What to Do with Kids: Other than TV and Computers

I grew up with out TV and computers were in their infancy. My parents had decided to go back to nature and not have electricity or running water. This means no TV. This gives me a unique perspective on activates that do not include TV or computers. It was a small community but there were other children my age. We had a lot of fun.

In the summer we would race in the open fields, play tag, hid and seek, swim in the local pond, fish in the local pond, made forts and club houses out of what ever we found, we biked every were, every thing was a potential toy and every place was a play area. Winter we made snowmen, ice skated on the local pond, made snow forts, had snowball fights, made snow angels. All year round we played house, board games, made up games, coloured, drew, painted and made things. My mom taught me how to make bread from scratch, make candles by dipping the wick into hot wax.

These days there are a lot of after school and summer programs we can enrol out children into. Some cost a lot, but others are designed for lower income families, and some are even free. There is every thing from self-defence classes such as karate, art, music, dance classes, organized sports. The options out there are almost unlimited but can depend on where you live and your finances.

For the most part, children are creative. If they are not allowed to watch TV or play on the computer they will come up with some thing to do. As parents we just need to make sure they have the resources to work with. This can be cardboard boxes to make a castle, armour, shields and swords, the paint or pens to decorate them, and a safe are to build it and play. If children have things to build with and space, they do. There are lots of craft kits out there to make jewelry, ceramic pieces, mosaics, chemistry, paper mache, and more. You can find the material and instructions for almost any activity in the local craft and toy stores. If you cannot find items locally look online, you can always find tons of ideas, instructions and even buy the needed material.