Entertaining Our Older Children: Suggestions For When You Hear “I’m Bored”.
November 5, 2018 by ThySista
Filed under Ent., Opinion, Weekly Columns
(ThySistas.com) Sometimes we just have no choice but to offer up suggestions when it comes to our older children wanting to be entertained. Most of the time, they can occupy themselves. They have their school they perhaps have homework or extra credit assignments to be getting on with. But there are times when they will just be at a loss and you are going to hear the dreaded “i’m bored” saying. However, don’t despair, here are a few suggestions to have as a backup plan to keep things smooth and happy in your household.
Play a game on the console
While this isn’t always going to be something you want to encourage, playing games online and getting engrossed in something like a 
videogame isn’t always that bad. As long as they don’t stay on it for too long. These days, they can now play online. Allowing them to communicate and play with their friends from the comfort of your own home. Some video games help children to process and problem solve, while others see it as a weary of relaxing from the stress of school. As long as they are not always doing it, there might not be as much harm as you think.
Watch different things online
Maybe they like to watch things, so encourage them to seek out different things that they are interested in. It might be that they like different types of animation, maybe they are interested in the creative side of things where websites like anime could be worth checking out. Maybe they like to think about things so something psychological or problem solve it could be the answer. You can find an array of things online on YouTube such as tutorials and teaching them how to do things.
Read a book or get on with something educational
It can be quite hard to encourage older kids to grab a book and read or to do something remotely educational, but if they don’t have much else to do then why not suggest it anyway? They may surprise you. Books are so varied these days that there is bound to be something that interests them, plus getting ahead on school projects is always going to be good advice to give.
Play with siblings
If there are siblings then why not encourage them to play together? They could do anything from playing outside and enjoying the good weather or staying indoors and playing games. Board games or card games are getting a bit of a revival these days as people are interested in the more retro options that are available. It could keep them quiet for awhile and still enable them to think and be entertained.
Encourage them to get outside
Finally, with so much technology and options to be entertained indoors, the art of going out and being in the fresh air is becoming less of an option. But that can often be because it is forgotten about. Suggest some exercise, encourage them to ride a bike, or even sit outside and play games or read a book. The fresh air can help them feel much better.
I hope this gives you some suggestions for your older children.
Staff Writer; Shelia Moore
