How to occupy or entertain children without screens

[Britesea]

My childhood was during the 50's and early 60's. We had a TV for a short time, until my mother got tired of hearing my brother and I arguing about which show to watch- cartoons or Captain Kangaroo- so she yanked the cord... OUT OF THE TV rather than the wall plug. I was a teenager before it got repaired.
I was something of a loner, but I loved reading books; I would go to the library and borrow the maximum number of books they would allow me, read them all and bring them back 3 days later. My brother and I would walk down to the high school every day during the summer to go swimming in the pool. I had pets to play with and take care of... everything from cats and dogs to a 3-foot iguana that loved to eat yellow hibiscus flowers. We went camping as a family to places like Big Bear Lake where I remember sliding down hills in a makeshift toboggan made from a cardboard box over pine needles instead of snow. I clambered all over the rocks and hills at Joshua Tree, and marveled at the stars you could see when you weren't in the environs of LA.
I remember spending hours working out an anagram of our phone number- trying to make the letters spell a word (the best I came up with was Maxican).
.... building a fort out of a bunch of concrete blocks in an abandoned lot, and being petrified when I realized the block I had just carried over and placed so carefully had an absolutely HUGE black widow spider clinging to the side THAT HAD BEEN NEXT TO MY BODY!

Yep, I think I had a much more fun childhood than kids today...

 

[framing fowl]

I grew up in the 80's in a very rural area. My parents didn't get our family a television until I was almost in Jr. High.

We had lots of farm and animal chores. When we were done with chores, we just played. We had lots of Legos, Tonka trucks, pieces of wood. We were lucky enough to have bunk beds that we would take towels and tuck them into the top mattress to make a curtain around the bottom bunk. This contraption was our Conestoga wagon as we crossed the prairies, fought Indians, tamed wolves, found gold, and made it West.

Luckily, our mom took us to the library every time we went to town. She also bought the end of a newspaper role one time do we had big pieces of paper for arts/crafts.

We also went camping, fishing, and hiking as a family. We spent a lot of time horses back riding. My favorite day of summer was the day we got to move cattle in the mountains. We had two different forest service allotments. We would have a real, all day 5 mile horse back cattle drive.

@Beekissed we had the same rule, if we mentioned being bored, we were given things to do and they usually weren't fun. We learned quickly to find things to do!

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

I was the Tomboy. In city life. I had my collection of Matchbox cars, I climbed trees, I caught wild birds, caught bugs, dodged cars... Ooops...did I say that??

I was the rotten kid....so gramma....grabbed hold of the scruff of my neck....and wrangled me inside to teach me how to sew. I was doing French seams by the age of 6, and helping teach the sewing section of Home Ec by age 9.

Oh...all the above.....my sister and I are 13 months apart. She had the nerve to run off to Kindergarten...and left me home by myself!! So, I was into way too much at age....4

My favorite toy...daddies sharp kitchen knife. Now granted...I could only use it while supervised. But I would cut boxes to make playhouses, make tiny furniture out of the egg cartons, and tiny trailers out of shoe boxes. Art was my fun passion. Cutting up the colored paper, magazines, stuff..... ......

Chalk on sidewalks. Making dragons at Kaleidoscope
https://www.crowncenter.com/attractions-and-theaters

going to the plays in the park put on by my oldest sisters community college drama class. Sitting under the stars in June, at the local park.

https://www.visitkc.com/business-detail/loose-park#sm.000ig52eceyjfbz10na1lg7l076t9

sitting on a blanket watching the classics- Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, George M. Cohen, 1776, The Princess and the Pea, West Side Story, and more I can't remember.

When we weren't doing that- we went to the Nelson Atkins Art Gallery;

https://www.nelson-atkins.org

Starlight Theater;

https://www.kcstarlight.com

Riding the city buses and taxis all over town.

Many warm evenings, after supper, mom would walk us 2 girls down the block to the big sandbox and slides and swings at the neighborhood playground. Oh, we had the zoo too.

https://www.kansascityzoo.org

Then, there was winter, Christmas and snow.

https://www.visitkc.com/visitors/things-do/kansas-city-plaza-lights#sm.000ig52eceyjfbz10na1lg7l076t9

I am sure I am forgetting things. Been a loooong time since I was a little kid in the 60's

 

[Britesea]

I feel sorry for the kids with helicopter parents... they are never allowed to experience LIFE. As a consequence, when they are finally let off the leash, they will either a) hide in a corner (ie: electronic life) or b) go absolutely wild with no idea of the risks.

