What to do with children at home: a list of interesting activities for kids. How to entertain children in free time

The appearance of a child in the family brings joyful troubles, coupled with a bit of anxiety.

Parents are worried about many questions, their perception of the baby is always subjective, mom and dad try to compare the development of their child with average, very conventional norms. How should he develop, why does he sleep so much, does he see, does he hear...

How to play with a newborn, what toys will be interesting to him and do newborns even need toys? Worry is completely irrational because it cannot be controlled and arises from the inability to understand your beloved child.

Should you entertain your baby or how to stop worrying?

Just a week ago, your little one heard and “saw” the world from his prosperous “mother’s cradle”; he was, as it were, in a protective “cocoon”; the world outside his mother was uninteresting and harmless. But the “coming out” took place, and now the newborn is surrounded by other sounds, smells, colors, and movements. It would seem that the baby should “absorb” new sensations with his whole being, but he sleeps for almost days, waking up to “eat”. What can you do in those moments when he is not sleeping? And is it necessary to somehow entertain him, maybe sing songs or tell fairy tales?

From birth to one month of life

First of all, you need to calm down and accept the fact that indeed in the first month of life the baby will sleep a lot. This is a period of adaptation to a new state; newborns spend a lot of energy getting used to a different way of life, so they need sound sleep. When a baby is awake for a significant part of the day, but does not cry, is animated and active - this is an exception that is directly related to its physiology, there is no reason for concern. If the lack of sleep is accompanied by screaming and crying, a visit to the pediatrician will not be superfluous;
of course there is also innate reflexes, but still the baby needs time to “restructure” the body’s systems. During the minutes of wakefulness, the baby should receive the most important thing - mother’s love, warmth and protection. Mother's voice, her smell, smile, gentle touches will help the baby adapt faster. There is no point in specially preparing yourself to play with a child one or two weeks old, and there is no need to worry that you will miss some important period for development. Rather, on the contrary, the more you try to entertain the child, the faster he will get tired, and the more acute the reaction to fatigue will be. It’s good if your attempt ends only in the crying of the baby, but there may be more serious consequences;
spend time “NOT sleeping” on hygiene needs (changing clothes, washing, air baths), but at the same time talk, sing songs, the child needs your gentle, calm voice! You can give him a light massage or just leave him lying in the crib, but talk to him constantly. You may not hear anything in response, but the child will hear you, this is his comfort zone, do not deprive him of confidence, preserve that as much as possible special contact, which united you before his birth;
rest assured, the baby sees, feels and hears everything that happens next to him. If he just looks, as it seems to you, “nowhere”, in fact, before the age of one month, the baby learns to focus on three-dimensional contemplation of an object. There is no need to interfere in such a complex process, but constantly observing the same thing, every day, is no longer knowledge, development, or entertainment, so the object of observation must be changed.

By the age of one month, a child does not see clearly, he is just learning to focus his eyes on large objects, toys, and people’s movements, so there is no need to change the environment near the crib often, it is better to take more walks with the baby. Talk, pick him up more often, walk around the room with him, even dance - spend time usefully for the baby and yourself.

A 1-month-old child can follow an object with his eyes, turn his head toward a sound, “sing” vowel sounds, and respond to his mother’s voice with a kind of hum. He sleeps less, spends more time observing, which means he needs games that will not only entertain the baby, but also develop him. You can entertain the baby only during the period Have a good mood when nothing bothers him, he is healthy, well-fed and happy with everything. Otherwise the most funny game It will only irritate the child. Tears and screaming are only the smallest “reward” for playing hard.

Simple educational games for babies up to three months

Tactile games (touch games) give maximum impressions; during such a game you can stroke your beloved child’s tummy, touch his feet and palms. All games of this kind allow the baby to see the mother’s face and at the same time feel her, hear the mother’s voice. During the game you need to hum, children perfectly feel the rhythm of songs and nursery rhymes folklore, the melody of which soothes. Mothers entertain their newborns with touch games from the moment of birth; they held them for the first time - and here it is, contact, understandable and close.

Take the baby in your arms, try to be in his field of vision, let him look at you or at least in your direction. Mom's face is the main object of study for a little person; grimace, smile more often, slowly turn your head to the sides. Already at 2 months, in response to a smile, the child will smile himself, will be able to follow your movements, and turn towards your voice.
You can also entertain your baby during a massage or swaddling. Stroke his palm, gently tickle his fingers, call him by name, pick him up and rock him, press him gently to your chest - this develops a sense of security and balance. Add music - the child himself will “tell” what kind of music is pleasant to him. Rock him up and down (“swing”), but do not lift the baby high, just above the mother’s eyes. Tickle your tummy with your lips and gently ask, “Whose tummy is this?” My (name) tummy.” To entertain your little ones, you don’t have to buy complicated ones. bright toys, sometimes tactile games with mom are enough.

