How To Take Care Of 2-8-Year-Old Children at Home
As a working parent, it is tough to work from home while taking care of your children, isn’t it? We can all agree – It is anyways a little stressful to work at home away from your routine. And on top of that, having to handle your kids might seem like a mammoth task that you are completely unprepared for. So, what do you do? Because let’s face it, Children do get bored very easily and watching TV or playing games on an iPad isn’t healthy all day long.
So, are you wondering how you can win the gadget battle against your children? Well, the answer is to find some high-impact activities that are bound to keep your children engaged while also making sure they are developing, growing, and learning at home. That being said, are you eager to know a little more about these activities that your little one will love to engage in when they are not at their daycare or preschool? Well, keep reading to know the best way of taking care of your children.
Preschoolers And Toddlers
In case, your little one goes to daycare or preschool regularly, an unexpected sick day or rainy day leave might make them crave instructions and structure. But replicating their school day exactly might not be necessary in this case. Instead, try keeping them happy and busy by trying out these below-mentioned activities:
1. Cooking Something Together
Children love playing and spending time in the kitchen. Most children also enjoy helping out in the kitchen. So, whenever you are preparing meals throughout the day, try engaging your little ones by inviting them into the kitchen and collaborating with them for the next snack or meal. Just make sure you provide them with silicone utensils for their safety. Children can help you out by
• Mixing wet and dry ingredients
• Washing the vegetables and fruits
• Mashing soft ingredients like boiled potatoes or bananas
• Stirring or scooping ingredients
2. Painting
No, we are not talking about making your child create some elaborate painting. But children in general, enjoy experimenting with colors and creating drawings or paintings. So the next time pre-nursery classes are off, give your toddler a variety of objects to draw their inspiration from and paint. These objects can include something as simple as an apple, some leaves, or even their fingers.
3. Setting up obstacle courses
Children love rolling, jumping, and crawling, and helping them engage in such physical activities by setting up indoor obstacle courses allows them to have fun too. Now depending on your children’s age, always start with the smallest of obstacles, like stepping stones. Eventually, you can add regular household objects to make opportunities for your children to go around, under, through, and over these obstacles.
4. Breaking out those bubbles
Your little one must love creating and popping bubbles, right? Well, which children, doesn’t? So why don’t you head out to your balcony or backyard and have fun with some bubbles with your little one?
Now in case you were wondering about making these bubbles, it is pretty simple. All you will need is 3 cups of water, half a cup of corn syrup, and one cup of dish soap. Now you will have to stir the corn syrup slowly by mixing it with water and then mix in the dish soap while making sure you don’t create any bubbles in this process. Get a bubble wand or simply straws or kitchen tools to create those beautiful bubbles. That being said, if you are looking for a less messy and quick solution to creating bubbles then you can invest in a bubble machine.
For Children of And Above 5 Years
Children of this age love exploring and experimenting with new stuff, but they also appreciate schedule and structure. So, for making your Children’s day away from daycare exciting, here are some ideas you could go for:
1. Creating A Good Scavenger Hunt
Taking care of your children of 5 years and above love having some fun in scavenger hunting. Now we understand how much of a daunting task it might seem for any parent to create one but relax. You don’t need to create some elaborate plan and hide special clues or objects around the house. You can start by creating a simple open-ended scavenger hunt that prompts children to find “something soft or red”.
2. Allowing Them to Be Your Helping Hand
Daily chores might seem like a boring job that you as a parent have to do every single day. But that’s not what children feel. Children enjoy helping out adults in their daily chores, they even love pitching in with ideas. So why not use this opportunity to ensure that your child learns to do their daily chores all by themselves? Allowing them to give you a helping hand will make sure your child learns fast to make their beds, load the dishwasher and help clean up after themselves.
In fact, children of this age turn out to be great laundry champs so keep them engaged by asking them to help you out with sorting the laundry by colour or category. This is also a great opportunity to teach them how to fold those towels and t-shirts easily will help in taking care of children.
3. Getting Them to Build
We can all agree how much children love building. That being said, if you are thinking that you don’t have enough material at home to get your little one to start building then you couldn’t be more wrong. To get your child started all you need are these things:
• Pipe cleaners
• Popsicle sticks
• Paper towels or toilet papers
• Shoe boxes
• Empty tissue boxes
• Random household items
• Scrap materials or wood
• Craft glue
Once you have all of this just give your child the task to build something like a town or a building and allow them to go crazy with their imagination.
4. Moving Around
As a parent, it becomes a task to get your child going and burn some energy. And at the same time allowing that energy to build up isn’t a good idea. This is why taking frequent breaks from screen time and school work becomes important to get some movement. In case you are wondering how to go about this, list down some 5-minute games like a green light, red light, and hopscotch and then distribute these movement games throughout the day.
Footprints- The Best Preschool for Your Little Angel
Deciding on the best daycare for your child is an important decision in any parent’s life. Footprints prenursery classes are where your little one can not only get the opportunity to have fun and learn new things but also create some beautiful childhood memories. So, are you still having second thoughts about making an informed decision, when it comes to your children’s preschool? Well, then, drop by Footprints, and you will see how Footprints make sure your child deserves the best when it comes to your child’s future.
Children are naturally curious. This is why they get easily engrossed in any activity. Therefore as a parent, you must be able to get your child involved, and then you can sit back and watch how the magic begins. Hopefully, this article has given you some great ideas to keep your little one busy while you finish your work and daily chores smoothly.
Amita is an experienced educator with over 30 years of experience. She has an outstanding understanding of child development, having worked with various age groups for prestigious businesses. She has been dedicated to handling Footprints’s Curriculum and Delivery department for the past decade. Amita’s credentials include being one of India’s few HighScope Curriculum certified trainers and volunteering as a course leader for Landmark Education, the world’s largest training firm.