How to Keep Young Children Entertained on a Rainy Day

As a camp counselor who has worked at summer and sleep away camps, I guess you can say that I know a thing or two about looking after children. I have taken on the parent role as a camp summer counselor for children from ages seven to 15 and I can tell you that no matter what age they are, keeping them busy can be quite a challenge.

Parents are always looking for something for their child to do on a rainy day when their child can't go out to the park and play with their friends or walk around the stores in the mall on a nice sunny day. However, I have put together a list of things for your child to do so that you as a parent feel at ease.

Movies: The idea of going to the movies has been around as long as movie theaters have been built. I strongly recommend going to the movie theater with your child and watching a movie. Go through the motions and enjoy the entire movie theater experience which includes getting ripped off financially on popcorn and drinks. Find a movie that is appropriate for your child's age in the movie theater.

If there aren't any good movies playing at the theater, drive over to the video store and pick up a movie to bring back to the house. You can even buy yourself a package of popcorn for you and your child to enjoy while watching the movie.

Toys: Depending on the child's age, toys usually are still popular. Look through the closet and toy chest in your child's room and find something for you to play with to occupy your child's attention. Focus on something other than the rain.

Board games: Board games are always a classic favorite. Just the other day I took out the Scrabble game and played with my younger cousin. Scrabble is one of those rare educational board games that can make you smarter instead of dumber by piecing together words and teaching other people the definitions of words that they aren't familiar with yet. Other favorite board games include "Sorry" and "Knock-Hockey."

Cards: Getting out a deck of cards is perhaps one of the easiest things you can do on a rainy day. There are so many different card games to play with a deck including "War", "Gin Rummy", "Go Fish", "Solitare" and many others.