Games - watching the mother are included in the child’s entertaining “diet” almost from birth; he sees her face during feeding, rocking, hygienic or therapeutic procedures.

Place your baby in a reclining chair for newborns, move the chair to the kitchen, and your child will be happy to watch you during waking hours. Move slowly so that he has time to fix his gaze on you, show a bright towel, a bowl, a shiny spoon - this is all interesting, entertaining and educational in combination with your “handmade” songs (“I took the spoon, it’s so beautiful, I’ll stir the porridge, and then I’ll cook...” - and then everything at a rhythmic pace “la-la-la, la-la-la”).
Move the chair to the room where you are relaxing, “tell” what you will do. Yes, most likely, the baby will quickly fall asleep, but he will be next to you, and when he wakes up, he will again see his mother’s gentle, kind face (a game during waking up “who woke up? (name) woke up, he will see mommy, he will hear a song”). Improvise, the main thing is your voice, intonation, and a few names of objects - this is already knowledge of the world through your actions and words.
By bending over the baby, you can hum simple syllables (la-la-la, gu-gu-gu, ta-ta-ta), you will prepare the “soil” for humming, he will repeat after you, but do everything slowly so that the baby it was time to “focus” on the repetition.
Colored toys, mobiles, educational mats, gel balls, tumblers will be useful for a three-month-old baby, but everything is dosed, not in a “tiring” excess. Place the rattle in the baby’s palm, he will reflexively squeeze it, then throw it away - this is the development of motor function, a little later the child will hold the rattle longer, will reach for it (games “look what I have” with rattles, bells, tumblers, etc. ). The simpler the shape of hanging toys, the easier it will be for the baby to “catch” them, and the longer he will play on his own.
Balloons inflated with helium are a godsend to look at, choose one-color balloons and tie them to the crib. The balls will move at the slightest breath, the baby will be able to watch them for a long time, besides, balls of the same color can be replaced or removed altogether for a while, and then tied again, but closer to the baby. When he can reach the ribbon (usually this happens at two or three months), the fun will continue - the ball will “jump” even when he clenches the ribbon in his fist.

On paper disposable plates you can draw funny faces, the child will look at them if you move the “faces” (on back side glue the plates with an elastic band to put on the palm) - the baby will follow them with his eyes. Games “What is this? Such a face, a smile on the face, here the face goes for a walk...” and continue the improvisation. Only monochromatic toys, black and white or a little later colored - this will allow the baby to “see” the difference in colors, you can even notice which color is more pleasant for him than others.

Keep any “entertainment” at a distance of 40-50 cm, no closer! You can pick up a bright rattle and shake it to the sides; when the baby “sees” the toy, start slowly moving it to the sides, and a little later up and down. All newborns are farsighted, so you should not hang the mobile directly above the baby’s head; hang it slightly in front and higher. You can make a homemade pendant with rattles tied at different heights, and hum again, attract the attention of the baby - “here hangs a toy, a toy rattle, beautiful toy, a fun toy."

The child hears well from birth, but does not know how to find the source of sound. Entertain him with the sound of a bell, tapping drumsticks together, stomping while “dancing” with your baby, and humming everything you do. Getting to know the world goes faster if the mother starts playing with the baby in time.

Simple rules for any game

If you see that the baby is tired, immediately end any game, and during sleep, generally remove toys that he may accidentally touch.
It is possible and necessary to entertain the baby with sound toys, mobile phones, music, and bells while awake, but the child should sleep in silence.

Simple games simple entertainment and the mother is all that is vitally necessary for the baby in the first months, there is no need to complicate anything. The child will grow up quickly, have time to enjoy the time when he does not need anything except his mother.

Seven-year-olds are very enthusiastic people, capable of independently inventing entertainment and new options for their leisure time. They draw inspiration literally out of thin air, but they also have periods of decline when they get bored with all their activities and want something new. That's when mom and dad will come to the rescue with their time-tested ideas for fun children's games.

