You’ve agreed to look after young children.
Godparent? Aunt? Cousin? Neighbour?
Topping up student coffers?
‘Win-win’ you use the house in an idyllic location in exchange for child care?
One way or another you find yourself with small people with small experience of said small people.
Panic not, well maybe a little.
House-Keeping
Remember children are resilient but still be watchful of cooking pans with handles which can be pulled down from the stove, sharp knives and spillages which can cause accidents.
Come armed with batteries to re-energise ‘tired’ toys.
Don’t be frightened of saying, ‘No’.
Here are a few suggestions for ways to have fun and tire them out.
Walk.
Bicycle ride.
Soft play areas – just look up ‘soft play in your area’.
Making dens inside or outside.
Have a look through Indoor Games for Rainy days or Super hot days and Indoor dens
Rainy Day Alternatives and Games in campsites
Below is an easy top three.
1. Hide and seek inside or out.
2. Cooking – biscuits or cup cakes.
And after cooking …
3. Washing up – plastic tubs and safe kitchen utensils with lots of suds.
Cupboard love
Go for a dig in their toy cupboard/box. You may discover treasures they have forgotten which will be ‘new’ for a while.
If you choose to ‘throw money’ at it:
Museums
Movies
Or even theme parks.
Seasonal variations include egg trails at Easter, spooktaculars various at Halloween, and from mid December, visiting an array of Father Christmas.
Early Morning – Scramble Stations
Early morning when you are just coming to and they are wide wake and scrambling over your bed … there is children’s TV. You can chat about the show and plan the day.
(You may want to keep their tablets for the end of the day when you need time out …)
Free to air: CBeebies. CITV. Channel 5 Milkshake.
(Disney, Nickelodeon, Netflix family movies)
If you want to check out what’s out there :
https://www.itv.com/hub/categories/children
https://www.channel5.com/show/the-milkshake-show
Show to watch out for
From 2 – 6 years :
Octonauts, Number Blocks, Thunderbirds, Peppa Pig, Thomas and Friends.
Can you find Sesame Street? Tom and Jerry. Oggy and the. Cockroaches (crazy cartoon) Dora the Explorer.
From 6 years up upwards :
Horrible Histories, Deadly 60, Octonauts, The Deep,
Time Out Films
At the end of the day, you may want to download a film?
A reminder:
The safe go to is “U” certificate.
If your charge is over 8 you could give PG, Parental guidance a go .
“12 Plus” you’re entering surprisingly dark territory. And, they might not want to watch it with you because at 13 upwards they are all grown up.
Our favourite films:
Barnyard
Brother Bear
Curious George
Enchanted.
Finding Nemo
Kung Fu Panda
Lego Movie
Sing
Paddington 1 and 2
Rango
Wall-E
I’m sure there are other suggestions?
I am hoping to grow this website and am keen for readers to contribute their best ideas for Play School for Grown UPs. We shall be adding in the “Comments” in due course however, for now please send your thoughts to Contact.