I’m sure we’ve all noticed how difficult it can be to keep kids occupied and happy on rainy days, excessively cold days, or days when it is just too hot to go outside. Short of building a full-on playground in our living rooms, it’s time to look at some ways to keep the kids occupied in a way that uses up some energy without breaking down the house. Here are a few techniques that usually work.
First, there is the wonder wall. I know many parents want to keep their kids’ rooms organized, theme-oriented, and appropriate for a learning environment, but some rules are meant to be broken. Consider allowing your kids to keep one wall white. Whenever the weather prohibits outdoor activities, allow the kids to take the crayons to the walls. The only rule is that they aren’t allowed to write on the wall on days when they could be outside. This makes it a special rainy day treat, and it also ensures you won’t have an excess of color at any given time. Keep a bucket of paint handy in the garage, and every once in a while take a few swipes at the wall with a roller. The repair is less time-consuming than it sounds, and having one place to go a little crazy in a way that isn’t allowed in the rest of the house is always a popular idea.
Have a dance! This isn’t great for the migraine-prone, but consider moving all of your furniture out of a room, if only for a day. Push the couches against the walls, stack the ottomons on top, and break out the CDs. Teach them funny dances from when you were younger, and let them show you dances they know. Jiggle, wiggle, and twist at will, and you will soon find your kids in a noisy environment that always results in a happy, tired child. One advantage to an activity like this is the complete lack of clean-up. There aren’t a million pieces involved like legos, dollhouses, and art projects, and yet it’s another activity that you can reserve only for weather-impaired days.
Another great and timeless activity is puddle stomping. Break out the umbrellas, the galoshes, the rainboots, and what have you, and head outside anyway! Offer a prize to the kid who finds the biggest puddle, and allow each one to stomp at will. Jumping probably isn’t the best idea, but what fun it is to get dirty on purpose! This activity does require the proper rain gear to avoid the post-rain illnesses, but once you’ve got the boots and coat, you’re good to go! The level of potential grime also results in kids who are more than willing to take a bath once they get home. Puddle stomping also creates the opportunity for an easy-fix dinner because nothing says “Warm me up, and dry me off!” like a bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.
There are a lot of ways to keep kids entertained on rainy days, but here are just a few options that will also help keep spirits up until they can return to their regularly scheduled playgrounds.
Sandra Beck 