What to do with a 7 year old child

Let’s make a reservation right away that we will not consider the option of watching TV. This is an overly banal and simple option that always works, but has certain Negative consequences.
Activities for children over 7 years old should harmoniously combine active and calm activities. Considering that 5-6 days a week the child is in a sitting position for 4-5 hours, it is worth considering active games. It’s great if the outburst of energy occurs on the street or sports field - you can run around to your heart’s content, shout and do literally whatever your heart desires. Draw a map and take the kids on a treasure hunt or teach an orienteering lesson. In winter and summer, use outdoor activities according to the season.
Quiet games no less. This includes leisure activities such as reading together, Board games, quiet walks, creative activity, role-playing games. To a greater extent, these are options for spending time at home, which we will continue to talk about below.

What to do with a 7 year old child at home

When the question arises of what to do with a seven-year-old child at home, do not rush to sit him in front of a blue screen. Think about what games will help him not only relax after a busy school day, but will also contribute intellectual development. During this period, it is important to train memory, attention, logical thinking. Of course, it is necessary to build on the child’s hobbies and temperament. Here are some solutions on how to entertain a 7-year-old child at home:

Checkers, chess, dominoes, backgammon
It's better to start with checkers or dominoes - these are fairly easy to understand games.
Words
Stock up on a list of long words - more than 10 letters. These should not be proper names, names of cities, medicines, etc. Record the time (for example, 10 minutes) and start forming new words from the original one. At the end, check the results. Whoever runs out of stock first loses. More than two people can participate.
Another version of this game is oral. You name any words (except for the exceptions listed above), each participant in turn pronounces another word starting with the last letter of the previous one. This is an invaluable way to expand and deepen lexicon child, train his memory and attention.
Cities
The essence is the same as in the game “Words” in oral interpretation, only we use exclusively the names of cities. You can also tell your child about different countries, traditions, dreaming about travel. In general, not a game, but pure pleasure.
Writer
Invite your child to write their own book. Let your child put the resulting work into a beautiful cover and read it to you over evening tea.
Wall newspaper
If it's getting close an important event or a holiday, you can create a newspaper or poster with its theme. Use everything - photographs, magazine clippings, applications, drawings - the flight of creativity is unlimited.
Board games
Stores offer a wide selection of games for different ages, including from 1 to 99 years. You understand that it will be interesting not only for the child.
Puzzles
This great way develop fine motor skills hands Introduce a competitive moment - time it and assign a prize. You can gradually increase the difficulty of the game by using more small parts and large canvases.
Reading books
Reciting the work by role in different voices will make an ordinary evening reading an unforgettable and long-awaited moment of the day.
Creation
Modeling, drawing, coloring, appliqués - choose what your baby likes.
Needlework
Girls can be introduced to sewing, knitting, beadwork and embroidery, and boys can be introduced to working with construction sets, wood burning, assembling models of cars, ships and other equipment.
Help mom
If you can’t find time for entertainment, entice the children to play mother's assistants: give out props (depending on what needs to be done), add intrigue and soon the whole apartment will sparkle. Surprises hidden around the apartment (for example, candy) or notes indicating where to clean next and what prize awaits at the end can serve as “enticements.”

As you can see, home leisure can be varied and exciting. We wish you fun and happy games!

Hello, dear readers!

All parents can already be congratulated on the almost arrived Day of Knowledge - September 1st. That is, a happy time of year for all schoolchildren - summer holidays, alas, it's over.

The busy days with lessons are beginning, and it doesn’t seem like the time to write about entertainment, but there are still reasons to write an article.

What awaits us ahead academic year in which there will be entrance days, vacations, and, unfortunately, sick leave, and simply the need for a break from school activities. After all, it’s not just about studying... 😉 Therefore, it’s time to think about what to do when children are bored at home and what to do with children at home.

I'll start with the general good advice, which I read in one of the psychological magazines intended for “worried”, always busy mothers who are unable to distribute their time between work, household chores and activities with the child and because of this they constantly feel guilty.

How wisely it was said there - don’t think that good mothers constantly and incessantly play with the child. No. You must know:

If during the day you devote at least 15 to 30 minutes of your time to the child, but devote it fully, to nothing else but the child, without distractions, then this will be enough for the child to feel that his mother loves him.

Well, don’t forget to exchange a few phrases with the baby in the remaining time, talk about the mess in the room, and about the sweets eaten before dinner. Everything, as it should be for a real mother :)

After all, our task is not so much to entertain the child, but to show him how many different activities exist, how interesting it is to do them, and what, in my opinion, is very important, to teach the child to study independently some part of the time, and not languish from boredom or spend hours on the Internet.

This list is suitable for activities with children of primary and secondary age. school age, but it may well be suitable for younger and older children, although when compiling it I was guided by the question of what to do when 10-year-old children are bored at home, in particular a girl who is left alone at home, because my daughter is just that age) So,

1. Board games

They were the main attraction of this summer. I had no idea how much the board game industry has come along lately.

