10 Ideas for Incorporating Fun and Play into Your Child’s Daily Activities

It’s easy to get caught up in the doldrums of chores and every day tasks. Leaving little time for fun, though, can add too much stress to your life, and often to your child’s. And it’s no mystery that stress can detract from your overall health and well-being.

Use the following ideas to incorporate a little fun into every part of the day and you’ll soon be smiling your way to a healthier, happier you!

Make funny faces. Whenever, wherever you feel like it, compete with your child to see who can make the most outrageous facial expressions or most funny face. This is particular fun to do in shopping centers, where you are bound to get other people smiling and in on the action, too.

Dance the chores away. Go on, blast some fun music and dance around the house as you pick up the mess, complete the laundry, or help your child straighten up their room. In addition to making the chores go by in a fast way, you’ll be sneaking in some heart-healthy exercise!

Play games. Take time to get together and play games. Whether you play video games, board games, or outdoor sports, you are teaching your child that together time is important, as well as fun!

Make meal time a celebration. Have themed meal nights, such as Mexican or Italian night. Have your child help you decorate or come up with ideas to enhance the meal. You’ll have an opportunity to discuss different cultures and cuisines as well as a simple way to break up the routine of the week.

Participate in homework. Sit down with your child when they complete their homework for the evening. Use the opportunity to relate their lessons to real life. Encourage them to read out loud and use fun voices for characters in stories.

Make outdoor cleanup play time.  Fall chores include raking leaves and kids love to pile ‘em up and jump in.  Winter snow shoveling can turn into fort building and snowman making.  Watering a summer garden is a great time to keep the kids cool with splashes from the hose.  Whatever chore you have to complete, it can easily become a fun time to share with your children.  Plus, most children love being helpers, so when it’s time to pick up the leaves, they’ll be happy to stuff the lawn bags!

Color!  Pull out the crayons and markers, sit down with your child and color picture or coloring books.  In no time, you will feel like a kid again and your child will love the company as they put their art skills to work.

Look for colors.  Along the color lines… if you have a younger child, help them identify colors and shapes everywhere you go.  This helps pass the time during long drives, shopping trips, and makes going to the park even more fun.

Sing a silly song.  Our family loves to create new words to old songs and we often sing things throughout the day instead of saying them.  Why?  Because we stared this fun activity when the children were small to help them with rhyming and rhythm.  Now, it’s just a super silly family tradition that always makes us smile.

Lighten up.  The number one thing you can do to help make your child’s day fun is to remember to not take everything so seriously.  Does the towels really have to be folded perfectly?  Cut corners once in awhile.  Find the joy in the life and be certain that your child sees the joy, too.  Happiness is contagious!