the beach etc.
6) Walkie talkies
Not only are these a fun thing for kids but they’re also great for adults as you can have peace of mind knowing where your children are. So for instance, when you first arrive and need to unpack everything, this is a time when your child will more than likely become bored. So why not tell them they can go and explore the area as long as they don’t go too far (give them boundaries) and take the walkie talkie with them, so they can tell you where they are and what they’re doing.
7) Pencils and colouring pads
There’s nothing quite like your traditional colouring in books to pass the time and occupy your child’s mind. Let them get creative and use their imagination when choosing colours and encourage them to draw their own pictures as well as colouring the ones that are there.
8) Magazines and Books
Take a selection of different magazines and books, let your child pick out the ones they want to take on holiday, selecting some new ones they haven’t read yet will build up their excitement, as they will have to wait until they are on holiday to read them.
9) Headphones and music
If you have more than one child, one will more than likely want to listen to different music to the other, so to save any arguments, let them take headphones with them and their own devices so they can listen to different things. And even if you have just one child, you will still probably want to listen to different things anyway!
10) Join in with them
Children love spending time with their parents, in fact they crave it, and can often misbehave in an effort to gain your attention. So it’s important when on holiday to spend this family time together. Join in with your kids and the different activities they get up to as much as possible – you might end up having more fun than them!
So now we’ve shared our top 10 ways to help keep your child occupied on your holiday, you can all enjoy this time away from home, and spend some precious, quality time together as a family.
For a trusted children’s nursery in Nottingham, please get in touch with the friendly team here at Tiny World. As a close, family run business, we have decades of experience working with babies as young as 6 weeks through to 11 years old.