Dadtalk

Curing the boredom blues

The boys broke up last Wednesday afternoon and so it’s day five for us. So far we’ve heard some variation of “I’m bored” around 800 times! With another five weeks ahead of us, how will I remain sane?

From a quick glance at mate’s Tweets and facebook statuses, I’m not alone in our summer concerns. It seems families all over the country are facing the same screams, shouts and strops.

So what is a dad to do?

I could throw money at the issue but, to be honest, that’s not really the best plan; not only do I not have the disposable cash, but I’m aware of the danger of producing adults who think money is the answer to everything...so that’s a big fat NO.

I could create a sunrise-to-sunset programme of activities complete with the Kellerman’s theme song (It’s Dirty Dancing reference...come on guys, keep up! We’ve all had sisters and girlfriends who forced us to watch that movie at least 20 times!) but again, not sure that’s the answer either.

So, how do I entertain the kiddies without spending a small fortune and using up a year’s worth of my creativity? The answer lies within... within them, that is! I’m going to try the age-old format of getting them to entertain themselves (dun dun dunnnn)!

Yes, I am saying that I think kids do have a natural ability to play on their own, which so many of us have forgotten about. I had this eureka moment late on Sunday afternoon when, after endless whining, the boys discovered a great boating game consisting of sliding around the wooden floor on sofa cushions. So my plan, gentleman, is to give the boys the freedom to come up with some ideas of their own. It may cost me some old bed sheets or yogurt pots, but I’m excited to see what their little imaginations come up with over the next few weeks.

As a small tangent, I’m contemplating starting up a national campaign to stop all teachers from facebooking over August, as reading about their holiday antics is already making me depressed and jealous ...anyone else want to join?!