Mom, I'm Bored! How To Never Hear It Again

What kid hasn't at some point uttered the proclamation, usually accompanied by a huge sigh: "MOM, I'M BORED!" That's right, there are none.

At least not many.

I remember saying it on occasion when I was young, although for the most part I found plenty to do. I was a reader as well as an outdoor kid, so I usually found something interesting to occupy my time. But that's not always the case for many children these days, especially when the excitement of summer vacation starts to wear off somewhere around July, if not earlier.

What can you suggest when you start hearing those dreaded words? If they're bored, then their usual activities must not be doing it for them, so I recommend they explore some of the old-fashioned crafts and games that most kids don't do anymore.

Sometimes it's the simple stuff that really satisfies in a way that video games, computers, and TV can't.
Here's what to do when your bored kids start driving you up the wall: Trade "bored games" for board games Board games are making somewhat of a comeback, and many have been updated or revamped.

We especially like Clue, Blokus, Scrabble, and Monopoly. Old-fashioned games There's nothing like a good game of dominoes, marbles, or jacks.
There's a reason these classics never totally go out of style. Treasure hunt I have yet to meet a kid who doesn't love a good treasure hunt.
I like to make them with about 10 to 12 written clues for older kids and 5 or 6 drawn clues for younger ones. I hide small, inexpensive gifts at the end.
Obstacle course If you want your kids to be more physically active, try building an obstacle course in the yard using things you already have lying around, such as boxes, planks, tires, barrels, etc.

Making things out of popsicle sticks There's no limit to the number of things that can be made by gluing popsicle sticks together. If you don't want to save them from actual popsicles, you can buy bags of craft sticks in different sizes.

Learning card tricks I don't see many kids playing with cards anymore, but they love tricks, so I taught my nephews a few basic card tricks I knew.
Plus we looked up more on YouTube.

Painting rocks, driftwood, sticks, or other things found in nature The kids will have fun collecting these natural items and making them into animals, people, or other structures and painting them accordingly with acrylic, washable paint. Making puppets We used to make puppets mainly out of paper bags and old socks, and used markers or crayons to draw their faces.
It's a cheap and creative activity.
They may enjoy putting on their own "show." Building a Rube Goldberg contraption A Rube Goldberg is a chain-reaction type "machine" that allows for tons of creativity and ingenuity.

This will keep the kids occupied for hours.

Making a stop-motion video Kids can be surprisingly good at making these.

All they have to do is set up a scene using Legos or other toys and then take a series of photos with a simple digital camera, moving the toys little by little.