6 great ideas to keep your kids occupied at home

Whether it’s the usual summer break or an enforced lockdown, keeping the little ones entertained is one of the big challenges all parents face.

So, IKEA experts have chipped in with some games you can try out so you don’t have to worry about coming up with new ideas while also making sure you finish all your regular chores.

1. Building a fort

Let your kids move your sofas/couches around in the living room and put up their fort.

Give them a little background story and let them build on it. They could be valiant troops fighting enemies trying to capture their fort.

This game is sure to keep them occupied for a few hours, with minimal supervision.

2. Treasure hunt

This requires a little initial input from your side. Layout a trail of clues in different rooms of the house, leading your children to a surprise gift.

Then let them start the hunt. The duration of the game depends a lot on your ingenuity and wits.

3. The alphabet search

First, ask your children to pick any letter of the alphabet.

Then get them to find at least 10 objects around the house that have names starting with that letter.

The winner is the first kid to get all 10 objects.

4. Helping with chores

Involve your kids while you are doing your chores. The kind of task you choose for them to participate in will depend on their age, of course.

For example, you could ask them to sort out the clothes in your laundry basket. Or they can sort spoons, forks and bowls in allotted places when washing up after dinner. IKEA has some wonderful kitchen organisers to put them in.

5. Encourage their green thumbs

This idea depends on where you live and how much space you have.

If you’re in an apartment, pick up some pots or plant holders from IKEA. Then, give your kids some potting soil and seeds or young plants. If you live in a villa, allot each of them some space on the lawn.

Make them responsible for a plant each: they need to spend time each day talking to their plants, watering and taking care of them. Teach them about watering plants and repotting properly.

With these ideas, you’ll quickly find that your little ones are having way too much fun to get up to any mischief.