My daughter threw herself on the floor last week because I said no more YouTube. Full-on dramatic collapse. A few minutes later, I was surprised to see that she completely forgot about the tablet; she was in the backyard watering the plants. I joined her there and we started talking casually.
That’s when I got an idea. Our children don’t actually prefer screens. It’s just that they need something that grabs their attention the same way. It is our job to show them what else is out there, then stepping back and letting them run with it.
Even Kids Don’t Like Always Being Told What’s Good For Them
Here’s my parenting hack: never mention the word “educational.” Might as well tell them it tastes like medicine.
My friend Jessica bought those educational toys for 5 years old girl sets, you know, the ones with colorful gears and plastic tracks. She stuck them on the floor without explanation. Her daughter wandered over, started connecting pieces, and next thing you know she’s built this whole elaborate machine. Played with it for weeks. Never once realized she was learning physics.
Six is this bizarre age where kids suddenly care about how things work. They’ll take apart a pen just to see what’s inside. My son got some educational toys for 6 year old boy stuff last spring, a rock collection kit, I think. He became obsessed. Started a “museum” in his room. Charged his sister admission (one Oreo). Made labels for everything. Where did that even come from?
Seven-year-olds have actual focus now. It’s wild. They can sit with something for more than five seconds. The educational toys for 7 year old range has gotten really sophisticated. My nephew got this robotics thing that actually required reading instructions. He built a car that moved on its own. His dad was more excited than he was, honestly.
By nine, forget toys, these kids want real stuff. The educational toys for nine year olds aren’t even in the toy aisle anymore. Microscopes, advanced building sets, actual coding platforms. My coworker’s daughter is nine and she’s making videos with stop-motion animation. Using clay figures she sculpted herself. I can barely work my phone.
Outside Is Free and Right There
Stop overthinking outdoor time. You don’t need a plan or activities or some Pinterest-worthy setup.
Just open the door. Maybe toss some fun outdoor toys for kids out there first. My children turned our old garden hose into a “water garden” in the last summer. They soaked themselves, made mud puddles, and had the time of their lives. I watched from the porch.
Keep water handy though. Learned this after my kid got cranky at the playground and I realized we hadn’t had anything to drink in hours. Now there’s always a stainless steel water bottle in the car. Sometimes two because they fight over whose is whose.
My son’s among us water bottle became his whole personality for like 3 months. He took it along wherever he went. He even slept with it next to his bed. Kids are weird. Same energy happened with my daughter’s Halloween water bottle last October. She wanted to carry it around Target. Sure, kid. Whatever makes you happy.
Family friendly activities don’t need structure. Last Sunday we just walked around the neighborhood. The kids found a caterpillar. Followed it for 20 minutes. Asked me forty questions about caterpillars I didn’t know answers to. We looked them up together when we got home. That was the whole activity.
Rainy Days Used to Scare Me
Not anymore. I’ve got a system now for fun indoor activities that don’t involve me wanting to hide in the bathroom.
Art stuff goes in a low cabinet they can reach. No organization required. Just bins of supplies. Paper, crayons, markers, that fuzzy wire stuff, glue sticks, random buttons and ribbons. Make it accessible and they’ll use it. My kids discovered among us coloring for kids pages on their own, printed about fifty of them, and I didn’t hear “I’m bored” for three days straight.
Kitchen time saves my sanity. Even my picky eater will help make muffins. They measure wrong, spill flour everywhere, eat half the chocolate chips. End result is usually edible. Sometimes. The mess is worth the quiet focus time.
Blanket forts solve everything. Strip the beds, grab couch cushions, hand them some clothespins. Walk away. My kids once built a fort so elaborate it had multiple rooms and a “security system” (a bell on a string). Stayed up for a week. My living room looked insane. Did not care.
Real Talk About Gift Giving
Parenting is exhausting and everyone’s just trying to survive. That’s the truth nobody puts on Instagram.
When someone asks me about gift ideas for busy moms, I think about what actually makes daily life easier. Not more clutter. Not complicated toys with missing pieces. Simple things that buy you peace or make you smile.
The best gifts for busy moms are things you’ll actually use. Games that don’t require an engineering degree to set up. Books you can all read together. Supplies for activities that don’t need adult supervision after the first explanation.
Small practical things matter more than people realize. My sister gave me a cartoon travel mug two years ago and I still use it every single morning. Makes my coffee routine slightly less depressing. My halloween travel mug comes out every autumn because I’m predictable like that and seasonal items spark joy or whatever.
I keep a tumbler with straw in my car permanently. It’s attached to my cup holder at this point. My cute tumbler has some cheesy saying on it that my kids picked out. It’s hideous and I love it. Been eyeing a halloween tumbler 2025 40 oz for park days because I’m constantly running out of water and having to leave early.
Let Them Be Bored Sometimes
Unpopular opinion time: boredom builds character.
Not the whiny kind where they follow you around complaining. The productive kind where they have to create their own entertainment.
When my kids say they’re bored, I usually just nod and say “yeah, happens to everyone.” Then I go back to what I was doing. Sounds mean, maybe. But ten minutes later they’re building something or playing some game with incomprehensible rules or organizing their stuffed animals by species.
I don’t always jump in with fun activities for kids from my mental list. Sometimes they need to figure it out themselves. That’s how my daughter invented “rock school” where she teaches pebbles how to read. I don’t ask questions.
Bedtime reading is the one routine we actually stick to. Whatever books they want, even the annoying ones with too many words. Those twenty minutes at night are sometimes the only calm part of the entire day. I protect that time fiercely.
How We Actually Do This
Let’s be realistic. Screens exist and they’re not evil and sometimes you need fifteen minutes of peace.
We have loose rules. No tablets before lunch. No phones at dinner. That’s basically it. Do we follow these perfectly? Not actually. Last week I handed my kid the iPad at 10 AM because I had a work call and needed silence. It happens. Parenting is about survival, not perfection.
Make stuff easy to reach. Art supplies at kid height. Outdoor toys by the back door. If they can grab things themselves without asking, they’re way more likely to actually use them. I rotate toys in and out of the closet every few weeks so stuff feels new again.
Biggest lesson I’ve learned is that we model what you want to see. One must not tell kids to put down devices while they are scrolling TikTok. My experience is that whenever they see me reading a book or just sitting outside looking at plants, they’re curious about it. Sometimes, they come and join me.
Kids are naturally curious creatures. They want to explore, build, create, destroy, rebuild. That’s just how they’re wired. Sometimes they need educational toys to channel that energy. Sometimes they need a cardboard box and some tape. Both are valid.
We’re not trying to raise kids who never touch screens. That’s impossible in 2025 and probably not even desirable. We’re trying to raise kids who know there’s a whole world beyond the screen, who can entertain themselves, make their own fun, and go outside without acting like it’s punishment. Start somewhere small. Be consistent when you can. Forgive yourself when you can’t. That’s honestly all any of us are doing.
