Having fun together

Enjoying time with your child

Enjoy spending time with your child and having fun together. Try to give your child time to be active, both mentally and physically, and to explore new activities and experiences.

Children will need time for themselves, for communication with others, and opportunities to meet physical and mental challenges. They will enjoy doing new things, but will also get a lot from practising and repeating existing skills. Whatever they are doing, try to make it fun.

'Childhood, it lasts a lifetime' - Floella Benjamin

Ideas for activities to do together

It is important that your child has time to do things that they choose themselves. Whether this is a quiet activity, or a loud and physical one, give them the chance to describe and plan for their relaxation time.   

Sometimes our children don’t know what they want to do. We hope that some of the suggestions that follow can offer you a realistic menu of options to share with your child.  Aim for a balance of creative, thoughtful and physical activities. Try to help them select as many as possible that they can do independently. This will contribute to a sense of personal success and autonomy. 

Creativity can take many forms. There are ideas here for music, crafts and art. 

Traditional board and card games can offer fantastic chances to talk with your children, and children often enjoy making their own versions of these before you can start to play.

Creative activities

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

How to make a pom pom on the BBC Good Food website

How to make salt dough on the BBC Good Food website

Playdough recipe on the BBC Good Food website

How to make slime on the BBC Good Food website

Fun baking projects for children on the BBC Good Food website

Easiest-Ever Biscuits on the BBC Good Food website

How to make bubble mixture on the BBC Good Food website

Physical activities

There are lots of ideas for physical activity that children can complete at home. Whether the activity is for exercise, to build strength or stretch, or simply sing and dance and let off steam, getting up and moving around in the house will help them be more relaxed when they return to quieter activities. 

If you plan some time outdoors where your child can make a noise, run and jump (following Government advice), your child will really benefit from that every day. 

Day to day activities

Include your child in everyday activities and enjoy doing them together. If you are completing household chores such as sorting out the washing, laying a table, or cleaning, try to include your child in a fun way. 

Helpful links

Link	Age	Description	Cost
Cosmic Kids	All ages	Cosmic Kids child friendly yoga (YouTube) Parental permission advised to access the site	Free
5 Day Happiness Challenge	All ages	5 day happiness challenge from ELSA support site	Free
Making Musical Instruments	All ages	Homemade musical instrument instructions to record children’s musical performance and share with their school	Free