During my next purchase of books in an online store, I accidentally noticed how beautiful and varied the games were offered. I approached the choice carefully, in which the online store “Igroved” helped me a lot, on whose website you can not only buy games, but also watch videos with detailed information on how to play them.

As a result, we bought the board game Carcassonne, which allows us to play together with our daughter and a larger group.

Among the variety of board games, you can choose a game that suits all your needs: the child’s age, his interests, the number of expected participants.

If you know that your family members will be happy to “buy new lands”, trade on stock exchanges, or make the most long words, then you can safely buy a game designed for large quantity participants. If only the mother “likes” to play them, then there are games for two participants, and some the child can play by himself.

Pros: Board games are fun.

You can “officially” enjoy a child’s game, I’m not even talking about the child.

Cons: The biggest disadvantage is that board games are expensive.

You can learn more about Carcassonne and other board games in the article.

2. Puzzles

On the one hand, this is also a board game, on the other hand, it is so unique that I would like to highlight it as a separate item.

Helping your child pick up pieces of the picture will have a good time, but if you are busy, your child will be able to do it on his own. Invite him to assemble at least part of the picture, being sure to admire the result.

It’s very good if you have puzzles at home different levels difficulties: easy, assembling which a child will always feel like a superhero, and more difficult, as an option for “assembling” with the help of adults.

Advice from personal experience– do not buy puzzles with a large number of fragments, 300 or more, on which animals are depicted. The beautiful mane of a lion and the fluffy fur of cute dogs will make you nervous in literally 10 minutes of selection. Even the endless blue sky is somehow easier to collect.

Pros: Few activities compare to assembling puzzles in terms of benefits for fine motor skills.

In addition, they develop perseverance and spatial imagination.

The child will be able to put together “easy” puzzles on his own.

Cons: During the next cleaning of the apartment, you have a chance to periodically “enjoy” the characteristic sound of puzzles tapping in the vacuum cleaner pipe))

3. Read books

There are two options: the child reads with pleasure; The child refuses to read.

With the first one everything is clear, if you have a reader at home, then you will have time not only for homework, but also for your own hobbies, it is enough to periodically update the children's library.

Everything else is not so simple; methods for teaching a child to read exist, but you will have to work hard to achieve results. Well, being a parent is not only fun 😉

Pros: There’s probably no point in listing them. In short - useful, interesting, accessible (libraries now have almost everything).

Cons: If your child loves to read, you will have to take away books to force him to do his homework or go to the store.

If your child does not like to read, you will have to develop a strategy to attract him to reading. A good “initial” option would be books based on cartoons or “biographies” of your favorite toy characters. We had one of them.

4. Checkers, chess, dominoes, backgammon, lotto.

Unfortunately, I only know how to play checkers, and also lotto :)), but if you are a master of all other types of games, then that’s just wonderful.

Pros: Very, very useful and educational activity.

Cons: Since these are paired games, they are suitable for activities with a child only if you have a considerable period of time to play with him.

5. Games with cards, solitaire, tricks

About eleven years ago, children and games with cards were considered incompatible concepts, since such games were considered gambling. In principle, it still is, but nevertheless, now the passions have subsided, and against the backdrop of casinos and “one-armed bandits” cards look like innocent entertainment.

Moreover, in addition to the games themselves, there are solitaire games from which you can find out whether your wish will come true. And tricks that are always interesting.

Pros: Develops memory and attention.

Knowing a certain number of tricks, a child can “shine” in the company of his peers in his spare time.

Cons: The child must be taught all the tricks and games you know, and if you have forgotten them or did not know them, you will have to learn them yourself.

Cards have not had a very good reputation since Soviet times.

6. Developmental activities - coloring books, drawings, plasticine

A wonderful activity that does not require large investments.

As a child, I really loved to color, and my youngest daughter is good at sculpting from plasticine, and she manages to make her products very tiny. I wanted to show you my favorite “works of art”, but I hid them somewhere that I couldn’t find them, they’re small :)

Therefore, I had to steal their “breakfast” from the dolls’ table - scrambled eggs, a sandwich and a cake 😉 To show the “grand scale” of the crafts, I placed a small 11-centimeter solnitsa next to it.

Pros: Of course, develops creative abilities.

If you are busy, you can calmly continue going about your business, your participation will not be needed, all that is required of you is just to praise the end result.

