These are some of the alternatives to screen time when your children are stuck at home, and there is no school. There are so many apps today that take a considerable chunk of time in your children's lives. Be it YouTube, TikTok, or Netflix, screen time does creep up on parents, making things problematic. One fine day, your kid says he feels sick. Even if you have a headache, you are somehow managing to work from home. Suddenly you are on a conference call, and you need your child to stay quiet for the next thirty minutes. What will you do? Many of us would tell them to watch something or play a game.
There is nothing abnormal here. It is how digital life has become. But, according to many psychologists, thinking outside the box is the ideal way to reduce the amount of time your children spend staring at their phones. So, here are some of the healthiest substitutes for your children's phone.
Spending time outside
It doesn't matter what activity it is. You can take the children out for shooting hoops, a bike ride, a jog, a skateboarding trip, drawing, or even a scavenger hunt. What matters here is that they should stay away from the phone and get some fresh air. It is what is essential.
Motivate them to help in household chores
It might sound far-fetched, but it is all about how you position it. It will be best if you appeal to younger kids that they are allowed to sweep the floor, dust, or even fold the laundry. For making it more exciting for the kids, you can broaden it to running towels, preparing dinner, or loading the dishwasher. It is the ideal opportunity to teach your kids about how the community works together to address a situation like the current pandemic.
Teach them to be crafty
Coloring is common, but sometimes, it is okay to be messy. Teach the children to paint, make a collage, cut garlands, and other things out of paper, and even create colorful masks. If your child is older, there are crafts which they won't find lame or boring. You can encourage them to make friendship bracelets, embroidery floss, comics, wall-art, and many other things. Many people suggest that these times can be great for learning new things and making new items for those who have been impacted by social distancing and other norms.
Pull out the collectives which they had as a child.
So, bring it out—their shells, action figures, cards, and everything else that they have. You can even pull out your collections to show your children what you did as a child. You will be surprised to see the amount of interest they take in you and your childhood once you show them things! For that, you still need to have the memorabilia from your childhood!
Build forts!
Well, you won't be able to walk through the living room, but it will be fun! You can build miniature forts in your home, which will be exciting for both toddlers and tweens. The forts can be of dining room chairs or even bed sheets. You only need to give your children some markers, duct tape, and stickers. As a bonus, you can let them have food in their fort!
Build anything else!
Now is the best time to pull out the Legos, construction sets, model airplanes, and everything else you can build for those looking for healthy alternatives. From towers to gadgets to anything else, you will be awestruck by what children's minds can do when you give them the building blocks.
Solve puzzles or play board games
Jigsaw puzzles are indeed unique for children of all ages. Siblings can often entertain each other, but when you let them play these games, you need to beware of their competitiveness! Other than that, you can also let them play fun board games like Monopoly and Candyland. There are other games like Bugs in the kitchen and Doodle Quest.
Photo albums
Nostalgia plays a key role, even in young children. So, if your children were born before the era of Facebook and Instagram, or even if they weren't, reach out to the top of that closet, and pull out those photo albums! Show them how they were when they were infants. It will bring a lot of memories, and refresh you and them! You can even show them your childhood photos. They should know that their parents were also kids once upon a time!
Let them eat their favorite foods.
Small kids love to assist their elders in the kitchen. Older kids can even prepare the foods they like. So, let them spend some time in the kitchen and prepare what they want. Younger kids can help their siblings in the kitchen, which will also be a great bonding activity!
How to make sure that your children don't spend a lot of time on phones?
Avosmart is the answer to your question. This parental control software will make sure that your children don't spend a lot of time on their phones. It locks them out of the apps and websites if they exceed a time limit that you set on them. Also, you can get timely insights into their activities on the Internet. So, to make sure that your kids are safe on the Internet, make sure that you get Avosmart!