In case you hadn’t noticed, a few parts of Canada have been inundated with crappy summer weather. Here in Toronto, pretty much any probability of precipitation in the forecast means it is totally going to rain. It’s not the end of the world, of course. I’ve heard from several friends who said they don’t mind this weather at all. Of course, these friends don’t have kids, so they don’t understand the pain a parent feels when their kids are cooped up inside for days on end. The pain of having a headache from all the yelling and fighting happening between the kids.
So what’s a parent to do? And, more importantly, what’s a parent without a lot of spare cash for expensive day trips to do? Check out these ideas:
- Have your children go on a house-wide scavenger hunt. Sit on your couch and think up all the different things they can find: hair dryer, can opener, ziploc bag, favourite stuffy, and write them all out. When they’ve found all the items (and put them back), give them a reward, like a Hersey’s Kiss.
- Teach your kids a new card game. If they’re young, Go Fish is perfect. A kindergartener should be able to grasp the concepts, after a few rounds, and a preschooler can likely help you choose cards. If they’re older, Crazy Eights or Contract Rummy are both great choices.
- Have a stop-motion dance party. Their job is to dance until the music stops, and then stand absolutely still. Your job is to turn the music off and on. Sounds like the perfect balance, right?
- Open the kitchen and bake some treats together. It doesn’t need to be difficult; Rice Krispie squares or cupcakes made with a boxed cake mix will make them just as happy as something made from scratch.
- Turn on Netflix. Listen, nobody’s perfect, and sometimes you just need to concede to the inevitable demands.
- Break out the forbidden foods and let your kids go nuts. Nothing says “I’ve got this motherhood thing” like keeping your kids indoors all day and giving them junk food. Watch your house get demolished in real time.
- Break out your coping devices. Maybe it’s Bailey’s in your coffee (not too much, obviously), or that pint of Haagen Dazs that you secretly stashed at the back of the freezer. Maybe it’s sitting down next to the kids on the couch, while they watch the Paw Patrol Christmas episode for the 27th time, with your laptop open and your ear buds in, watching the latest Walking Dead episode on AMC Go. You do you*.
- When your kids lose their minds for the ninth time in an hour, dress them all up in their rain gear, get suited up yourself, and go outside to jump in muddy puddles. Let your kids get wet and dirty in the rain, and then throw them in a bubble bath to clean up. Hopefully they’ll have shaken their sillies out a bit by the time you go back inside? Who knows, at this point.
- Watch in quiet despair as your children start the process all over again. Weep softly in the corner and pray that tomorrow it will be sunny again, allowing you to throw the kids in your backyard when you get sick of the fighting.
There may be plenty of better lists out there for rainy day activities, but I’m guessing none of them are as honest as this one. And sometimes, honesty is the best policy.
*Please note that many of these suggestions are made in jest. Obviously you don’t want to break out the secret stash of ice cream around your kids, because they’ll just want some of it.
