Winter blues are a serious problem for many at this time of year and something that you should most certainly seek professional advice for if you’re feeling like you are experiencing them. However, we know that kids feeling bored and everyone feeling a bit fed up can certainly contribute to feeling this way. So, here’s a look at how to keep the whole family entertained.
Pick Your Battles
Depending on the age of your children, letting them have a little extra screen time can really help. Now that the evenings are draining in there are fewer options for kids to go out after school and see their friends – so screentime can be the next best thing! Although you should always monitor what they’re doing online to ensure they’re staying safe, a little extra screen time might not do too much harm. Limiting screen time can leave kids feeling bored and fed up, and we all know how much the mood of a stroppy kid can affect the whole household – so pick your battles.
Teach Them To Entertain Themsleves
Although kids will likely come to you moaning that they are bored, they can’t always expect you to have all of the answers – after all, you still have work and household chores to sort out, they don’t disappear in winter. Showing them how they can access safe games online is a good way forward. You could even allow them screen time to play these games rather than communicating with friends and browsing social media. Websites like solitaire.org have a range of really good logic, puzzle and card games. Great for keeping everyone entertained and also to get kids using their brainpower, which is always a good thing. The games are free, so they can play as many as they want and try them all out to find the ones that they like best!
Get The Whole Household Involved
If you’re sitting around bored and fed-up, then this can rub off on the rest of the family. Rather than let this be the case, why not drag everyone out for a walk? A winter walk is something that most of us dread when we’re in the house getting wrapped up in warm clothes and putting on sensible shoes, but actually, when we get back from a walk we feel so much better for it.
Also, using the games online why not see if you can encourage the kids to try and beat your score or beat each other in certain games? They might be solo games but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a bit of competition! Maybe you could even offer a prize for the weekly winner; which will help keep everyone interested throughout the whole week.
Winter can be tough, but go easy on yourself and do what you can to keep everyone in the house entertained – and remind yourself, every day done is a day closer to summer!
If you have any ideas on how to keep the whole family entertained this winter, we’d love you to share them!