How to Keep your Kids Entertained For Less
If you have children, you know the expenses that come with the territory. Whether it’s with school, extra-curricular activities, or entertainment, raising children is a rewarding but inevitably costly endeavor. One area, however, that parents tend to splurge on is kids’ entertainment. Advertisements have us convinced that our children’s recreational time requires some serious cash, but nothing could be further from the truth. Especially with younger kids, you’d be surprised at how little it takes to keep your children entertained and engaged. Here are a few ideas that require little or no money at all.
1. Find free events in your town or city.
You’d be surprised at how many free events are going on in your community that your kids will enjoy. Look up the community section of your local newspaper and find out, or do some Google research. Almost every community will have something going on that’s free of charge–whether it’s a play being staged by a local university, or some sort of cultural event hosted by a cultural center.
2. Go to the park.
Nothing beats the park on a nice day. An evening at the park is especially good for today’s children, who are spending more and more time inside hooked to computers and video games. You can buy cheap kites at dollar stores, or even make your own. You can also take leftover bread to feed birds. Picnics at the park are always a fun treat for young children.
3. Take them to the local library.
Local libraries are perhaps one of the last bastions of entertainment that’s completely free, minus a negligible charge for a library card. You’ll be saving money on books by simply checking them out. What’s more, getting your kid to learn to really love reading will help better prepare her for academic success now and later in life.
4. Include the kids in dinner preparation.
You’re going to have to cook anyway. Might as well make it a game in which your kids can participate. One thing my mother used to do when we were younger was have us pretend we were working in a restaurant. We wrote out menus, played waiter and waitress, and helped with the little things we could in the kitchen. This was a great introduction for me to the joys of cooking. We were having so much fun, we didn’t even realize that all we were doing was preparing and having dinner.
These are just a few ways to get started on saving on your kids’ fun time. If you make it a point to set aside time and come up with activity ideas, you’ll soon realize that entertaining children can be accomplished with virtually no money at all. All it takes is a little bit of creativity.
By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Alisa Gilbert, who writes on the topics of bachelors degree. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alisagilbert599@gmail.com.
