Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

allgreen — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 02:04:45 GMT

Give kids a chance. When deprived from TV and any other 'screen stimuli' as we call it, they flourish. They are meant to be creators. My kids will go to the most wonderful places and create the most interesting adventures transforming rudimentary elements into games. Don’t be afraid of disconnecting the TV, they are not going to die. Let them be and watch.

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

LeoMa — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:22:46 GMT

Good article and comments! I hope that my husband would be convinced by reading this! He is so stubborn despite I wanted NO TVs on in this house. He is a TV and GAME person, and now my kids are stepping into his shoes! That makes me furious. I find it difficult to break their habits as they continue to wanting to watch TV as soon as we come in house from playing outside. (Sighs)

I bought tents and tunnels from Internet and my kids don't even like playing through it alone unless there are other kids with us. I paid $160 dollars for that! (sighs) There is a problem, I am a deaf mother of two young kids at nearly 6 (in a week) and 2 years old. I take them to park sometimes when it's not so hot outside. I can't drive and I can't communicate with my 2 years old so everything is always challenging. I can't explain sports to my kids or read books to them, etc. That is frustrating part in my life right now. I would welcome any brilliant ideas that doesn't require much communication! :)

I do remember when my sister and I were young kids. We used to make bird traps. We used hamper baket and used strings tied to it, put hamper sideways up, put bait in front of the inside of basket, and HIDE!!! We waited and waited in the bushes. I don't remember ever succeeding at catching any birds. BUT it was so much fun watching, it was so entertaining. That's what we loved doing when we were kids. My mom used to have swimming pool so we were in it most of the time, but now it's gone. I know swimming in chlorinated pools aren't safe anymore. Anyway that was in the past. When I think of any other fun childhood games, I will be sure to share! :)

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

samurai — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 20:12:38 GMT

This is a nice article. My daughter is an only child and she is very good at creating her own entertainment.

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

dempoolguy — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:38:29 GMT

When the kids grow into the middle and upper teens it's nearly impossible to delegate their free time. Get them involved in non-television activities as often as possible when they're young and they will not only have those wonderful experiences but they will tend to make better choices as they approach adulthood.

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

Whisper — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 12:25:27 GMT

We all know that increasesd imagination increases creativity and watching TV increases blobs in the brain and the body.

My kids really enjoyed making their own grocery store with card board boxes and the canned and boxed food from the pantry. For my 2 yr old grandson, my daughter put a bucket of rice out for him in replacement of a sand box outside. They live in a very wet region and can't get out much. I live in an area where we are inundated with forest fires this time of year and the local day camps are trying to keep the kids indoors because of the air quality and are being challenged to come up with ideas to keep the active kids busy. They, I am glad to see, have even taught them Yoga!!! Yeah!!

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

Lelia — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:54:32 GMT

We used to love to make mud pies. There were all kinds of creative dishes we made from mud. And when the corn was at a certain stage we made corn silk dolls. During rainy season the fields would fill up with water and it was fun to swim in it but Mom wouldn't let us in the house we were so muddy.

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

KAC — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:49:15 GMT

The family needs to participate together in activities as well. If parents watch TV all day, so will the kids.

1. Kids love animals. Get a dog. Kids love to take their pets for a walk, give them a bath, etc.

2. My 10 y.o. has shown interest in cooking. Once a week, he gets to pick the meal and prepare it with my assistance.

3. Sports.

4. We play family games. My kids enjoy playing Boggle which is a word game. My 7 year old is the only one who can find 2-letter words and score points even though the game instructions indicate you have to find 3-letter words and up. My kids get more points than the adults when they find words that no one else found. Excellent way to learn words!!

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

Hollija — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 06:38:05 GMT

After moving with my young daughters to a part of the world where TV was pretty nonexistent, I was amazed at the games that local children made up—subsequently my daughters joined in. Given regular paper, construction paper, pencils and crayons /markers, the kids made up board games, card games and varieties of games that didn't fall into any category. Not only did the process of devising the game take time (and thought) but the design and drawing took hours; often the actual playing of the game happened the next day... They also played a lot of outdoor games with balls (like dodge ball) and devised their own 'new' games by slightly changing the rules to old ones.

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

Debrah — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 02:10:08 GMT

My grand kids, like my kids when they were little, are not interested in watching TV--it is fun to watch them playing. They have great imaginations. They and the neighbor kids have been playing "spys and cops and bad guys", EMT's and fire fighters--one of them would lie on the ground like they were passed out and the others would rescue him or her, yesterday my oldest grand daughter organized a masquarade ball--they made masks and dressed up and my neighbor put music on for them so they could dance on her porch, they like to play office and school. they also play with Polly pockets and cars, legos and build stuff with dominoes. Some people thought I was crazy to take the little ones to my college daughters play--Shakespere's Merry Wives of Windsor. but it was held outside on the campus and I figured they could run around if they got bored. But they thought it was cool to watch their Aunt and the next day they were putting on plays at home. Why not introduce them to culture even if they don't really understand it all--my grand parents took us with them no matter what they were doing. So many kids are so ill behaved these days people are afraid to take them anywhere which is sad. But they are so jazzed up on fake food that they probably are hard to control. I certainly see the difference when my kids get junk--which as I said in a previous post is so hard to keep from them. The ice cream truck has stopped coming down our street 3 times a day --I am not sure why but it is a relief! We do watch quality movies that we borrow from the library or rent a couple times a week when we need some quiet time and most of those that we ldo et them watch stimulates more imaginative play. Debrah

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

Rogway — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 05:40:31 GMT

I always like to just sit and watch kids use their imagination. Those little guys can make serious play things out of just about anything. Being out doors in the fresh air and sunshine seems to help them along and allow then to enjoy even more.

Good article from Dr. M

Good comments from fellow Mercolains, or Mercolites, as Katy B put it one time.

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

Bridestein — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 23:50:39 GMT

One of our favorite things to do as kids was sliding down steep grassy hills on cardboard. It's pretty entertaining to watch the drunk adults do it at the local Harley Run, too. ^_^

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

annapavlova42 — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 23:45:52 GMT

Oh boy, does this bring back memories. Wow, I have not thought of this for mega years.

One of the most memerable things we did when we were growing-up was ---

We put on theatrical shows. Singing, dancing, poems, plays,and musical numbers. We learned to work together and form a great team. We learned to choreoghraph, build sets, sew, knit, write scrips advertise, work behind the sets, direct, produce and many other facets, pertaining to show business and the public.

We also had to read a lot in order to accomplish our goals.

Our shows were a success and we loved every moment of the full process, even when we did not agree.

As far as the cost was concerned, we used what we already had, and asked our neighbors for materials that were throw aways.

Thank you Dr. Mercola for this very found memory.

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

Russ Bianchi — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 22:27:52 GMT

Bed sheets and blankets for indoor tents, or forts, on rainy days, was a favorite of my childhood. The entertainment was in the improvising and building, not the net result. Such activities prompt creativity and engineering skills.

KILL YOUR TV and disallow the use of video games!

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

mmc88121 — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:45:22 GMT

Great ideas for children of all ages. One more suggestion, metal pot lids and a wooden spoon. You have the beginnings of an orchestra.

Mary

re: Entertaining Kids for a Dollar or Less -- Without the TV

Phantom O Banjo — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:18:06 GMT

I was playing with one of the grandkids and I impressed him when I made a big trunnel (tunnel) using the cushions and the couch. His eyes got real big. He was a gorilla in the cage too. He was giggling with delight. Guess that would be cheap toy......