Summer Holidays Lollypops And The Sunshine: Entertaining the Kids

Six long weeks of school holidays! How do we entertain the children? Yes, it’s that age old question. We have 42 days to fill and make sure our children don’t get bored.

In today’s world there is a massive emphasis on constantly trying to find things for children to do, which amazes me if I’m honest. I remember when I was a child how very little was done to entertain me. Most of the time I was left to my own devices and it was up to me to entertain myself, which in all honesty was never very difficult. I would go to our local park really early and stay there all day playing football or whatever with my friends, and only go home if I was hungry and more often or not that wouldn’t be until tea-time! How times have changed.

We are currently just a few days into the school holidays and every morning once the girls are awake, they’re immediately asking what are we doing today? Where are we going? The expectations of having doing to something everyday is actually quite immense. I guess it’s the world we live in today. Where children almost demand to be entertained rather than when I was a child when we found ways of entertaining ourselves.

Is peer pressure so great today that children are expecting to go somewhere new everyday? Instead of making up their own crazy games at home or in the garden. The world has changed.

I don’t believe it’s our children’s fault because compared to when I was a child there are so many places to visit, and of course if they are chatting to their friends in school they find out about these exciting places and naturally they want to visit them. It’s actually quite understandable.

It would be nice to rewind a little bit and teach our children that they don’t need to go to the zoo, a theme park or a similar very expensive day out to enjoy themselves. They can actually have a very good and exciting time by using their imagination and making up their own entertainment which costs nothing.

Growing up for me was far more exciting. I’d just play football all day or build a den in the local woods or go to the shop to buy a lollipop with my friends.

The world has changed, whether it’s for the better, well that’s debatable.

As parents do you feel under pressure to entertain your children by taking them here, there and everywhere? I would love to hear.