Worth The Wait: 6 Games To Turn Waiting Time Into Fun Time
Waiting. We all have to do it. Whether you're in line at the post office or waiting to be seated at a restaurant, waiting is just a part of life. But, it can seem even more challenging when accompanied by an impatient child. The time it takes to run even the simplest errands can be totally unpredictable and can take all day. Imagine entering your doctor's office to find it running over with patients. You know it will be an incredibly long wait before you're seen, and unfortunately you left your child's favorite baby toys at home. As the seconds turn into minutes and even hours, there you are with nothing to help keep your child from getting overly antsy. Waiting doesn't have to get the best of you and your children if you have some quick, on-the-spot games to keep the kids preoccupied. It may be hard to believe, but you might actually find these small delays are worth the wait with these fun activities to help pass the time.
Static Surprise: If it's taking the waiter a long time to bring your food, here's a fun activity to try. Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt and pepper onto a napkin, and make them jump onto the spoon. How? Simply have your child rub a plastic spoon on his head for about a minute and hold it over the salt and pepper grains. He'll be amazed to watch the spoon attract the pepper and not the salt.
Table Tic-Tac-Toe: For more fun at mealtime, arrange the silverware in a grid for a quick game of tic-tac-toe, using the colorful sugar packets as X's and O's.
The Phrase That Pays: Word games can be played just about anywhere, especially one as easy and unpredictable as this one. Give your child three or four random letters and ask him or her to come up with a fun phrase that fits. Letters like S-G-F could produce a phrase like “Scooters go fast.” It's an educational game that's a lot of fun because kids say the darndest things.
I-Spy Groceries: We've all played this fun game in the car, but why not play it in the grocery store? Give your kids a list of items to find before you go shopping, like something that's purple or an item that comes in dozens. As you go through the store, kids will have lots of fun finding items. Make it more challenging by going with the less obvious, and be sure the items are age appropriate.
Hide and Seek: You won't have to look all over for your child because both of you can play this game while standing still. Simply hide a coin or small item in one of your child's pockets (while pretending to hide it in all of them) and ask him or her to search all the pockets to find it. What a great game for toddlers!
Alphabet Soup: For older children, choose a category like vegetables or cities and have them name as many as they can for each letter of the alphabet.
There are all sorts of ways to keep your kids busy. Playing these waiting games over and over can mean that the fun will never end.
