The Easiest Way to Entertain a Child
Children are undeniably adorable. On the other hand, they can also be very boring – and you are in charge of almost all of their entertainment. Fortunately, the world is completely new to them, so the possibilities of “entertainment” are all around you. However, you are tired and want to create maximum pleasure with minimum effort. Here’s how you can entertain your child with the least amount of effort on your part.
Balloons
Do not give a child a balloon – he will put it in his mouth. However, if you have leftover helium balloons from the party (or are so desperate to go out and buy a pair), you can feel free to tie one or two around your child’s ankles, as shown in this video , and revel in the joy your child bounces on. hot air balloon up and down by kicking your feet. This adorable game helps your child practice object tracking and develop gross motor skills.
When they get a little older, playing with no helium balloons will “keep active” and that’s exactly what it sounds like. Use one or more balloons, but tell them they must not let it touch the ground. Or just blow up a bunch of balloons, turn on the music and have a little party for no reason.
Insert, take out
“Gripping” is one of the most important developmental milestones , but helping your child develop this fine motor skill is tricky if you don’t want your child to put everything in their mouth. However, the degree of concentration required for a six to twelve month old child to master this skill is likely to keep them entertained longer than a typical plastic toy.
For kids who are old enough to eat solid foods, you might suggest they try putting small, age-appropriate foods like soft fruit or Cheerios chips into bowls, Tupperware containers, muffin tins, or empty egg cartons ( and then take them back). If you’re a keen observer or don’t have a particularly chatty kid, you can also do this with pompoms – you can even set up this simple pom- pom drop exercise with a toilet paper tube and tape to secure them with rivets. for many minutes.
For kids who aren’t patient enough with ticks or who like the element of surprise, fill an empty tissue box with scarves, small toys, or blocks and let your child take them out one at a time. Then invite them to put the items back. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Go for the trash
My friends affectionately called their firstborn “trash baby” because in a house full of toys given by loving grandparents and friends, he regularly crawled to the wastebasket and played with empty milk cartons and bags. Dive into this free activity.
Step one: put the child in the box. Step Two: Give your child crayons, markers, stickers, etc. Step Three: Have your child decorate everything inside the box and themselves. If your child isn’t old enough to reuse art, clean out a few yogurt containers, milk jugs, or other recyclables and let them play with the containers in the tub or yard on a nice day.
Make a mess
Messy sensory play is annoying, but it’s really good for sensory integration , and babies and toddlers love it. If you can minimize cleaning, this is one of the easiest ways to keep your child entertained.
Add some food coloring to the yogurt and spread it on the tray of their high chair. Strip them down to their diaper and let them paint themselves and the table. Or use child-safe finger paint and draw a masterpiece on a large folded piece of paper.
If they’re not going to eat it, have them play with allergy-safe shaving cream in an empty tub. It’s fun to squish between their hands and it washes away right away. Or buy bath paints and crayons that wash away tubs and tiles. Make mud pies on a hot day, then crawl through the sprinklers before your dip.
Play
We had childless friends and were recently having lunch outside when we realized our friend casually tossed the ball to our crawler, who dutifully returned it each time. They played catch up. We must all eat without interruption; the friend only had to take short breaks with one hand to congratulate the child on returning the ball and toss it again, and the child was delighted. Later we did an inside round in our hallway. My child laughed so hard that he vomited.
One of the best things about entertaining a child is being able to entertain yourself.