Screen Free Family-Friendly Lockdown Activities

We're all doing our best to navigate what's going on right now.

It's tricky enough being in lockdown as it is, but add a bunch of stir crazy kids into the mix that can't go to school or to playgrounds - it gets even trickier.

Letting them watch their favourite show, YouTuber or Frozen for the 257th time is definitely one option to keep them entertained, but minimising screen time is also essential for our kids overall wellbeing.

So what do you do?

Most of us here at Spray-Free Farmacy are parents, so we know what it's like.

We've put together a few different family-friendly lockdown activities for you and the kids to enjoy, and even some relatively 'hands-off' activities for the kids to do while us parents can still work from home or even take a breather.

1. Cooking or baking with the kids

Getting our kids involved in baking or cooking is one of the most rewarding things that we can do (in my opinion). Not just because they learn how to make us bed in breakfast for mother/fathers day... but because they learn a crucial skill for later years in life.

Find one of their favourite yummy foods, and set on a mission to make it together in the kitchen. If their favourite food is something on the unhealthy side, you can learn how to make a healthy-version of it. There are healthy versions of everything now, trust me.

Then you can get the gratification and dopamine hit of eating something you have created!

Different food ideas include: Pizzas, cakes, cupcakes, spaghetti, making different shapes out of food, 

2. Painting or drawing

Get out the paints, crayons, markers or pencils and draw together!

You don't have to be good at drawing to enjoy it. In fact I personally suck, but it's a great activity to get your kids involved in.

Order or find a great colouring or activity book, or you can create games where you can try and draw certain things.

Pictionary is also a great way to draw and have fun with games.

3. Board games 

Find some kid-friendly board games, and have a board game day.

You could even create a 'championship' and have a competition throughout the day if you and your kids are the competitive type.

'Gameschooling' is a type of schooling that teaches kids to learn through playing boardgames too so you can look into that!

4. Nature walk

If it's safe to do so and close by, you can get your exercise for the day by taking the kids (and dog) for a walk in nature.

Some of us live near a big creek and it's so refreshing to get out of the house and get some sun. Our body needs Vitamin D to thrive, so we definitely recommend getting a bit of sun on your skin.

5. Reading 

There's nothing quite like a good book. Find something that you know your kid would love and get obsessed about, whether that be a series of books or something fun. My brother couldn't put down Roald Dahl or Captain Underpants books when he was a kid. They were fun and he spent a lot of time immersed in them.

6. Gardening/growing

Give your kid a mission of creating their own little garden patch in your backyard, or a plant to look after. You can even get a little mushroom growing pack and they can learn to grow their own mushrooms.

Not only will they have fun growing but also learn the fundamentals of growing food, which in this day and age is very important to learn self-sustainability.

7. Songs/instruments

If your kid is musically inclined or likes instruments, then you can support them to learn a song they really like. It could even be a song from their favourite show (or even game).

I remember I learnt piano as a kid because I wanted to play songs from my favourite video games. It worked because I was totally interested in piano from that point on, but before that - it didn't really stick with me.

8. DIY Arts & Crafts

Find something cool to make with the kids and get creative - here is a list of different ideas that we thought were really awesome!

Got anything else you want to add to the list? Feel free to email us or DM us on Instagram @SprayFreeFarmacy!