If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, godparent, teacher, or other adult influence on kids growing up in these complicated times, chances are you wish children had more ways to engage in good old-fashioned fun as opposed to spending their free time glued to a screen. In fact, concerns about screen time top pretty much any list related to parenting these days.
Kids these days have so much going on. It seems their lives are scheduled down to the minute, so when confronted with rare pockets of downtime, they struggle with what to do. When the phone or TV is within reach, it's easy to get sucked into the video game vortex.
But we’re here to offer up a few alternatives! Our new kids’ activity book, Funtastic!, features 175 exciting screen-free activities for kids ages 7 to 12 and is chock full of ideas for indoors and outside. There are six main sections based on whether your child is feeling playful (balloon games!), outdoorsy (kick the can!), creative (yarn slap bracelets!), antsy (kite-flying!), festive (party decor!), or generous (kindness rocks!). And there’s a lot of stuff packed in these pages that families can do together, like a DIY time capsule. Author Amanda Kingloff is a bit of a creative powerhouse. We're obviously biased, but it's also a great thing to keep on hand for last-minute birthday gifts.
Let's take a look inside, shall we?
Ideas to instill a lifetime love of gardening!
But of course there are s'mores (and campfire fun to boot)
Cloud gazing > Screen gazing
No shortage of ways to spend a rainy crafternoon
Easy recipes for budding bakers
Bird-watching activities for all ages
Here’s to helping kids enjoy a little old-school fun. Because childhood only lasts so long, and screens are better suited for porches, don’t you think?
Rachel Barrett is the Editor-in-Chief of Country Living. She can't pass up a vintage seascape, drives an '89 Woody Wagoneer (that is, when it'll start), and hopes to buy you a lemonade at a future Country Living Fair.