Have summer fun with your kids

Summer holidays are here and most kids are let loose. Some of you may pack them off to summer camps or day cares or the grandparents’.  Many working parents are also taking a week or two off to spend time with the kids. Here are some ideas to do stuff together with your children (five years or older):

"A kid needs time to lie on his back, opportunity “to find out whether he breathes differently when he’s thinking about it than when he’s just breathing” and to wonder who she’d be if her parents hadn’t gotten together. A kid needs enough downtime to be bored, yes—bored enough to stare at the sky and study the imperfections in his own eyeball. That’s what makes for a childhood worth remembering for the whole of one’s life."
CHRISTINA SCHWARZ in the The Atlantic.

Start a small garden.

A few pots will do. Let your child get her hands dirty, playing with the mud, mixing compost. Plant sprouted moong dal or mustard or tomato seeds. Children can even help keep it pest-free by spraying ginger-garlic juice. 

Create a treasure hunt for your kid and his friends.

Hide the treasure and plan a route. Create a set of clues/puzzles whose answer will lead them to each step in the route. If you are not confident about creating your own puzzle, use the internet – there are lots of ready-to-use treasure hunts! This works well inside the house or outside in the garden. You can also try scavenger hunts, where the child gathers a number of objects based on the clues.

Pic: Meera K.

Watch TV.

Ban those Chota Bheems and Ben 10s. Try programmes like ‘How is it made?’ (how everyday items are made) and ‘Food Detectives’ (Discover Science), where culinary sleuths find the truth about food related beliefs like: Can cola dissolve a coin or even a tooth, Is it true that crunching on carrots can improve your vision? How long it takes the stomach to digest gum? It’s made in a cool, fun and informative manner. You’ll both enjoy it.

Start a reading race.

Join a library and have a reading race with your kid. See who finishes the maximum number of books.

Perform a play.

Direct a play starring your kid and his friends. You can get scripts of their favourite cartoon movies like Lion King or Toy Story on the net.

Have a moonlight picnic.

Summer nights on the terrace with ghost stories will give them memories to recount to their children!

Take long walks with your preteen.

This is likely to cause protests. But persuade them by giving them a camera to take pictures and help them create their own blog (under supervision).

Laugh.

Take your rebellious teenager to a laughter club. Really! It’s impossible not to laugh together.

What are your suggestions? Tell us what worked for you and your child.

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About Meera K 41 Articles
Meera K is the co-founder of Citizen Matters, the award-winning civic media platform. She also helped initiate Open City, an urban data platform (opencity.in). Meera is an Ashoka Fellow, recognised for her work building open knowledge platforms that allow citizens to collaborate and improve their cities. She is Founder-trustee at Oorvani Foundation.

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