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So how do you keep your kids entertained? they can be difficult and as a parent I am often feeling stressed.  Here are some ideas.

If you are a reader of my blog you will know that I have two wonderful but difficult children. Right now they are asking Alexa to play  David Bowie’s, Star man and dancing around the front room.  Yes this is one answer to keep them entertained, but if your children are like mine they are also jumping on and off the furniture.

So here are some other ideas for if you are stuck at home. 

1.My daughter loves to be creative, so she enjoys the creative sets by  Melissa and Doug she can spend hours creating.  It is also something that I can do with her. My son can also join in with us.

2. The children also love colouring books, there are also more complicated colouring books   for your older child (or adult) that could keep them entertained for days.

3. My son loves his Thomas the Tank engine trackmaster train set, my daughter loves it too.

4. They also both love Lego and 5. K’nex they can spend many hours playing with it.  A recommendation here is a toy storage bag which means that it is easier to gather the lego and K’nex together once the child has finished playing.  Another option is to use a blanket to keep it together and off the carpet.  I have stood on many a lego brick and it hurts!

6. My children love playing on their tablets, so another idea is the Amazon Kindle fire for kids they come with a years subscription to kids unlimited. This can also be subscribed to and there is a trial for kids unlimited – UK, my children benefit from what it has to offer  Amazon Freetime, Kids unlimited – America

7. Another idea is books, my son loves Roald Dahl. The Twits is his favourite.  Books are great because not only does it keep the children quiet, you can also cuddle up and read with them.

8. Other ideas for indoors include  baking together (Kids cookbook) then you can enjoy your cakes or baked goods afterwards, relax and eat them together. Satisfying but also productive and constructive.

My children love to play outdoors when the weather is good.  To be honest they also enjoy jumping in puddles when it rains and making mummy upset by walking mud through the house. Not helped by the fact that we have beige carpets.

So here are some outdoor ideas,

9. Planting seeds, my children love doing this, then watching the flowers grow.  Amazon have many different seeds so are worth having a look at.  They also enjoy gardening but  this can be stressful when they start pulling out plants that you want to keep.

Garden games is another option. Swingball is another family favourite. We can spend hours wacking the ball up and down the pole.

10. My son loves his football but it often ends up over the fence in the neighbours garden. This then gives him the excuse to go over there and explore their garden, thankfully they do not mind.

11. They also love to ride their bikes round and round.  However, we have a cycle path that we visit near by and spend hours cycling along it.

12, Other outdoor ideas include, walking through the woods. Often quiet and a lot of opportunities to learn about nature. Going to the shops is not so much fun as they want everything in site.

13. Visiting the local library and choosing some books together.  My two love doing this but can be very noisy.  They do not seem to understand ssshhh.

14. My children love visiting Castles and the Zoo.  So English Heritage membership is worth considering, if you live in the UK.

15. Maybe also membership of the local Zoo.   I find that the children are much better behaved when their minds are occupied.  It makes life that little bit easier for us as their parents.

So are your children like mine? constantly needing your attention, needing to be entertained?

I hope this has helped and given you some ideas. For more see some gift ideas,