Helping children to make full use of outside space

As the extent of the lockdown nears the length of a typical school summer holiday, children up and down the country might be becoming a little bit fractious and frustrated. Finding ways to keep younger members of the family entertained has been made immensely harder by the closure of play parks and leisure centres, though it’s been eased thankfully, by an unseasonal spell of sunny weather.

Families with accessible outside space are particularly fortunate at present, since even a backyard can be turned into a hub of activity. Allowing children to expend some of their seemingly boundless energy outside is crucial not just for their own mental wellbeing, but in terms of alleviating the burden on parents. Yet a blank square of grass or a flagstone yard don’t always provide much inspiration, while a balcony may seem to offer little beyond a chance to take in the fresh air. These are some suggestions for keeping children entertained during what remains of the lockdown:

Discovering nature

Even if your only freedom comes courtesy of a (well secured) Parisian balcony, you can still encourage kids to get involved with nature. Plenty of companies supply seed kits online, which can be planted in cut-down plastic tubs. Helping nature by building a bird or bug box requires nothing more than household rubbish and strong glue. Something as basic as coating a toilet roll with peanut butter and hanging it outside on a piece of string will indulge kids’ love of messy play, attracting feathered visitors whose presence also helps to lift lockdown spirits.

Garden games

Expand on treasure hunts by asking kids to find five things in the garden – pebbles, twigs, etc – or hiding things for them to find against the clock. Order giant chalk or water paint, draw flames on a wall, and get them to blast the flames with a ‘fireman’s hose’ (hosepipe). Chalk can also be used to draw ball-game targets or mark flagstones for al fresco Twister, while some families have sketched rainbows or NHS messages at the end of their drives. The smallest yard can accommodate ‘Swingball’ or a paddling pool (which can double as a ball or sand pit).

Exercise routines

While egg-and-spoon races require a driveway or a decently sized garden, some activities can be done using relatively little space. Develop a daily exercise routine involving star jumps, running on the spot and throwing/catching... and try to complete it every day, irrespective of the weather. If you join in, your kids are more likely to engage with it. Children love a challenge, so ask them to set a keepy-up record and show them a few YouTube videos for encouragement. There are also viral videos of footballers doing toilet roll keepy-uppies while a ten year old girl footballer is currently aiming for 7.1m keepy-uppies, one for each UK key worker, to raise money for charities.

Arts and crafts

Some activities like splatter painting are best tackled outdoors, while water balloon painting should certainly only ever be attempted externally. Outdoor photography is an endlessly-evolving challenge, so encourage youngsters to practice taking arty shots with your camera phone or a Polaroid. Kids love being allowed to indulge their inner ‘Banksy’ on a fence or brick wall with a can of washable spray chalk. Indeed, anything messy tends to be well received – using feet to paint on large sheets of paper or decorating a cardboard playhouse.

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