How to keep your kids busy without costing you money.

During school holidays, kids might get extra bored staying at home. My kids have lots of energy and we can't just occupy them with the average day-to-day things. They need to get out. OK, I lied, well at least in the title above. Unless you want to walk, you will need some money.

Here's a few ideas that to occupy your kids while using a minimal amount of money:

1. Ikea play centres
If your kids are under 8 and above 3 years old, you can bring them and play in these centres. They'll love it. I used to bring my daughter before and after my lil boy turned 3 he can't stop talking about it.

In there, not only do they have lots of toys and play things, they also have dressing-up costume sessions, DVD's on show, drawing, colouring and lots more.

How much does it cost though?

It's free. You just have to wait your turn and you have an hour of free time for yourself. Cool!!!

2. Visit your local library
In Ireland, county councils provided most (if not all) communities with a good facilities like libraries, community halls, health centres, etc.

In my case, there's a libary only 5 minutes away from where I live. It'ss good sized libary which I think is very cool because not only does it have kids' section, they also don't mind if you bring a baby and noisy kids along too!

There's a specially-assigned playing area where you don't have to worry about your child talking and being noisy. But, just to be concerned, don't let your child make so much noise as it still might disturb people around you.

How much doest it cost though?

Again, this one is free.


3. Museums

There are lots of free public places for people to go in Ireland. One such place is the museum. You just have to Google it. It could be boring for the little kids but during school holidays sometimes they do arrange for some interesting activities for the kids that are museum-related. Apart from having fun part they can also learn more about history and expand on their general knowledge.


4. The park/playgrounds

If the weather's nice, going to the park for a picnic or playing in the playground might help too. They can explore the ground with no limits and climb up and down the equipment provided in the playground. It's also very good exercise. To save on spending money on unnecessarily, bring your own food and snacks. Preparing the food could also be turned into one of the fun activities at home too for the kids.

5. Riding bikes

This is such a good exercise. You can bring your own bike to a park. Or if the park is near you, ride to the park together. Safety comes first. Make sure you follow the cycling, road and safety rules. A good option if you don't have your own bikes, places like Phoenix Park has rent-a rent-a-bike service which, isn't too expensive.

6. Grocery Shopping

Last but not least for the moment, going shopping fro groceries. After all the fun time you have maybe it's time for you to think about what to cook at home. Bringing your kids along to the supermarket would be nice. They'll love it.

As per my previous post, you'll need a comprehensive list to do grocery shopping. So, why not make the list-making fun by asking your kids to write down what you need or if your kids don't know how to write let them draw the simple things you want to buy like fruits such as apples, bananas and oranges.

In the supermarket let them hold their list and ask them to pick the stuff from the list. Some supermarketswould even have mini trolleys for kids and they can push these themselves like a real shopper!

Apart from having fun with you, they can learn lots of things. About fruits, vegetables, fish and even how to pay at the counter.

The School holidays are coming soon(next week). You might just need all the ideas you can find!!!