Yes, kids’ screen time has shot through the roof. Yes, parents experience tremendous guilt but also feel there is no alternative. Yes, we know there are tons of screen-free activities that are beneficial to kids but have not been able to try them out yet. This was me during the first couple months of lockdown. I was barely meeting my kids’ basic physiological needs (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) , so the thought of catering to their emotional development was not in question.
Gradually, once things settled down a little, I began to incorporate a few screen-free activities that I feel were a big success. We started with something simple – drawing and colouring. We would choose characters they like whether it’s ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Harry Potter’ or ‘Octonauts’ (by the way, what is the obsession with this weird underwater creatures cartoon?) and draw them together. To make things a little exciting, the boys put up ‘Art Exhibitions’ on Zoom to display their pieces of work to family and friends.
Pre-lockdown I wouldn’t have spent time painting or making an animal paper craft or conducting a science experiment with the boys. Now, given the ample time on hand, we can find any kind of activity that will be engaging for them and just execute it. It’s literally 30 minutes to 1 hour each day when your child gets your undivided attention for fun-filled, screen-free time. Here are the Top 6 Screen-free Activities My Kids Love:
-
- Art & Craft – As mentioned, my boys love drawing and colouring their favourite movie/TV show characters. We took our artistic skills up a notch by trying watercolour paintings and animal-themed crafts. Pinterest is your best friend here. I found giraffe-inspired activities for my 7 year old (he loves his stuffed giraffe named Gerald) and vehicle-inspired crafts for my 5 year old car-fanatic.
- Themed Activities – Yes, I am a little extra when it comes to celebrating different days or festivals. We celebrated Roald Dahl Day by making chocolates and having an indoor chocolate treasure hunt inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We also celebrated International Dot Day which is based on a lovely book by Peter H. Reynolds by painting dozens of different dots in all colours and sizes.
- Baking – I love to bake and thankfully this passion has passed on to my boys too. They absolutely love helping me in the kitchen whether it’s to gather ingredients, weigh them, whisk items or line the cupcake tray. It’s adorable when they enter the kitchen literally 2 minutes after I have put the cake in the oven and ask ‘Mama, is it done yet?’ Their favourite things to bake are Mug Cakes, Cupcakes and Sugar Cookies. And of course multiple birthday cakes to celebrate birthdays of their stuffed animals or ‘Animal Club’ as they fondly refer to them.
- Card/Board Games – We love Uno, Skip Bo, Candyland, Junior Monopoly, Dominoes and Kids on Stage which is similar to Charades. This is the easiest activity – let them select a
game of their choice and off you go! No prep, no tools or ingredients needed. - Reading – Can I just say how thrilled I am that my kids enjoy Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl, my childhood favourites? I was a bookworm as a child and still am so seeing them engrossed in books is such a delight. This year, they have progressed from Oliver Jeffers and Julia Donaldson to chapter books like ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’ and ‘The BFG’.
6. Science Experiments – My 7 year old is quite the science nerd and loves conducting 
experiments. Most of our inspiration comes from Richa at Urban Mantra. We tried the litmus test where we dipped litmus paper into various liquids to see if they are acidic, basic or neutral. We also tried the sugar water density test, milk and food colouring experiment and more from his ‘101 Great Science Experiments’ book.
Other screen-free activities my kid’s enjoy: tea party with their stuffed animals, playing ‘The Floor is Lava’, Lego, Play-Doh and dressing up as favourite characters.
More Resources:
Pink Tinted Lenses 