You may have heard Tony on the show yesterday. He’s a daddy who’s taking off three weeks from the job while his wife is at a conference in the US. He has two kids, 3 and 6, and he’s looking for some interesting activities to do with them for the time because he knows that, realistically, this may be the biggest block of time he’ll ever get with them alone…
We said we’d put together some of the best ones but feel free to add to the bottom if you have some of your own…
With the fine weather, teach the boys how to ride a bike or how to swim, they’ll love it!
On a damp day, Tony’s kids will really enjoy getting 2 big cardboard boxes and an Argos book and make their own decorated house, garage or castle. It gets them involved in making something special.
Get ‘The Dangerous Book For Boys’ in most bookshops, it’s full of great things to do.
Build and fly a kite, make puppets and have a puppet show
Bring them to the rally in Tralee on the Bank Holiday weekend… loads of loud cars and crashes… what more do young boys want.
A bug hunt… All you need is empty yogurt pots and a shovel. Then you can make an obstacle course in the garden or sitting room using all the chairs and boxes etc.
Tony could write down a list of ten things to find around the house or garden and get the boys to look for them, like a treasure hunt.
He could make rockets using baking soda and vinegar… or put Softmints in a bottle of Coke! Great fun to see them explode!
He should be sure to take photos of everything they do! Then when they get them developed they can spend time putting together a scrap book of all the things they did! Nice for the boys to look back on the weeks they spent with their Dad.
A nice indoor activity might be window art. You can get the packs in most toy stores. They can draw what they like or use pictures that come with it. Leave them dry for 24 hours, peel them off and stick them to any window.
When in Dublin go to the Zoo. Also build a go-cart from old pram wheels and wood and let the boys paint it from old paint.
He should do some art. Get an old roll of wallpaper… the kids lie down on it and draw around each other… then paint it and/or stick feathers and sweet papers to it like a collage.
Water-fight games with water balloons or just give them plastic cups and a bucket of water and let them soak each other! Swimming togs are advisable though! Ideal for the sunny weather.
Kids love to set seeds – flowers, veg and herbs now… and eat them as summer comes in. Cook a special meal with them. These are memories they will hold and talk of and enjoy…
R