As a parent, I am always looking for ways to get my kids off their devices and doing things that get them using their creativity and imaginations. It is good to have some strategies and products that serve as a good way to keep kids occupied, aside from screen time. I love seeing my kids taking a break from their phones and doing some fun things.
Here are some ideas to stay occupied off devices. These are some ways you can help kids to strategize, or they can plan something on their own. These also make for great gift ideas for girls, and I usually keep a list going of things when I think of them so I have gift ideas for friends and relatives.
Room Redo
This is often an age where children like to update their bedrooms. There are so many possibilities for ideas when it comes to changing up a bedroom space that gets kids thinking and planning.
You can make a project of repainting a room, starting with going to the store to pick out paint colors, and see how the paint swatches look at home. Afterwards, have your child help with the process of creating a shopping list of materials needed for painting, setting up the space, and helping with the painting process. Any time we repaint our children’s bedrooms, we completely clean out the room from top to bottom before getting started. That way, a big cleaning can be a requirement for prepping the space before painting. During the cleaning process, you can also go over things like donating old toys or coming up with organizational strategies.
If your child has some money saved, or an occasion coming up where they would receive gifts, there are lots of options. Bedding is a great way of updating a space, since there are so many colors and designs to choose from. You can also consider things like accent pillows for a bed. Other items that are easy to change up a space are wall hangings, LED accent lighting, string lights, and wall greenery. These are all things you could shop for together or look at designs. Your child can also make things for their room, like coloring a DIY pillowcase or creating origami lights.
Reading
Reading materials are the perfect way to get away from electronics and get some educational value. This does not have to be a typical book! There are so many other great options, from colorful magazines to joke books. If your child enjoys a certain subject or topic, you can often find a magazine or special book in that category, such as a magazine about pets or dolls.
Meal Prep & Cooking
Preparing food is a wonderful way to spend quality time with children. Recipe books are a good way to get some reading in, along with coming up with a strategy for something like planning a meal or a dessert. Kids can look through recipes, then come up with a grocery list, go on a shopping trip, and put together the recipe.
Kids can also come up with a plan for a special occasion, like throwing a tea party or celebrating something. There are lots of ways to fit in meal planning, even if it is a themed dinner, like breakfast for dinner or Taco Tuesday.
Arts & Crafts
Crafts are the perfect way to get creative. This encompasses a wide variety of activities; anything from drawing to making gifts for upcoming occasions. We are also a big fan of tie dyeing, as children can dye things that they can continue to enjoy, like t-shirts or socks. This is also a fun group activity if kids are looking to do something with their friends. It is nice when crafts have a purpose, like tie dyed shirts or wall art. Crafts have changed over the years
Outdoor activities
Outdoor activities are always a good idea to get off devices, and get some sunshine and fresh air. Family hikes are a nice way to spend quality time, but make sure that you pick family friendly hikes. Or choose a walk around a park that incorporates a playground, pond, or gardens.
There are plenty of ideas for outdoor fun, using a variety of toys or equipment. It is easy to get the kids outside with things like scooters, going for bike rides, setting up a slip ‘n slide, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and more. If your child is interested in a sport, you can easily do some practice, like taking a soccer ball to the park.
You have some fun ideas here. I know my daughter is always happy when she can draw.
These are good options for summer. I will have to suggest them to my boys.
These sound like great activities for all of my grandchildren!
So many great ideas here! I remember cooking and baking with my mom and loved that activity
Wow! These are all really great and fun ideas! This is so perfect thanks for sharing this with us!
Yes! all great ideas! Thank you so much! Will keep these handy!
These are all great suggestions. I do try to do a range of foodie based activities with my girls. They love to bake and cook foods.
This is timely since the kids no longer have classes. Love how you included meal preparation and cooking. I guess it’s the right time to teach the girls how to cook. We’d love to start by throwing a tea party.
My oldest granddaughter is so good about not doing screen time too often. She much prefers crafting, reading and helping in the kitchen. They just bought an Oculus for the house though, and she seems to like it. Screen time might change soon. 😉
These are great for boys, too! We just did a deep cleanout of both boys rooms together. They get to have a room makeover for their birthday every 5 years. We made a whole list of things they can do when it’s no screen time too, such as all these plus board games, puzzles, legos, etc.
Children need such activities to be directed towards a conscious way of living the activities, they must get away as much as possible from technology or in any case learn to see it as a support and not a necessity without which it is impossible to live.
This is so useful as the summer holiday comes! I love the idea of cooking with the children, it’s so fun and they eat so many more foods.
My girls often enjoy helping rearrange the shelves or the furniture. They both also really enjoy art, so an afternoon just sitting and sketching works well for them
I used to love rearranging my room when I was younger, I would change mine round all the time. Some great activities to avoid screen time x
Awesome ideas. We try to do a lot of outdoor activities like going on picnics, camping, festivals, etc…There is a lot that can be done that does not involve screen time…
I think it’s SO important to implement a window of time where there are no phones, comps, and television for younger ones. It’ so important for developmental and social skills. Great ideas here..there’s so much to do that doesn’t involve technology.
This is a perfect list for my niece. She’s not super attached to the screen but it would be good for her to diversify her activities away from the digital.
Great ideas. This is what we do to my nieces and nephews. We always do outdoor activities to minimize their screentime.
It’s not always easy to peel children away from screens. These are all great ideas to help. Mine enjoy cooking with me.
These are some great ideas. You can never go wrong with the great outdoors. I really enjoyed learning to cook growing up.
I am always looking for ways in which to get my daughter off screen time and these ideas are so helpful. I need to get more reading books as well as involved her in the kitchen more
My daughter loves her art and craft. I always try to get her craft so she will improve her skills when it’s off-screen time.
These are all things my daughter loves to do!