Things to do with little kids – getting out of the house.

I have 4 beautiful grandchildren, 2 of them live 5 ½  hours south the other 2 are 5 ½  hours north so when they visit it isn’t just for an afternoon and in winter that can mean weather that’s not conducive to sitting on the back veranda with a cool drink watching them play. Ours are all preschoolers so their visits involve quite a bit of entertaining and supervision.

After we have exhausted the fun of dress ups, cardboard box cubbies, making cookies and eaten our fill from the pretend kitchen the kids would happily watch a DVD but they did that for most of the 5 ½  hours it took to get to Grandma’s house (remember how we had to entertain our kids with I Spy and car cricket and deliver a few back handers from the front seat when the boys were squashing their sister, well things have changed, they are so strapped in they can barely reach each other and they have a DVD screen each – however I digress). DVD’s are only for when there is nothing else to do (or there is a chance they might have a nap or Grandma and Grandpa need a nap), otherwise it’s time to bundle them up in warm clothes and get out of the house.

The playground is a good place to start but don’t expect to relax, 2 year olds always think they can climb things that their Grandparents think they can’t, well they can but you really have to be handy in case they’re too busy telling you they can to look where they’re putting their feet – and they will want you to go down the slide with them – and 4 year olds can push themselves on the swing but they need a push to get them started and to make them go right up to the sky.

Take a train ride, you don’t have to go far, pick a destination where you can take a walk and play in a park, have an ice cream and hop on the train and come home again.

Check out your local Library, they have great programs for little kids, usually on certain days of the week but even on other days, most have cosy reading corners and the kids have a huge supply of books to choose from to read themselves or for you to read to them, you will probably find you attract other kids especially if you read stories like a crazy person.

Take the kids to the bike path, if they can ride you can take your bike and ride with them, otherwise you’re on foot and they want a push, if their bikes or trikes don’t have one of those long handle at the back get Grandpa to work on that, they make it so much easier on your back and when they refuse to pedal.

Take them to the beach and find a really high sand hill for them to climb and roll down and jump off in all sorts of trick ways like twirls and somersaults. Build steps to make the climbing easier and if Grandpa is with you he can throw them up so they land on their feet on top of the sand hill (they think this is pretty good but I’m not sure he will be able to manage it when they turn 5). Then when the inevitable happens and they find the ocean and get wet and cold take them home and put them under a hot shower and you won’t have to negotiate the bath time trauma after tea, they’ll be all washed and worn out and ready for bed.