I remember a lovely elderly lady talking to me once when I was younger; she told me "Honey, everyone should have a past juicy enough to be worth remembering." At the time, I took her to mean sex (she was a retired madam, after all)... but I think these things we've been talking about should be included in the term "juicy." Many kids today will not have those "juicy" memories.

 

[Beekissed]

I so agree! When the life they live is only observing others living it on TV, movies or social media, they don't have much to talk about or pass on to their own children.

I firmly believe that the most quickly taught lessons in life are those where the child is allowed to experience natural consequences of their actions. My DIL disagrees....likely because she's never really had many experiences at all, let alone got to experience any natural consequences of them.

For example...her second child is one of those. You know the kind...she doesn't play with toys, she gets into stuff. If it's something dangerous, she's the one doing it. If it tears up something, she's the one doing it...no amount of punishment seems to sink into the braincase. She's 2 1/2 yrs old. I've had a child like that and the only time they learn anything at all about dangerous things is if you let them experience the "why" they aren't supposed to do it...supervised experiences, of course.

Like when she's constantly pushing to get down when you are carrying her in the pool in water over her head....instead of yelling constantly or trying to explain ad nauseum why she cannot "get down", I just let her down. Then I fish her out, sputtering and wide eyed, and ask, "Want down again?" It's an immediate understanding I see in her eyes as she shakes her head "no", it finally clicks and all the talking her mom has done for the past half hour didn't help one iota. Getting to experience natural consequences helps a kid like that.

And, no, contrary to what her mama thinks or says, it doesn't ruin her trust in me...Ganny is the one she most wants to swim with and trusts the most in the pool now. I think it's because Ganny understands what she needs in order to learn things....some kids can be told, others have to be shown.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hoping to spend some serious time with the grands in a few weeks. Can't wait! Last hurrah before school starts. They are usually so busy with the farm that they aren't much interested in screens. We play board games, connect four, and spend lotsa time outside. They love to help milk, feed the chickens and gather eggs. We won't be in spring garden mode but I'm thinking about having them help me start some fall seeds like broccoli and cabbages.

One day I usually take them to town for an activity. We either go skating, or to the local jump house where they get lots of physical activity. That's MY screen time, lol. Then we head to their favorite Chinese buffet. They love that place. SMH...

We'll go to my sons house for swimming and thankfully they are water safe so no dropping them in, lol. My son has a go-kart that they can ride in 'slow' gear and he inherited a backyard play set when he bought his house.

At my house they have a tire swing to make each other dizzy swinging around on and a pasture to explore with me in tow. They are basically city kids so they have to be reminded to watch where they step - not so much for poop - but they don't think to watch for things like snakes. I give them the talk about not stepping straight down from a log because there might be a snake under it. Other things like approach the horses slowly and reach to pet them on the neck or shoulder instead of reaching for their head. Wish we had some friendly baby goats - but all we have right now is Freckles and he's not so people friendly. Maybe they can have the task of spending lots of time petting and cuddling him in hopes that he'll calm down - but not counting on it. We DO have a few baby chicks and if I get busy I could put some quail eggs in the incubator and they should hatch while they're still here.

Lots of things to do besides sit in front of a screen.

 

[Beekissed]

One way we occupy grandkids here....let them help with the canning.

She's 4 yrs old but she's been helping us with this same task for 2 yrs now....here she is with great grandmammy, showing her the ropes.

 

[Britesea]

A child's imagination can be truly breathtaking at times. I was told about a wee waif that walked up to her father with her hands carefully cupped together and offered him a peek. Of course, he couldn't see anything, so he asked what she had in her hands. With an eldritch smile, she answered "Darkness!"

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Dancing in the rain. Stomping in mud puddles.

 

[Junebugaboo]

These posts about kid chores got me thinking about an article I recently read in Mother Earth News: https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/childrens-chores-zm0z17aszsor

Whenever I'm folding laundry, doing dishes, cooking, baking, cleaning around the house, my 3 year-old jumps right in. I always give her a little something to do--she loves folding the dish towels. She also really likes to help me weed. Both of my girls like spending time outside when I'm in the garden: one of their favorite things to do is root through the compost for worms and bugs and feed them to the chickens. It's been pretty wet here recently, and I had them pick off all the slugs on the beans, which they collected in a jar...then they served them up to the chicks. I also have a lot of big containers outside that I fill with water, and that'll keep the girls occupied for hours. I got them a "bug kit" too, and they love collecting specimens. My oldest loves to draw like me, and I got her a special sketchbook that she draws in all the time.

Anybody have any experience with 4H Club?