Cons: You will have to teach your child to do everything carefully and clean up after himself after classes; if you can do this, there will be no problems with developmental activities. (At first, our entire floor was covered in multi-colored sticky blots of plasticine, which my husband had to pick out from his socks 😉).

7. Useful games

There are so many of them now! No, there were a lot of them before, but thanks to mom-and-pop inventors and the media that tell us about these inventions, their number has become simply unimaginable. This point deserves a separate article.

As an example, I’ll cite Galina Kuzmina’s blog “Fun Science”. This is where the inexhaustible imagination is))

Pros: Just a ton. And it’s interesting, and the development is, well, just comprehensive.

Cons: It’s lucky if you are a born organizer and experimenter; if not, you will have to learn this, which, admittedly, is not easy.

8. Handicrafts

A wonderful activity, especially if mom or dad are interested in it and can teach the child. And there are a lot of handicraft options: knitting, embroidery, beading, weaving from newspapers, wood carving, batik... and that’s just a small part.

Pros: These skills will always come in handy.

Cons: You will have to undergo a long and tedious instruction that needles should always be in the needle bar, knitting needles in covers, and threads and pieces of fabric in special bags and boxes. And after the needlework session, find all this in different corners and put it in place.

9. Games with pen and paper

These are games that are played most often during lessons, because this is the best time for sea battles and tic-tac-toe 😉 But playing them at home, you will also get a lot of fun, and the child will be well trained so that later, at school, beat your classmates.

Pros: They do not require any material investments.

Cons: I don’t even know what...

10. Stickers

Oddly enough, they can be highlighted as a separate item as a full-fledged activity.

I think sticker production is just massive. Firstly, you can find a sticker of any character from any cartoon on sale. During my daughter’s fascination with the Winx fairies, my eyes and head were simply dazzled by all these Flors, Muses and Techniques (the names of the fairies), made based on all 120 episodes.

Secondly, stickers can be very interesting in texture: they are added with sparkles, voids with balls, volume and many other different features.

To prevent your child from trying to “update” the furniture with the help of Spider-Man or Gummi Bears, buy him a common notebook in which he will glue his favorite characters.

Pros: The child, snoring from effort, will be busy for a long time.

Cons: There is a chance to find stickers that unobtrusively decorate your documents or household utensils :)).

11. Useful activities - putting things in order after playing, washing doll clothes, cooking, etc.

As children, girls love to wash doll clothes, sweep the floor and help their mother knead the dough, and boys are happy to spoil nails by hammering them, and sawing boards, and they will also enthusiastically help their mother make pies. The main thing here is to allow it.

But I’ve never heard of any child who likes to clean up after playing :)

Pros: Excellent development of future skills.

Often children can really help you, the main thing is to assign a feasible task.

Cons: Well, you can imagine everything perfectly well... spilled water, scattered flour, everything is smeared and upside down, but you have to endure it... The efficiency factor is too high 😉

12. Watching TV. Computer games

All our efforts come down to ensuring that the child spends as little time as possible near the TV screen and computer monitor, but we cannot escape progress.

The only thing is that the child must be taught to skillfully use these benefits of civilization. Moreover, the child must be aware of popular films, cartoons and computer games, otherwise a situation similar to what happened with the son of Yulia Menshova, which I mentioned in the article “Children on the Internet. Harm and benefit."

In situations where mom is really busy, cartoons and computer games- a lifesaver. The main thing is to help the child do right choice, but, among the huge number of options, it will not be difficult to do.

We have the Disney Channel connected at home, which almost always lives up to the expectations placed on it. But unfortunately, I can’t convince a child that old, but such beautiful and meaningful cartoon fairy tales are also very interesting...

Pros: Properly selected programs will help you learn a lot of new and useful things.

With a reasonable and measured choice of programs and games, the child gets a lot of pleasure.

Minuses: Basically one - how to get the child out of there.

I have listed our favorite pastime options, I hope they will help you at least a little when looking for an answer to the question of what to do when your children are bored at home, and maybe you will also tell me what else you can do to keep your children occupied at home :))

Children don't like to be bored. If they have nothing to do, they begin to be capricious, whine, break toys, trail behind their parents and look at them with pleading eyes. Mothers have to constantly come up with ways to entertain their children. Let's talk about how to fill your child's leisure time with interesting games, activities, and also manage to carve out some time for yourself.

Infants

Babies don't know how to play. In the first year of life, their main need is good and strong relationships with adults. Left alone for more than 5 minutes, the baby feels abandoned.

