By Stephanie Sim
The end-of-year school holidays are here! For busy parents, you may be wondering how to keep your children engaged and entertained, while spending quality time with them.
As the saying goes, “The days are long, but years are short.” In our fast-paced society, busyness takes centre stage in most of our lives. In the blink of an eye, your child will be all grown up. Hence, we need to be intentional about carving out time for our children to make these moments count.
Here are 3 steps to help you plan a meaningful day out with your child.
1. Be intentional about how you spend your time
Have a balanced plan
A balanced plan allows children time to enjoy the outdoors and indoors, ready mentally and emotionally for activities, as well as take breathers to balance their stamina to sustain and enjoy a day out.
Children also get the opportunity to learn how to share the day with others, doing activities that the adults enjoy and appreciating the spirit in doing things together as a family.
Examples of a balanced plan includes a combination of:
- Indoor and outdoor time
- High energy and low energy experiences
- Child’s preferred experiences and parent’s preferred experiences
Identify opportunities for learning
Identify opportunities for learning and choose experiences that stimulate or challenge (in small doses) your child mentally, emotionally or physically.
Examples of such experiences include:
- High element obstacle courses
- Problem solving activities
- For an only child, activities that require teamwork or involve a community
Have reflective conversations
Conversations add meaning to shared experiences and can help your child nurture reflectiveness.
You can initiate conversation before each experience to ready your child for the experience, and at the end of the day to reflect on emotions, interesting observations, and any learning that took place.
2. Create variety in what you choose to do
Variety ensures that children stay engaged, interested, and excited about learning. It stimulates different areas of a child’s brain, promotes cognitive development, develop flexibility, as well as a wide range of skills and abilities. Exposing children to new experiences, environments, and perspectives broadens their horizons and expands their understanding of the world.
A wide variety of child-appropriate meaningful experiences can be found in all corners of Singapore. Take the opportunity to introduce the different parts of Singapore to your child.
Obstacle Courses
Obstacle courses helps children in developing their balance, agility, and spatial awareness. Often, children come up with strategies to overcome challenges, find alternative routes, and adapt to different situations. This promotes problem-solving skills and critical thinking abilities.
Many obstacle courses are designed for children to work together and support each other, which fosters teamwork. Successfully completing an obstacle course even provides a sense of accomplishment and builds children’s confidence!
Some examples of obstacles courses for children in Singapore are:
- Forest Adventure
- Adventure HQ
- Hydrodash
Outdoor Playgrounds, Water Play Areas and Parks
Outdoor playgrounds provide children with opportunities for active play, promoting physical fitness, agility, and coordination.
Playgrounds are also a hub for social interaction, allowing children to interact with peers, make friends, and develop social skills. They learn how to cooperate, take turns, negotiate, and resolve conflicts, fostering their emotional and social development.
Some examples of outdoor playgrounds for children in Singapore are:
- Botanic Gardens (Como Adventure Grove and Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden)
- Jurong Lake Garden (Forest Ramble and Clusia Clove)
- Jubilee Park Playground
Museums
Museums offer a rich learning environment where children can explore various subjects such as history, science, art and culture. They stimulate curiosity and promote a deeper understanding of different topics, fostering intellectual development and a love for learning.
Museums expose children to different cultures, traditions, and perspectives. By interacting with the exhibits, children are inspired to think creatively, imagine new possibilities, and express themselves artistically.
Some examples of outdoor playgrounds for children in Singapore are:
- Art Science Museum
- National Gallery
- Science Centre
For more ideas, there are plenty of other meaningful activities such as sports (ATV, cable ski, parkour, skateboarding, fishing and stand-up paddling etc.), urban farms (Bee-amazed, City Sprouts etc.), arts (art jamming, pottery class), children’s theatres and libraries available across Singapore.
3. Be selective on who you spend the day with
Think about whether you want to spend quality one-on one time with your child or have an extended family time. There are benefits to each and it’s up to you to see what fits your child’s needs best.
For example, there are times when your child may require alone time with you such as when a new sibling arrives. Hence one-on-one parent-child time can help them adjust better.
Whole family time is crucial in creating a safe and connected space for your child to grow up in. It is also an opportunity for siblings to learn to work together, or simply grow together.
Extended family time (with cousins, uncles, aunties and grandparents) as well as time with friends helps your child grow in community. After all, no man is an island. There is nothing quite like growing up and doing life together with a close group of friends!
Finally, here is a sample full-day plan (for a 6-year-old), to help you get started:
