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- Children's behavior is a form of communication; responding appropriately will help you maintain a healthy relationship.
- Consequences should teach and communicate, rather than punish.
- Ignoring attention-seeking or silly behavior can be effective. Address aggressive or dangerous behavior immediately.
- Follow through with stated consequences and offer praise for positive responses to reinforce good behavior.
May 2023
Your Guide to Managing Indoor Boredom
The Kids Mental Health Foundation Behavioral Health Experts
Article Summary
- Use puzzles, books, crafts, building blocks and brain games to stimulate creativity and problem-solving.
- When you can, try family activities like cooking together, which can improve reading skills, teamwork and a sense of belonging.
- Get active by building obstacle courses, circuits, scavenger hunts or dance contests to keep kids moving.
Activity
When you are stuck inside, what can you do with your kids? Engaging in fun activities, using your brains to problem-solve and being creative is good for building mental health. Collect puzzles, books, crafts, building blocks, riddles and other brain games to have on hand.
Family Cooking
Cooking together is a great way to work on reading skills and teamwork! And making a family recipe while talking about your family traditions can help your child build a sense of belonging, which is good for mental health.
Depending on your child's age, they can read the recipe, gather ingredients, wash vegetables, learn how to do simple math and a lot more!
Consider letting kids select a theme. This could be around food from a certain country or region, or it could be based on a book they’ve read or a favorite show. For older kids, let each child make a dish of their own choosing and make a meal out of whatever everyone brings to the table.
Don’t want to run to the store? You can even find recipes online based on the food/ingredients you have in your house.
Board Games
Board games provide so many options for both fun and developing problem-solving skills! As children take turns and follow directions, they are learning valuable skills. Check out games that promote reading, math and money strategies.
Some libraries allow people to borrow board games. And some areas have gaming cafes where you can go and try a variety of games.
Art Projects
Try painting, drawing, coloring, clay and anything else you find! Many materials like play dough and silly putty can be made at home using simple ingredients from your kitchen cabinet.
Coloring Pages
Looking to incorporate Kids Mental Health Foundation into your art projects? Download our coloring pages below.
Physical Activity
Just because you are stuck indoors, doesn't mean physical activity should fall by the wayside. Here are some ideas for physical activities:
- Obstacle Course. Set up cones, stuffed animals, cups, etc. for kids to run around, jump over and climb under.
- Circuits. Set up activity stations around the room featuring one activity (jump rope, sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, the hula hoop). Have your kids visit each station for 30 to 60 seconds.
- Treasure/Scavenger hunt. Hide either one item with clues to follow or multiple items around the house. Be sure to make the hunt take the kids to different room, and have them searching high and low to get the most movement.
Dance Contest
Crank up the tunes and dance your socks off! We even put together a playlist to get you started.
Animal Moves
Have races, or just laughs, walking/moving around like different animals:
- Bear walk (hand and feet)
- Cat/dog walk (hands and knees)
- Crab walk (hands and feet with your belly facing up)
- Rabbit/frog (bouncing with hands and feet on floor)
- Duck/penguin (heels together, toes pointed to the side)
Let kids come up with other animal ideas for maximum laughs.
Hide and Seek
An oldie, but a goodie. Hide and seek keeps kids moving, but does not require running.
Activities
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- Coping activities include deep breathing, movement or exercise, mindfulness and meditation, listening to music and using distractions.
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