What entertainment can be offered for children at such a tender age, besides rattles? To develop speech, sing songs more often, recite nursery rhymes, and play finger games with your child. Hang on the walls bright pictures, bring the baby to them and tell them about the images. Change the exposure once a month. Spin to the music while holding your baby in your arms, do fun massages and exercises on a fitball.

After six months, children enjoy playing hide and seek, pats, crumpling paper and scattering cereal into containers. If you give your baby jars of buckwheat, semolina, beans, bells, wooden and regular spoons, you can arrange a home orchestra. Having learned to sit, the child happily rolls a ball or a car, builds a tower with his mother’s help and then brings it down. Baby swings, walkers, and jumpers will help parents allocate a few free minutes for household chores, but try to keep the baby in sight.

How to entertain a one-year-old baby

At this age, children learn to control their body. Active ball games, catch-up, hide-and-seek, dancing to music, and overcoming obstacle courses are very useful. It is important to develop your baby's fine motor skills. Teach him to draw doodles with pencils, buy finger paints, and make sausages from plasticine and dough. Children also enjoy watching puppet shows performed by their parents. Dramatize simple fairy tales.

How to keep a child busy when mom has a lot to do? Give your baby a box with nylon lids, plastic bottles, bowls, and spoons. Allow us to rattle unbreakable pots and try on old skirts, scarves, shirts and caps. For a one-year-old child toys are not as interesting as real objects. The young technician will enthusiastically destroy an old alarm clock or camera, while his mother will cut vegetables for soup.

Learning to play

Should a parent constantly play the role of an animator, coming up with entertainment for children? While the child is small, this is inevitable. However, already at 2-3 years old you can teach kids to play independently.

Let's see how to do this correctly:

Teach your child to play with dolls and cars. Model familiar situations together: going to the store, going to the doctor, feeding, traveling on public transport, etc. Create a variety of scenes, suggest unfamiliar words. When the baby is carried away, leave him alone for a while, giving him a task (cook soup for the bear, put the truck to sleep).
To develop your imagination and horizons, read more books, listen to audio fairy tales and act out their plots.
Buy simple board games. Let your baby learn to follow the rules, win and lose. He will need this when communicating with peers.
If a child spends 5 minutes looking at a caterpillar or touching dirt on a walk, do not disturb him. Encourage any attempts to keep yourself occupied.

Conditions for independent play

There are families in which the children come up with activities for themselves. Parents can do household chores without worrying about how to entertain their children. How to achieve this idyll?

Turn off the TV and put away the tablet. Children quickly become hooked on cartoons, turning into passive spectators. This is convenient for parents, but the development of initiative and imagination in the child is inevitably inhibited.
Designate a place to play. Buy simple toys, leaving room for creativity. Cubes and Teddy bear much more useful interactive dolls and radio-controlled cars.
Periodically hide some of the toys, giving out a similar bag with already forgotten bunnies and trucks as a replacement.
Start the game yourself, and then remember about an urgent matter and leave the child alone. Watch him. If the game gets sluggish, join for a while. Offer an unexpected plot development or another activity (plasticine modeling, drawing).
Be sure to praise children when they play on their own. Be happy if your child came up with an interesting plot or built complex model from the constructor.

Attention required

Sometimes children follow their mother's tail and demand entertainment not because they are bored. They are looking for affection and attention. This often happens to babies who spend the whole day in kindergarten. In this case, you can arrange “hugs,” playful fuss, or involve the child in household chores. Let him help you wash vegetables, sort laundry, wipe dust. Be sure to find time to create together.

What crafts can you make with children? Ones that will encourage them to play independently. It can be:

a dollhouse or a parking lot made of boxes;
characters made from plasticine, paper, disposable or wooden spoons, socks, etc. to stage your own performance;
a cardboard highway where you can race;
TV from big box, in which the baby fits entirely;
dolls and animals made of fabric or thread;
skittles made from empty plastic bottles;
foam boats that can be launched in the bathtub.

What to do with a sick child?

There are situations in which it is difficult for children to come up with an interesting activity for themselves. For example, illness. When the baby heat, he has no time for games. But after 2-3 days, your health improves, and high loads are still contraindicated. How to entertain a 6-year-old child at home if he is prescribed bed rest? We offer several options:

Read interesting books, listen to audio stories. Try to write a captivating story yourself.
If your throat hurts, travel to the land of the deaf and communicate with gestures.
Give your child a doctor's kit, toy patients, and play hospital.
Arrange puppet show. In the evening, take a lantern and organize a shadow theater.
Play a guessing game. Select an object in the room or in the picture. The second player must guess what it is by asking leading questions. You can only answer “yes” or “no”.
Organize workplace, taking the tray. You can draw and cut on it paper dolls, glue, sculpt, assemble puzzles and models, make collages from magazine clippings.

