We relied so heavily on our tablets over the course of the pandemic. We’d throw the tablet at the kids while we quickly jumped on a Zoom call and hope they’d keep doing their schoolwork while we ran a morning meeting with the team.
Interestingly, ahead of the first lockdown, there was a YouGov poll that revealed divided opinions about tablets for children. According to the poll, half of Brits thought parents or carers should prevent children from spending too much time in front of screens. Quite ironic that a few weeks later, so many of us would depend so heavily on these devices.
So, where are we in 2022? While tablets have become a crucial part of everyday life and learning, it is important that we set them aside and give children something else to occupy their time – especially as too much screen time can have a negative impact on young brains.
Looking for activities to try with your kids? Read on to get inspired.
Get outside
There are physical and mental benefits behind getting outdoors – and when you’re little, there’s so much more energy to burn off. To keep your children entertained, research local trails and parks. If it feels like you’ve explored the same areas a lot already, try exploring places further afield and look out for themed events.
Now that we’re in autumn, why not go looking for different coloured leaves? Or make the most of any Halloween or Christmas-themed events in the coming months?
Try arts and crafts
Pick up some inexpensive paints and let your kids get creative. Offer them a theme to get them started and see what they come up with. Alternatively, you could try using different materials to make creatures, break out the plasticine, or try customising old toys by creating outfits for them.
Puzzle it out
There are so many board games on the market now. All you have to do is head to your local toy store and you’ll see walls filled with classic titles and family favourites like snakes and ladders and Monopoly, along with Connect 4 and Jenga.
You could make things a little bit educational by going for a STEM-themed kit. This type of game could inspire your little ones to try coding projects, building their computing skills.
Cook up a treat
Baking is so much fun. You might have to tailor this activity to suit the age of your children, giving them jobs and tasks that they can easily do. For instance, if you’re baking a cake, you could let your smallest add some of the ingredients to the mixture and get them to stir, while your older one could cut out the different biscuit shapes.
This is rewarding on so man levels. They’ll spend time with you and they’ll have accomplished something at the end of it all.
How are you planning on reducing screen time for your kids? Will you be trying any of these ideas?
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