5 Activities Your Kids Can Do This Summer To Cure Boredom

It's almost here. May is already upon us and that means summer is a mere few more weeks away. Summer is great for your kids, but not so great for you. As a big kid, you have to go to your grown-up job. As a little kid, your young ones get to stay up late watching TV and eating junk food all day long. While this is fun for about a day, your kids are sure to become bored with it. Here are 5 activities your kids can do this summer to make sure boredom doesn't strike their summer life.

1. Play outside

Too many kids are obsessed with technology. They have iPads, Kindles, iPhones, computers, and all other little devices that do nothing but enable them to veg out on the couch for hours on end. Your kids probably do this all the time, but you know that they will get bored with it. Instead of allowing them 'wireless device time' for eight hours out of a day, give them the option to go play outside. Set up a basketball court behind your house or give them a soccer ball that they can kick around in the backyard. If they have a babysitter, the pool is always a great option for long summer days when you are stuck at the office.

2. Grab a book

Your kids will probably give you a weird look when you suggest this one. But if they get to read it on their Kindle or iPad, they might be more inclined. There are a ton of exciting books that your kids can read depending on their age. From The Hunger Games to Harry Potter, there is something that is bound to attract their attention in some way. Reading always passes the time faster than watching a ton of TV. Plus, it's good for their intellectual development!

3. Incentives to cleaning the house

Ice cream if you clean your room. Going to a movie if you empty and load the dishwasher. Ten dollars if you grab the vacuum. Incentives are great because your kids are far more likely to actually do their chores than if you just tell them. Plus, it gives you family bonding time when you take them out for ice cream later when you get home from work. Just because you have to work the next day doesn't mean you have to go to bed right after dinner!

4. Develop new meals in the kitchen

This one is probably only acceptable if your kids are a little bit older because then they know to clean up after themselves. A messy kitchen is not something you want to come home to after a stressful day at the office! But if you trust your kids, let them become their own chefs in the kitchen. Limit the ingredients they can use. In fact, no bake recipes are easy and totally doable for small fingers.

5. Make a fort in the living room

Because what kid doesn't love a fort? Lay out blankets, pillows, and whatever else you can find for your kids to have their own living room fort to play in during those summer days when it's too hot to go outside.

About the author: Carly is a blogger for Smith Monitoring, a company that provides an alarm monitoring Houston homes. She doesn't have kids but would probably do every single one of these activities if she didn't have a big girl job.