Keeping Kids Entertained at Home This Winter

By Danielle Alexander

In full disclosure, when the editor of the Chaldean News asked me to write about how to keep children occupied this winter, I almost didn’t accept the assignment. You see, I’m not a crafty mom, I like my kids (and my home) clean and, as bad as it sounds, I do everything in my power to avoid playing dinosaurs and Barbies on the playroom floor. Also, I admittedly feel just as overwhelmed as any other mother or father does about still being (for the most part) homebound after all of these months.

Let’s face it though: whether our kids are attending school in-person or online, all parents have plenty of weeknight evenings, weekends, winter breaks and, of course, snow days to hear the infamous phrase “I’m bored!” So, I decided that even though I still do not feel I’ve found the solution to entertaining children at home during a pandemic, I can at least share what is lessening the boredom complaints in our house, as well as what’s working for a couple of my friends’ families.

Have structure but be flexible.

Pre-March 2020, I lived by our “Alexander Family Google Calendar.” Each entry had a minimum of three entries that included work events, school activities, gym classes, kids’ extracurriculars, family gatherings, dinner with friends and others that I would do anything to get back. So, when the world shut down, I felt lost and knew that if I was going to be home with the kids for an unforeseeable future, I’d need a schedule of some kind.

At first, I tried to break each day down by the hour like “9 a.m. Arts and Crafts, 10 a.m. Nature Hike, etc.,” but sometimes the kids only wanted to do a craft for ten minutes and instead take a two-hour hike. However, when I tried to just wing it and had no plans at all, the “I’m bored” whines were at their peak.

Farmington Hills resident and friend of mine Vera Zebari said switching to a “loose schedule” has made life at home with her kids easier: “I do have a schedule every day, but I’m not strict with it. We play it by ear, depending on their moods, as well as the weather. When it’s nicer out, we’ll go to the zoo for a little or try out a new park we’ve never been to.”

Send ‘em outside.

Nothing gets my kiddos tuckered out like they do after being outdoors. Yes, the weather is cold and having to supervise out there does sound awful, but if there was ever a year to invest in a warm coat, hat, gloves and boots for everyone in the family, this would definitely be it.

When winterizing our backyard in the fall, we decided to leave out our sand toys, so that the kids can use them in the snow, and we also requested a couple cheap plastic sleds and snow paint from Santa, all of which guarantees at least a couple hours of energy-burning fun.

Also, since indoor play dates are still deemed unsafe, perhaps time spent outdoors could be a good window for your kids to invite over their friends and cousins or meet them at a local sledding hill? Better yet, encourage (or hey, even coerce) your child to pick playmates whose parents you get along with, so the chilly time spent outdoors goes by fast for you, too!

Indoor entertainment doesn’t have to be expensive.

Although outdoor play is great for kids, there’s no denying that the majority of play time in Michigan has to take place indoors during the winter months. And yes, kids need things to keep them busy. Since becoming parents, my husband and I have quickly learned that higher-priced items do not always equal higher levels of engagement.

Zebari agreed, saying that after so many months of being home, she has observed how content and happy her kids are with just the simple toys she had growing up: “When I think of myself as a kid and what toys I loved, I think of this one sticker book and how much fun I had with it. What’s funny is that even when the stickers ran out, I still loved looking through it. I’ve realized through all of this that it really doesn’t take much to keep my kids occupied. They’re happy with crayons and paper, puzzles and books, even when they can’t fully read them!”

After catching onto this, Zebari began using her local library more often and recently received an email from them, letting her know that her family saved $3,861.11 this year by using their library card for books versus purchasing them. (Insane, right?). She also mentioned how engaged her children have been by simply listening to audiobooks via Amazon Alexa.

Learn to let go of the parent guilt.

There are days where I feel like a rock star mom, and there are others where I either have to get stuff done and can’t devote my full attention to the kids or simply need to rest. The longer I parent, the more I’m learning to stop feeling bad when the latter two happen. On these days, I do tend to rely more on technology; however, with so many educational shows, learning apps and teacher-led YouTube videos available, I just make sure their screen time is worthwhile.

I’ve written about this before, but I’ve adopted my good friend Kristen’s one hour on, one hour off advice. If I have work to catch up on, I give the kids an hour of my full attention– no phones, no cleaning, no stress– and then when that hour is up, I facilitate a new activity and remove myself from the area. It doesn’t always work out perfectly, but it certainly helps with the guilt while simultaneously encouraging independent play.

Danielle Alexander is the owner of Edify LLC, a tutoring/editing/freelance writing business. Although the holidays will look different this year, she hopes that the Chaldean community will make the best of it and stay healthy.