17 Screen Free Activities For The Whole Family
I don’t know about you, but my kids love waking up and immediately turning on the TV. But then the afternoon rolls around and they want to watch TV again. When will the madness end? How do we control screen time? Here are 17 screen free activities that you can enjoy with the whole family.
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1. Bake cupcakes. My kids absolutely love to bake. Cupcakes make it fun and there are so many fun variations out there. If you’re looking for great cupcake recipes, The Three Snackateers has you covered.
2. Read a book. If your kids love to read, this is a no brainer. Go to the library and stock up on books. Picture books, chapter books, comics. Whatever your kids enjoy! This is an easy go-to when your kids are itching to turn the TV on.
3. Blow up some balloons. Buy balloons at the Dollar Store and blow up 20-30 balloons at one time. The kids will spend hours kicking them around and forget that screen time even exists.
4. Play tag. A great outdoor activity that never gets old!
5. Pretend baking with Play-Doh. Don’t want to bake real cupcakes? That’s okay! My kids love to play pretend backing using Play-Doh. You can purchase a Play-Doh baking set for relatively cheap. My kids use our mixing bowls and utensils to make it feel like the real thing.
6. Break out a new board game. Here are a few of our favorite board games that we’re currently playing together as a family.
7. Play hide and seek. Another classic game that can be played indoors or outdoors.
8. Make a spaceship out of an old diaper box. When you buy as many diapers as we do, you end up with a lot of diaper boxes leftover. Get creative and have the kids make a spaceship out of the box. They can color the box and draw the spaceship and push each other around the house in the spaceship.
9. Write a short story. The other week, my 7 year old son wrote about the one time when a raccoon was on our back deck. It’s great to watch what flows out of your kids minds and onto paper. It’s also a great opportunity to have your kids practice their writing and spelling skills!
10. Put on a puppet show. We don’t have puppets. But my kids do have plenty of stuffed animals. Ask your kids if they want to put on a show with their stuffed animals. I have a feeling they will happily agree.
11. Paint a picture together. We love the folks over at Let’s Make Art. They have great tutorials for adults and kids!
12. Make paper airplanes. Simple activity. Many smiles!
13. Start a rock collection. Both of my kids recently started collecting rocks and placing them all over our flower beds.
14. Catch butterflies. Buy a few kids butterfly nets and spend some time outside trying to catch butterflies!
15. Learn a new magic trick. These are a lot of fun to learn together as a family. There are many different tutorials you can find on YouTube that will teach you different magic tricks.
16. Water the flowers. My kids love roaming the yard with the garden hose and watering the flowers. And sometimes spraying the hose at daddy “by accident.” Check out my recommendations for more fun water activities to try out over the summer.
17. Invite the grandparents over for dinner. Don’t miss out on opportunities for your kids to connect and create memories with their grandparents. It’s a joy to watch my kids squeal with joy when they get to spend time with their grandparents!
24 Responses
I have been lax in getting the kids away from their tablets and phones – so this is just the article I needed to read! Thanks for the suggestions. I think starting a rock collection is a good activity to start today.
Stephanie,
You’re welcome and thanks for sharing! We are all here to help each other. Let me know how that rock collection hunt goes!
-Derek
What a fun list of screen free activities for the whole family! I love the idea of making paper airplanes! Simple and fun!
Debbie,
It’s definitely one of my favorite activities, although I’m still not great at it. Haha! Thanks for reading!
-Derek
So fun and so important for kids!
Absolutely! Thanks for reading!
Great free idea activities for the whole family.
Lydiah,
I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for reading!
-Derek
Healthy and fun activity for whole family
Yufi,
Absolutely! Thanks for reading!
-Derek
Amazing activities, Thanks for sharing.
Laiba,
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed them. Thanks for reading!
-Derek
LOVE all of these….such a trip down memory lane…I dont have kids, but a niece who I am sure will appreciate some of these activities. Thanks so much for sharing 😉
Nicolle,
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed them! Let me know what your niece thinks when you try some with her. Thanks for reading!
-Derek
These are all brilliant ideas of ways for family to spend time together away from the screen. We have started enjoying playing board games together as a family recently and it’s been such a fun way to make happy memories together.
Crystal,
Board games are the best! My kids are really starting to get into them and I just love creating those memories as well! Thanks for sharing and reading!
-Derek
I love your tips on how to spend time with our kids. Everything doesn’t have to cost a bundle to have fun. Great tips!
Ann,
Thank you so much. Thanks for reading. I appreciate it!
-Derek
I love that you are staying away from screens and that you include outdoor nature activities!
Carol,
It’s tough at times, but worth it! Thanks for reading.
-Derek
Omg, I love every tip in the blog. Inviting the grandparents for dinner is always a big hit with our toddler. We needed this list as I’m trying to pull her away from the TV.
Sara,
That’s great to hear! I’m glad you enjoyed the list! Thanks for reading 🙂
-Derek
Love this! Going to try and implement this with my youngest who literally would spend every waking minute on a screen!!!
Belle,
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the post! It’s definitely a tough task for every parent. That’s for sure! Thanks for reading.
-Derek