These Bored jars could well save your sanity this Summer!
Sick of hearing the kids say ‘I’m bored’? Had enough of them playing on electronics all day? Going loopy at the thought of having to entertain them for another day?
Well, this post could be just what you need!
I’ve written about bored jars a few times over the years since I started blogging and last week, I realised that I had one that was appropriate for pretty much any child from a tot to a teenager.
It’s because I’ve relied on them so much as my children were growing up because I can’t stand hearing the words “I’m bored” but equally, as much as I’ve always loved doing things with them, I’ve not been available to keep them entertained 24/7.
I wanted them to grow up enjoying spending time together as a family but also enjoying spending time in their own company finding their own fun. I think we’ve got a pretty good balance and I’m convinced that having these bored jars have helped us to achieve that.
Here’s a bit of a round-up of our bored jars through the years…
A bored jar for younger children
I made our first bored jar when the kids were six and four (ish) so all of the ideas were suitable for kids of that age although lots of them would be suitable for younger children too. It’s well worth checking out the original post as I shared 80 ideas that would be perfect for a bored jar for kids of that age…
You can tell I wasn’t all that bothered about Instagram and Pinterest back then when you look at the photos. I’m pretty sure that container used to hold the coffee until I realised none of us drank it so we only bought it for visitors – now I have two teens who love the odd cup of coffee so I’m back to having a coffee jar.
A bored jar for tweens
As the kids got older, they outgrew some of the ideas I’d included originally so I updated our bored jar and made a new one. A bored jar fit for a tween featured ideas for slightly older kids who could do things more independently and had a focus on getting them away from their screens for the majority of things and where there were electronics involved, I tried to encourage different uses for them.
There’s a free printable with this post listing all the ideas so you could just literally print it out and pop them all into a jar and you’re good to go.
A bored jar for teenagers
The bored jar fit for a tween was outgrown next and I decided to make one last version for my now teenagers. The ideas I used in my bored jar for teenagers was filled with ideas that encouraged them to do things independently and with their friends as much as possible rather than needing my involvement.
This post included 60 ideas on what you can include in your own version but it’s worth getting the kids involved too so you can get their input.
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