In the country

What games to entertain children on garden plot, where there is no TV, a bag of toys and true friends? It’s great if you have a bicycle, a scooter, an electric car, or a swing. A ball and jump rope are also suitable. Involve dad in building a hut. Give your child his own garden bed to experiment with. Hide toy insects in the area and offer to collect them in a jar.

Country house - the best place for fun with water. Fill the pool, give your son a water gun and offer to shoot it down plastic bottles. If you have old sheets around the house, hang them up. Load your weapon with a colored solution and practice “artistic” shooting.

During a trip

A long car journey tires a child very much. It is difficult for him to be in a confined space where he cannot run and jump. What entertaining games for children are suitable in this case?

"Traveler's Diary". Give your child a notepad, pen and colored pencils. Offer to draw or describe what struck him most today; Paste in pictures from booklets, photographs, tickets, dried flowers.
Radio story. Hand your child a voice recorder and ask them to dictate. an interesting fairy tale or history.
Turn on funny songs and sing them together. You can record your performance on cassette.
Recite familiar poems or the alphabet in different voices: loud, soft, fast, slow, squeaky, rough, squeaky, etc.
"Grandma's chest." The first player says: “I climbed into the attic and found...” Then any item is called: gold coin, beautiful vase, treasure, teddy bear, Magic wand. The second player repeats everything said before him and adds his item. This continues until someone gets confused.

If your child has a birthday soon, but there is not enough money for an animator, you will have to organize the celebration yourself. How to entertain children so that the holiday will be remembered for a long time?

First, congratulate the birthday person together. To do this, you can sing a song in chorus.
To introduce the guys, start with the phrase “I have a friend...”. Next, describe one of the kids present. Whoever guesses first who they are talking about becomes the host.
Play a tension-relieving game. Turn on the music and invite the children to dance. When the music stops, you need to complete the presenter's task. For example, say hello to a child who is wearing Blue colour. Or smile at a girl with a pigtail.
Play the famous outdoor games: "Blind Man's Bluff", "The Sea Is Worried", "Extra Chair", "Tag". Don't forget about dancing.
Give the children a pile of clothes, wigs, noses, ears, mustaches, glasses. Once they've dressed up, have a fun costume show.
You can end the evening with a group photo session and the launch of fireworks on the street.

When deciding how to entertain your children, do not overdo it. The child must remain free time which he can carry out at his own discretion. This is how kids learn to make independent decisions and trust themselves.

How to captivate a curious one-year-old toddler? Many mothers ask themselves this question, since combining activities with the baby and household chores is quite difficult. Moreover, after a year, the baby becomes more active, but he still lacks perseverance.

We offer you a list exciting games, which will help to briefly occupy a child of 1-2 years and at the same time develop his finger motor skills, attention, and sensory skills.

It is not difficult to captivate a baby under one year old; for this you will need a regular rattle, a rotating mobile or an educational mat.

But by the first round anniversary, children begin to actively explore the space: they either crawl quickly or take their first steps. It's no surprise that parents now need to come up with new ideas for activities with their little ones.

Let's look at two options: cooperative games with mom and independent activity baby, when a woman needs to free up a little free time for herself and at the same time keep her child busy.

We offer several interesting games for children from one to two years old.

What to do with a 1-2 year old child: joint games

The best partner for one-year-old children is his beloved mother.

At this age, the child is not yet attracted to the company of his peers, since neither he himself nor other children can yet come up with ideas for entertainment.

What games can parents offer their baby?

