How to Keep Your Kids Occupied Valley Stream NY

Steps

1. Give them some games. Games that the kids won't need much help with (like Candy Land) are best. Try not to use difficult games like Monopoly, unless there is an older child who can help the younger ones. Try to keep them from playing video games, though you may have to let them if they still won't leave you alone. Card games are good, too.
2. Give them snacks -- healthy ones (if possible). Things like apples, grapes, oranges, fruit snacks, and fruit juice are the best choices, though the occasional cookie can't hurt. Try to choose snacks that they will eat slowly, such as jello or a sandwich.
3. Get them exercising. Have an older child take them biking or scootering. If you have a trampoline and have boys let them light wrestle, like one of them pretends to punch but doesn't and the other one laughs.
4. Ask an older child to read to the younger children, or to help them do a jigsaw or a puzzle.
5. If you have young children, they will usually be happy doing crafts or arts, for example, paper chains. Only let them do things that you trust them to do alone, or have an older child help them and watch over them if you can't be in the same room at all times.
6. If they are quite young, give them some colouring books or paper and provide them with lots of felt tip pens or crayons and let them draw or colour. Be sure to stick any of their creations to the fridge or a wall afterwards to show them that you are proud of what they have done.
7. Use music. They could play Musical Statues, where they dance until the music stops. Get an older child to put on some music and operate the stereo/CD player. or you could just put on some music and let them dance. If you have girls, tell them to make up a dance routine that they can perform to you when you have finished cleaning or doing whatever you have to do.
8. Take your children to rent a DVD/video when you have enough time. Make sure it is something that they will all enjoy and that they have all decided on, and then when you have to do a job or you are busy, get them together and put on the film.
9. If you don't mind them getting things messy, let them do some painting. This could be painting pictures or finger painting. Another alternative to this is Playdoh, along with lots of plastic cutters!
10. Let them play outside. This could be playing football, skipping or playing games with each other such as chase or hide and seek. If you have smaller children, fill a large bucket or something quite big with water and add plastic boats, rubber ducks and other toys. Also, you could use this same bucket to put sand in and let them build miniature sand castles.
11. Once you have time to spend with them, tell them that you are sorry that you didn't have time to play with them today, and that you will take them somewhere special tomorrow.

Tips

• An alternate snack is Oreo cookies and milk.
• You could get them to play games between them such as I Spy.
• Suggest they join clubs to give them more to do. these could be swimming clubs, dance clubs, football clubs, drama clubs...there are so many to choose from.
• If you let your children paint, make sure they are being sensible and put some cloths around to limit the mess.
• If you want to create a mini sandbox, the box has to be quite large. Go to your local supermarket and look for a large cardboard box that was used for bananas or apples.
• If you completely run out of ideas, give them a large box and let them use their imaginations!

Warnings

• If children are playing outside, it is best if they play on the back garden and you lock the gate so that they can't run onto a road or get into any danger.
• Make sure you know where your children are at all times and what they are doing.
• Be careful if you give anything will small objects to young children, as they could easily choke.
• When children are doing crafts, make sure they are being sensible with hazardous things such as scissors. Preferably buy plastic scissors or blunt ones.

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