Your kids are bouncing off the walls and you have to make dinner/wash dishes/get your work done/sit down for two minutes…what do you do?
Do you turn on the TV and pop in that video yet again? As a preschool teacher, popping in a video is not an option – so we have come up with many quick & easy activities that either calm kids down or channel their active energy into a more acceptable and constructive form.
The basis for these ideas comes from acknowledging that a child’s impulse to run all over the house is healthy. It is good for kids to want to be active. To stop their behavior by sitting them down in front of the television is sending the message that I don’t want you to be active and fit; I want you to be a couch potato. And of course that’s not what we want for our kids!
Honor the Impulse
Here are my Top 5 TV Alternatives:
1. Cover a big table with a tarp (put one on the floor too if you have carpeting) and plop down a GIANT mound of play dough
2. Roll out enough paper to cover an entire floor or wall, and give the kids crayons/markers/chalk to draw with – bigger is better!
3. Push the furniture in your living room aside, put on some upbeat music, and have a Dance Party
4. Put on soft classical music and set out a stack of white paper and a watercolor set (this one is counter-intuitive, but sometimes the soothing, repetitive motion of watercolor painting is just the ticket)
5. Lay a big table cloth or blanket on the floor, along with some pillows, stuffed animals, and little kitchen items for a pretend “Picnic”
What do you do when your kids are driving you batty?
photo credits: “TV” courtesy of Aaron Escobar; “Deep Eye” courtesy of Tanki
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When Diego was younger and feeling cranky, he would tell us he wanted to go into his crib. He didn’t sleep, he just hung out in his comfy little space with his favorite stuff animals. Now we have a corner with all his stuff friends and a big blue furry body pillow. He loves to burrow in there and hang out.