One of the things no one told me before I became a parent is that my child would want me to entertain them 24/7. The worst part is that I didn’t know there were affordable ways to entertain kids at home.
I truly adore my daughter and she’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. However, after a long day at work then coming home to cook, clean, guide her through her homework, bathe her, do laundry, prepare all that she needs for the next day, and more, I usually feel so exhausted and I’m not able to play with her until her bedtime, which is what she prefers.
I mean, I tried, but it was only a matter of time before I got burnout, frustrated, and would get angry at the slightest thing. I knew something had to change. I was on a mission to figure out how to make my daughter happy and occupied and retain my sanity. Today, I want to share those activities with you. The best part is that you don’t have to break the bank, and they work for both stay-at-home moms and working moms.
Let’s look at 5 creative and affordable ways you can entertain your child at home.
Affordable Ways To Entertain Your Kid At Home
1. Organize a treasure hunt game
Just like the name suggests, this game involves looking for something hidden. Kids can play it indoors or outdoors. You need to hide an item (could be their toy or anything) and then write down cues they can use to locate it.
When they get the first cue, it gets closer to figuring out where the item is.
A treasure hunt game is a perfect way to keep your kids entertained because they’ll be moving around the house, or compound looking for the items. Additionally, it allows them to be creative and have fun.
Children of all ages love it but it works better for 3 to 6-year-olds.
2. Virtual Museum Tours
Virtual museums became popular when so many of us were stuck indoors due to the covid-19 pandemic and museums and other cultural centers were closed.
Virtual Museum Tours was among the most frequently searched term under ‘virtual’ in 2020.
If you’re looking to entertain your kids at home through virtual museums, be sure to pick fun ones like aquariums or those with interesting animals. This will keep them engaged.
It is important to consider what your child likes when picking out a virtual museum.
3. Water games
I can’t remember the number of times I’ve had to drag my daughter from the water. Kids love playing with water and any games that involve water is heaven to them.
According to Maureen Healy, a specialist in children’s emotional health and award-winning author, kids find water calming because there were surrounded by it when growing in their mother’s womb. Also, water allows them to use their different senses such as sight, touch, and sound.
So, do you see why water games are an amazing and affordable way of entertaining kids at home?
Examples of water activities you can explore include water balloons games, throwing water sponge bombs around, splashing inside a kid’s pool, telling them to wash their toys, making holes in a bottle and then filling it with water and turning it into a sprinkler, and creating boats from papers and then letting them float on water.
Water activities are endless.
4. Cooking and baking
Your child wants to play with you but you want to prepare breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Why not cook together?
If you were wondering how to keep your child entertained for hours, this is a major one. You’ll be spending time together and giving them the attention they need while still performing your intended task- amazing.
Did you know there are so many benefits of cooking with your kid? For example, it improves their vocabulary as they hear you pronounce ingredients and go through the steps to cooking.
It strengthens their fine motor skills when they perform actions like stirring, cutting or rolling the dough. It also improves their focus and attention because they apply these when cooking.
If you were not previously sold on the idea of cooking with your child, I hope you are now.
5. It’s time to decorate
Specialists in children psychology say that allowing children to decorate their rooms enables them to express their personality and feel comfortable where they live.
Entertaining your kids at home can be as simple as telling them to re-arrange their room.
Or you can give them more liberty to paint the room their favorite color, make charts and drawings and hang them on the wall or even get new beddings for them to spread their bed with.
It depends on how far you want to go and how old your baby is.
They will have so much fun that they’ll forget about you. You may also be pleasantly surprised at what they create or discover something about their style or personality you didn’t know.
It is okay to supervise them to ensure they don’t go overboard or do something dangerous. The good news is that you’ll be having a passive role as opposed to if you’re the full-time entertainer.
6. Watching movies together
Family movie nights are probably one of the activities your kids will love the most. It seems basic but when you’re intentional about it, it can be an amazing bonding time and has other benefits such as helping your child perform better in school.
You probably won’t spend much or anything, especially if you have DVDs, Wi-Fi, Netflix, or any streaming service.
If you want to make this special, don’t just put a movie on and then get on your phone. Go the whole nine yards, pop some popcorns or buy snacks, huddle up on the sofa, put your phone aside, and truly enjoy the movie and spending time with your child or them and other family members.
When I do this, my daughter dozes off halfway through the movie most of the time. In the end, we have special memories, and they sleep early, which allows me to rest or focus on other tasks.
An alternative to this can be a family game night where you all play cards or board games.
Final Thoughts
As a mom, you always have something to do, and your little angel is also trying to connect with you. It can be overwhelming if you don’t know how to juggle all these. That is why it’s essential to be equipped with these 6 affordable ways to entertain kids at home guide. These activities will help ensure your child has fun and you still get to spend time together and create memories without feeling like you’ll run out of your mind. We wish you good luck on the journey to keep your kids entertained in a budget-friendly way.
Hi – I’m Alina and I am a soon to be mom going through the journey of becoming a parent. I am a writer at heart and I love sharing about pregnancy tips and other busy mom hacks.