Activities You Must Try Before the Kids Grow Up

Time flies by so fast, particularly when you’re a parent.  One minute your child is fully dependant on you and the next they are moving out. While we may have the freedom to try new things as an adult, there’s nothing quite like the excitement of trying new family activities as a child.

If you are looking for ideas for the summer holiday or just pre-planning for your future children, make sure you try these activities with your little ones.

In the Great Outdoors

Getting outdoors is fantastic, the world is full of glorious sights and sounds to discover and fun to be had. Take the kids camping – caravan holidays are great fun and going full-nature in a tent is the ultimate experience. Roast marshmallows over an open campfire, stargaze long into the night – August is an amazing time for camping in the UK if you go somewhere with little to no light pollution. The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks over August 9-13 and is sure to delight (adults and children alike!). For those really warm nights, get them to drag their sleeping bags outside and sleep in the open air.

Warm days offer a fantastic opportunity to hit the beach, go paddling in the surf, build a sandcastle, fly a kite. Get them involved with nature and try your hand at fishing or crabbing – great for teaching your kids about wild animals. Not on the coast? There’s more fun to be had at the park – set a family record on the swings, climb a tree, roll down a big grassy hill, collect caterpillars together to hatch into butterflies – you could even organise a big water fight!

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Cold weather on the way? That doesn’t have to stop you, every kid (big and small) should dance in the rain at least once. Once the snow starts falling, get outside and build the best snowman you can, or maybe a snow fort – you never know when the first snowballs will start to fly.

In the Comfort of Home

So, your kids aren’t the outdoors type, but that’s okay – there’s still plenty to be done inside. Get messy with arts and crafts (maybe pop a protective table-cloth down first) from collages made of feathers and sequins to dying t-shirts and even painting eggs. There’s plenty of get-stuck-in activities for you and your child to do together and make some long-lasting memories. Get your little ones involved in the kitchen, make a cake together or some home-made ice cream, this is an ample opportunity to teach them about health and wellbeing too!

If you’ve got the time, why not learn an instrument together – or get your child into lessons to learn themselves. Encourage them to put on little performances and make sure to cheer them on.

Looking for ideas for something a bit quirky? Why not have a fancy-dress day, where you both get dressed up and spend the day having fun. Make a cardboard/blanket fort, watch some favourite movies and stay up talking by torch-light.

A Great Day Out

Getting out with the kids, particularly when they are little, can be a bit tough but can be great fun when they’ve got a bit more independence. Plan a day to the Zoo to see their favourite wild animal or head out to an age-appropriate theme park. Get the kids involved in organising – what they will need to pack for a day trip and what they’d like to do before it’s time to head home. Every day is another learning opportunity, even if it’s hidden in something fun!

Activities

Why not get your kids involved in planning some activities over the Summer holiday? You could show them how to plan ahead and even use the opportunity for budgeting lessons – good money management starts at a young age! Get them to compare the cost of activities – from choosing to go visit a caravan site to travelling to a long-distance destination.

Carve some time out and make a list of what you and your kids hope to achieve this year, for every activity you complete, you can tick off the list together. We all know life can be busy, but time waits for no-one, so make sure you make the most of your time with your children before they grow up.

The Perfect Parent Night In

Twas the night after a work day, when all through the house,
No children are stirring, not even for snacks
Mummy is tired, Daddy is zonked,
Which means it is time to put their fab onesies on.

When I was young I thought I knew what tired meant. Oh boy, was I deluded! Fast forward many a few years later and I am a mother of two children, run my own business full time (from home), help with school trips/escort duty, shop, cook, clean, pay bills etc. Roy isn’t any less busy. His work day often starts at 7am (sometimes earlier) and may finish at any time. Then he likes to spend time with the boys, help with house stuff… you get it, we’re busy.

This kind of non-stop action is great in a Marvel film however when your parenting superpowers are starting to fade at the end of the evening you need some proper chilling out time to recuperate.

The Essentials

Food
Food is fuel. While I would happily flop in front of the TV with a takeaway this gets expensive and isn’t the healthiest option. The slow cooker is my friend. We tend to eat all together as a family but sometimes having a meal for just us, and one I haven’t just been slaving over, is a win.

Comfort
Oh boy, let me tell you. There is nothing, and I mean nothing more fabulous than ditching the jeans and socks, flinging off my bra and slipping into something comfortable. We’ve been married nearly fourteen years now and again, have children. My slipping into something “comfortable” no longer means something silky. It means a giant, fluffy, warm and comfortable panda onesie or similar.
For true glass of wine/cup of proper coffee in hand, TV watching, snuggled up chilling without the kids, proper attire is a must.

Seriously, I need to get us a couple of these! They have pockets FOR SNACKS and everything!

Entertainment
Once the boys are in bed our energy levels start to wane a little. We don’t want to do anything particularly energetic however we want to do something rather than fall into bed at 7.30pm (sometimes we are tired enough to fall into bed at 7.30pm). We watch TV (things we’ve saved up/recorded to watch together), he might play on the Xbox while I piddle about beside him on the tablet, he might do some of his crafty stuff, I might make a new piece of jewellery. 

 

Top Tips for A Perfect Parent Night In

Nothing is going to spoil your zen-like feeling of complete relaxation quicker than interlopers. You know the sort, small, cute-looking and very demanding? You need to pre-empt their disruption attacks by being proactive.

For example:

  • Water/juice in a sports bottle (age appropriate) may be left outside bedroom doors to quench the inevitable “I’m thirstyyyyy” calls.
  • Before bed make sure each child eats something you call the bedtime snack and make sure they know that this food is special and magical and will fill their tummy all night and that they can’t possibly have anything else.
  • Spray water around the bedroom from a bottle with a label that reads “monster and nightmare spray”. You are dealing with bad dreams and monsters in advance. It works, trust us.
  • Older kids can be threatened with wi-fi/digital time withdrawal if they come downstairs after a certain time (highly effective).
  • Leave a pencil and paper outside children’s room so that thing they HAVE to tell you can be written down and you will see it when you come up to bed.Job’s a good ‘un!

What’s your idea of a perfectly relaxing evening in?