Bubble. There is probably not a baby in the world who would not love to watch how water turns into multi-colored transparent balls. Children are interested in everything in this process: where do bubbles come from, how can they be blown out, why do they burst? The baby will definitely want to create bubble itself, which is why this activity sometimes drags on until the solution in the jar runs out.
Drawing. A 12-month-old child already paints with finger paints with obvious pleasure; by the age of two he can already cope with gouache and watercolor painting. The most important thing is to choose safe paint and create a workspace, and then watch how the baby mixes paints and makes handprints and fingerprints. By the way, rolls of old wallpaper will come in handy in this matter. They are much more economical than expensive albums.
Modeling. You can sculpt from special salted dough or ordinary soft plasticine. Just don’t buy fragrant plastic mass, because the child will definitely want to try it. Show him the simplest exercises: roll a ball, a sausage, demonstrate how to make a flat cake. Don’t expect beautiful figures; at this age children are interested in studying the properties of materials. The advantage of such an activity is undeniable - the active development of fine motor skills!
Role-playing games. One and a half year old child is already showing genuine interest in role-playing game. At this moment, he imitates the actions of his parents, which he sees every day. Usual scenes: feed the doll, do exercises with her, swaddle her, rock her in a stroller, put her to sleep. And yet, I can’t do it without my mother’s help. Closer to three years, the plots of games will become more complex, because imagination will be added to direct experience.
Reading books. One-year-old children cannot yet comprehend long works with a plot, so leave fairy tales for later. One or two years is the age for reading poems and jokes. Usually, classical children's literature goes off with a bang: poems by A. Barto, K. Chukovsky, etc. By the way, take these works as a basis for children's mini-performances by purchasing a finger theater or making one from ordinary gloves.
"Walking" games. Game options on fresh air limited only by my mother's imagination. You can play with other kids on playground, taking the ball with you outside. Feed the pigeons a piece of old loaf, thereby developing children's motor skills and observation skills. Swing on a swing, build a snow woman in winter, and collect bright leaves in autumn. In summer, the list of entertainment expands significantly.
Outdoor games at home. Without these useful activities It's hard to imagine a normal day with a baby. You can’t sit a baby down at the table for several hours and expect him to draw, sculpt, or assemble something. If the baby walks confidently, play hide and seek, tag or tag with him. If he is just taking his first steps, just roll a ball on the floor or jump on a fitball.
Cubes, nesting dolls, pyramids. Let your activities with your baby be not only fun, but also useful. To do this, it is not enough to buy educational toys; adults must get involved in games and teach the child to interact with objects. For children aged 1-2 years, cubes, pyramids, insert frames, sorters, large construction sets, and musical instruments are suitable.
Games with cereals. Take a large basin with semolina, place a lot of “secrets” and “treasures” in it. These can include small toys, jar lids, shaped pasta. By the way, you can draw on pallets or large dark dishes unusual paintings children's fingers.
Balloons. Amazing exciting activity with small children. You can draw funny faces on the ball with a felt-tip pen. The balloon can be inflated and released without tying the neck - joyful screams cannot be avoided. The little researcher will be interested for a long time in how such a small rag turns into a large and light ball.
Housework. Sometimes you don’t need to come up with new activities for your child; it’s enough to just let him help you with the housework. For example, give your toddler a sponge and a damp cloth and show him how to wipe off the dust. Two-year-old children can already use a floor brush and wash dishes. Place your child on a small pedestal near the sink, lather the sponge and let him wash the plastic dishes.

What can you do with a one or two year old baby: independent games

Let’s make a reservation right away that the concept of “independent games” is quite relative, since in this age period The child cannot yet occupy himself. And it’s not safe to leave such a little toddler alone.

However, no one is stopping you from keeping your baby busy for a while to do household chores or take a break. What ideas will your child like?

"Miracle box" In a regular box you need to put various trinkets and small things. The contents need to be updated regularly, and the box itself should not be kept in plain sight. Let her appearance be a surprise. Inside the “wonderful” box there may be parts from construction sets, small toys, bottles, packaging for vitamins, that is, everything that your imagination tells you. Be careful - do not put small parts that the baby could swallow.
Fun with paper. Both at 12 months and at two years old children are interested in paper products– they love to rustle paper, tear it into pieces, crush it and make balls out of it. Cheapest and safe option– roll games toilet paper. But you shouldn’t give glossy magazines and newspapers. Newspaper pages get dirty with printing ink, and magazine gloss has sharp edges that can hurt small fingers.
A package of clothes. In a textile bag, put things that the baby has already outgrown, or clothes that are out of season. Little fashionistas and fashionistas are usually captivated by such wardrobe games for about 20-30 minutes. They love to stand in front of the mirror and try things on themselves. By the way, this way you can teach your baby to dress independently.
Water activities. Fill a basin with not too much water, hand the baby a variety of rubber toys (ducks, bear cubs, boats), and let him play. Many children enjoy the completely innocent fun of slapping their palms on the surface of the water and watching the splashes. However, you should not allow your baby to play in the bathroom without your supervision. It is better to lay an oilcloth in the room and place a basin of water on it.
Cartoons and educational presentations. Of course, it’s better to watch cartoons with your child, but if you need a break for 10-15 minutes, you can turn on a good animated film or an interesting presentation. However, you should not get carried away with this method; nothing can replace a child’s communication with adults and interaction with real objects.