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Child's Play - Tips for Entertaining Preschoolers
Cathy had a stressful day
at work. After picking the kids up from the sitter and
rushing home to fix supper she longed to sit down with
a glass of wine, put her feet up and watch some inane
sitcom to relax her mind.
Of course, Cathy has a four year old
and a two year old, so sitting around and relaxing are
not a usual part of her evening until well after the
children are in bed and the supper dishes are cleared
away. They relentlessly beg her to play with them and
when they momentarily give up it is only to chase each
other madly about the house, laughing (which turns to
crying) and coming back to look for attention from mom.
The thing is, Cathy WANTS to play with
her children. With two young children she recognizes
that their infancy is quickly disappearing and soon
enough she will be arguing with moody pre-teens instead
of putting off happy, eager preschoolers. What is stressful
is that Cathy doesn't know HOW to play with her children.
Her daughters would love her to play
dolls or chase them around but Cathy has neither the
energy or imagination so late in the evening. However,
there are some easy options that Cathy and other parents
may be forgetting. The following suggestions are not
only easy to do, but can actually be relaxing for you.
Coloring:
If your child can hold a crayon then
they will usually love mom or dad to get down on the
floor with a coloring book and join them. Not only do
they not care about your skill, but they will love to
turn pages on you just when you get going! Coloring
can actually be quite relaxing even for adults, along
with another easy to participate game...
Puzzles:
Large, 25 piece puzzles will thrill
anyone over one. Perhaps they are not at all able to
work the pieces themselves but they will happily slap
a piece into position when you set it in place. Puzzles
can also be somewhat relaxing as they engage your mind
in a simple activity, thus switching off' your ability
to concentrate on work or family stress.
Clay:
Whether you buy it or make it, playing
with molding clay is another easy to participate game
that can be very educational to your children as well
as fun. Having a few tools to work with makes your skills
at inventing less taxing. You do not need store bought
toys made especially for clay, in fact your children
will likely find more enjoyment with cookie cutters
and other kitchen tools or items from the house. Your
children will learn colors, shapes, textures and even
counting and sorting similar shapes.
The best part of all of these games
is that they require the child's full attention which
keeps them occupied, does not place undo strain on your
own imagination, and best of all they all require SITTING
DOWN!
1howto.com
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