5 Surprisingly Simple Things That Entertain Kids for Hours

5 Surprisingly Simple Things That Entertain Kids for Hours

Do you find that you have way too many toys that your kids just don’t play with?  Parents constantly say “go play with your toys” but find kids wandering around begging for the iPad.  I know this happens in our house especially when I need to get something accomplished.  It seems it is then that I have the most trouble coming up with ideas that can entertain kids. 

We have toys that they can play with, that is for sure.  To say we have too many toys is an understatement.  Partially it is my fault because I do enjoy playing with the kids but get bored easily.  Or perhaps I am easily suckered by toy marketers…  Anyway, since I have been raising 6 children for just about 18 years now, it still surprises me what children play with for hours at a time and they are NOT toys.

Here we go with my list of surprising things you can use to entertain kids:

1.  Whiteboard – we have a whiteboard hanging on the wall in the playroom.  This is probably the most used “toy” in our house for playing school, hangman, and doodling.

2.  Bandaids – open up a box of these and suddenly a pretend play doctor’s office opens up or perhaps an animal hospital.  I buy them at the dollar store for cheap.

3.  Music – let the kids pick the music and they will put on a show.  This happens every night at our house if we are fortunate enough to not be running around somewhere after dinner.

4.  Cardboard Box – all time favorite to entertain the kids to encourage pretend play, creativity, and imagination.  We use big boxes, shoe boxes, and tiny boxes!

5.  Nature – just go outside!  I can not believe how much my children entertain themselves when they are outside versus inside.  They increase their physical activity, get fresh air and play independently.  That is the triple crown right there!

Seems like all I need to do now is clean out all the toys that don’t get used because the kids are too busy playing with the boxes.  What entertains your kids for hours?

Read more about tips to guide play in everyday situations.

Read more about why children need pretend play.