How to occupy or entertain children without screens

[CrealCritter]

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.

Agree... kids need to be allowed to be kids. Eating mud pies, having an imagination and all that... Yesterday my granddaughter made me hot chocolate. It was a tin cup filled with sand. Then she made a cherry pie again a old tin pan filled with sand and the cherries were seashells. I sure was full after eating 1/2 a cherry pie and drinking a big ole cup of hot chocolate and of course both were delicious she has also made a cave in-between two rows of sunflowers. The cave leads to another land where there are dinosaurs and sharks and cotton candy. But really it's just a corn patch. It's fun to play along with her she has such an imagination...

 

[KeeperAtTheHomestead]

Books!!! Not twaddle, but beautiful literature such as Beatrix Potter, A. A. Milne, Where the Red Fern Grows , etc. Amblesideonline.com and oldfashionededucation.com have beautiful book lists. Crafts, chores (bored was a word that I dare not mumble around my grandma for fear of washing dishes), outdoor time, and just plain ol' imagination. Screens definitely hamper the mind's ability to create.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

@HomesteaderWife I remember the chores too. I don't remember them as being things we didn't want to do as much as just things we did. Caring for the animals; planting, weeding, and harvesting the garden; mowing the lawn; working in grandma's garden; mowing grandma's lawn; shoveling snow; putting up and taking down snow fences, cutting and stacking wood; covering the drain lines with hay in the fall and uncovering them in the spring (we didnt actually use hay. We drove the pickup truck to local roads where the county had cup the'fall grass. When this dried we'd go get load after load of it to cover our drain lines for the winter.) I remember when the hay in the fields was cut and drying, a vunch of us would go out with empty pails. We'd walk on those lines of hay to scare our mice. Then we'd step on them and put them in our buckets. Im not sure if we honestly ever made a dent in the mouse population but it sure kept us busy for several hours at a time! I remember handpicking mustard out of the fields. Sometimes crops would come up and you could see all of the yellow in them. We'd go pull those up by hand. In late fall or early spring, we'd burn the fields to keep the weeds down and clear the land for planting. We'd all have to watch to make sure the fire didnt get out of hand. If there was a barn fire or tornado or snowstorm (I don't ever remember calling them blizzards as a kid...), we'd be at someone's farm helping with cleanup. In late summer, we baled hay. In the fall, we'd harvest garden vegetables, and make huge crocks of saurkraut for the winter. Canning, baking, packing in sand... Hanging clothes on the line, and bringing them back in; washing cars by hand; scrubbing floors on hands and knees; cleaning gutters in the barn and spreading lime; filling the wheel barrow with feed and putting some in front of every stantion so when the cows came back in the barn for milking, their feed was ready... Washing and putting up storm windows for the winter and replacing them in the Spring. We worked hard and played hard.

How many kids today have chores??

 

[frustratedearthmother]

My grandkids have chores! I'm pretty sure the kids next door do too. But, my daughter and her DH are awesome parents and so are the folks next door. 'Course the chores are age appropriate. I think most responsible parents understand that it's a good thing to give a child responsibilities.

 

[Britesea]

My DH was involved with 4H and FFA from 10yrs to adult (he eventually became a leader). He raised Toggenberg goats

 

[tortoise]

I cut my kids off from screens (mostly) about a month ago. DS4 occasionally gets to watch a TV show on my computer or play on DH's phone, but these are rare treats now rather than the norm.

Things to do? Much of the day taken up by harassing the cats. We have two exceptionally patient "barn" cats. I removed most the toys because he wasn't playing with them anyway. Today he has tagged along on gardening and outdoor chores, fencing. He helped clean his room, helped pick dandelions for tea.

 

[FarmerJamie]

It's not surprising that those of here had similar experiences.
I remember always being outside. In the evenings as a wee one, I can remember sitting on my great grandfather's lap listening to the ballgame on the radio (mercury battery transistor, mind you )

Days were helping in the gardens, running wild and free in the valley woods and streams. Riding my bicycle 3 miles to the library.

Sigh

 

[NH Homesteader]

I think focus on primarily good literature is good but I think semi -twaddle has a place. If a kid loves reading and it's not what you want them to read, it's better than nothing! (I was a special ed teacher , this discussion came up a lot!)

I'm lucky that my 6 year old LOVES to read. It makes life much easier!

 

[Junebugaboo]

I really want to put my daughters in 4H, probably when they are 8-10 years old....I have a little more time yet.