With children at home, parents are faced with the huge task of keeping them engaged and productive during this long holiday break.
Usually, school children spend the majority of their time in learning institutions, and those who come back home in the evenings are already exhausted or have loads of homework to do just in time before sleeping.
We analyse 10 ways to keep your children engaged and active during the 2024 December holiday, as the kids could easily get sucked up into unhealthy habits which could ruin or land them in trouble.
Encourage more activity
One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to keep children engaged and active is to encourage physical activity in their daily routines.
Left to their own devices, children could spend hours on screens, with only pressing kitchen and break for snacks and the inevitable calls of nature.
As a parent you should occasionally break up the time spent on TV or mobile devices with fun activities the kids would actually enjoy like playing hide and seek.
Ball games
Find the kids toys they can use outdoors and those that result in movement. This way, they not only develop their muscles but also improve other aspects of physical health like balance coordination and improved awareness.
Avail a football in the mix for the kids and they will have fun playing with other kids in the neighbourhood. Children are generally creative and by just introducing something as simple as football in their life, they will be playing tournaments over the flimsiest of prizes.
Family walk
As a family, you should schedule a routine walk either in the morning or evening to keep your health in check. Children should also be introduced to this habit as it gives parents the space to bond and understand their children better.
Through these walks, parents could determine the various needs of their kids, strengths and interests by just exposing them to an outdoor environment.
Hiking
To take the outdoor activity a notch higher, parents can organize a group hike for the family and spend time in the woods or hiking a local hill within their locality.
The benefits of hiking abound, from reducing obesity, improving balance, building stronger muscles, reducing anxiety in children and lowering blood pressure.
Hiking also improves sleep and helps in reducing heart-related conditions.
Swimming
With proper monitoring, you could take your kids swimming, just to break the monotony of the physical activities they do.
Swimming is a full-body exercise, and teaching your kids to swim or enrolling them for swimming lessons will leave them engaged and active during the holiday season. With a proper routine in place, you will find yourself arguing with your teenage children about screen time when you introduce a mix of interesting activities to their lifestyle.
Gardening
For long-term activity, you could teach your kids to grow a garden and watch their crops grow while guiding them on ways to tend to their plants every day.
House chores
Another way to keep children engaged and active during the December holiday is to let them perform house chores. As a parent, you should ensure that your kids learn a skill that can be vital to them in the future.
This could begin by asking them to arrange their room in order, spread their bed, learn to clean the compound or even learn how to cook simple meals.
These activities not only ensure they are physically fit but also boost their brain function as they equip them for the next phase of their lives.
Board games
Several board games can keep the children away from screens during this holiday, some of the board games you could explore as a parent are chess, drought, snakes and Ladders and Monopoly among other fun games.
These activities target the brain and reasoning as they involve a lot of decision-making. Playing these games whenever you are together as a family only adds to the fun and lets parents bond more with their children.
Holiday Tuition
Some kids easily forget the lessons they learn in school, and others may also struggle with a few subjects. To remedy this, parents could arrange private tuition for their children to keep them engaged or sharpen their grasp of certain problematic subjects.
The times should be arranged in a manner that the children do not get bored. Ideally, the lessons should not exceed more than two hours per session.
Volunteering activities
Another way to keep children engaged and active during the December holiday is to let children volunteer in charitable activities. The activities could be arranged by schools or local religious institutions.
By allowing your children to participate in these activities, you encourage them to develop empathy, and become grateful for the things they have and make them devise ways to alleviate human suffering.
