Old-School Ways to Keep Children Busy Without Screen Time

It can be challenging to entertain and educate your children at home. So today, Dr. Joel Segalman, Dr. Stephen Lazaroff, and Dr. Brittany Ciaramello at Performance Foot & Ankle Specialists, LLC, in New Haven County and Fairfield County, are sharing some tech-free ways to keep your children entertained while they learn.

1. Put together a game box. Fill a box with things your child can play with alone. Include items like playing cards, easy puzzles, or coloring books. When you need to keep your children busy, show them the box. While they might resist at first, the more you do it, the more they'll accept it as part of their routine.

2. Have them make their own cartoons. Don’t just watch cartoons - have them make their own. Give them paper and some crayons and ask them to draw a bad guy and a hero and create a story around them.

3. Let them help you with what you’re doing. If you're cleaning or cooking, let them help by giving them a job they can handle. For younger children, that might be setting the table or food preparation. For older kids, it might be slicing vegetables, taking out the recycling, or sweeping the house.

4. Give them an important job. Don’t just give them a job to do - make it a big deal. Suggest they draw a picture for their dad or make a block fort for their Grandma. If they think they’re doing something important, they won't complain about doing the work.

5. Put together an idea box. Discuss ideas with your children about how they can beat boredom. Write down their suggestions and collect them in a box. Then when they get bored, have them pick one out. Because it was their idea, they'll be more willing to follow through with it.

6. Get creative with toys. A toy that lets a child create something will keep them distracted for a long time. If you don’t already have them, get some Legos, Play-Dough, and puzzles when you go to the store.

7. Put together a treasure hunt. Hide something like a sticker or a coin somewhere in the house. Give your children a clue, and then let them go crazy trying to find it. If you make it more difficult to find, you'll boost their resilience and their ability to locate things on their own.

Dr. Joel Segalman, Dr. Stephen Lazaroff, and Dr. Brittany Ciaramello, at Performance Foot & Ankle Specialists, LLC in New Haven County and Fairfield County want you and your family to remain safe, healthy, and in good spirits. If you need us, call our Waterbury office at (203) 755-0489 or our Newtown location at (203) 270-6724. You can also request an appointment online.