To entertain your child when it’s raining,
firstly: teach them a skill.
Remember your child learns most of their practical skills from you.
Jobs around the house may seem like a chore to you, but to your child, your work is fun and interesting if you present it in the right way. So tell them you’re going to show them something that will be useful for the rest of their life.
What could you do together?

• Cook a meal from scratch.
• Check the tyre pressures on the car and use a foot pump.
• Or check the oil and top it up.
• Mend a bicycle puncture.
• Show them how you manage your money, and get them involved.
• Spring clean a room.
• Sew on a button
• or do some simple mending.

Whatever you choose talk them through exactly how you do it and get them actively helping. These are life skills and will be really good for your child to know.

Secondly, make something crafty.
Children love to make things- particularly when the end result is something they can be proud of.

• Baking cakes or biscuits that your child can decorate is always a good idea.
• Or you could decorate a picture frame,
• Paint a large church candle
• Or decorate glass candle holders.
• Make some cool wrapping paper;
• Make cards for relatives or friends.
• Use a kit to make an aeroplane or model.
• Or decorate a box where they can keep their special things.
• Or buy some clay and make a pot or something your child would like.
• Depending on the season you could carve a pumpkin or make decorations.
• Or make a home for their dolls or animals or a garage or something your child can use in their play.
• Or you could get a large pinboard and some magazines and help them make a vision board or inspiration board.

Finally, play games.
Children love spending time with you and interacting.
When you play with your child it helps build the connection between you, helps develop your child’s social skills – and communication and number skills.
And it’s one of the nicest things to do to have fun and have a laugh.
So what can you play?

• Board games,
• Draughts or checkers,
• Chess,
• Connect 4,
• Junior scrabble,
• Pictionary,
• Card games- there are hundreds of those –And you can find out how to play new card games on the internet,
• Noughts and crosses.
• Do a treasure hunt around the house,
• Charades,
• Memory games –like I went to the shops and bought an apple- I went to the shops and bought an apple and a banana.
• Or just think of what games you enjoyed as a child. And have some fun!

So if it’s raining, three great things to do with your child are:

1. Teach them a skill,
2. Make something crafty.
3. And play games with them.

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If you need more than three tips on this – or you’d like to discover the secrets you need to have happy well-behaved, children – please contact me by clicking here. You can arrange a free 20-minute (no obligation) chat to find out if working with me personally (by phone, Skype or face-to-face) would help you and your family. Contact Elizabeth