It's time to teach kids how to play. Play can teach them important life skills. Their imagination will also be inspired.
Play a game. Dig out your board games. Checkers, chess and Monopoly are all great games.
Hands-on fun. Bring out playdough (橡皮泥). Your children may roll their eyes at this one, but you would be surprised at how they will sit down and keep themselves entertained with it.
Build something. Lego, Lincoln Logs and K'NEX. How many of our kids still have these in the back of their closets? Try building something using toothpicks and connecting them together with glue. As the things you build dry, they become stronger and you can keep them around for a while.
Go outdoors. Outdoor games like marbles and hopscotch not only interest your kids, they will also improve coordination (协调) skills. Too hot or cold out? The garage, basement or kitchen floors will be OK, too.
Become an outdoor artist. Buy a box of colored chalk from the local store and let your kids create their own works on your front or back sidewalks. Take pictures of them for your family album.
Are these new ideas? Of course not. But when our kids are given a choice of any of these “offline” activities or the chance to watch TV or play computer games, what are they going to choose? When you unplug your kids, they will learn how to play again simply because they have nothing else to do. They will find other activities to keep themselves entertained.
