Working Parents Happy Kids 
      by Pati Crofut and Joanna Knapp

 

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Parents are going to be absent.  Nobody can be there constantly, and that is not the goal either.  It is not the absence so much as how the child perceives the absence.  That's where parenting comes in.  The parent's job is to help their child perceive and integrate those absences.  If it is a good absence, the child will receive increased self-worth, increased self-reliance, a sense of safety in the world, and a more developed sense of staying connected.  They will understand that you don't need to be holding a hand to remain connected, that you don't need to be in the same room, that there is always a psychic connection, a spiritual connection, a family connection that transcends the physical.  Richard Kurtz, M.P.H., M.A. Counseling Psychology, L.M.F.T.

The Following is an excerpt from this terrific book:

What to Do When the Kids Are Bored

Pick a Restaurant
-Have the children select a favorite restaurant or two that they only visit when you are away. When they get bored, the adult at home can schedule a visit to the restaurant for a pick-me-up.

Follow the Leader
-Play Follow the Leader around the house or apartment. If they want, your children and the adult at home can take a walk around the block or neighborhood and play this game. Everyone should have a chance to be leader. 
-A variation on Follow the Leader is to give different ways of moving by using a number-for example, 1 is walking, 2 is skipping, 3 is hopping 4 is walking backwards, and so on. Let the leader call a number,  everyone has to move that way.

Circus Night
-The children and the adult at home can set the scene by drawing cutting out tickets, making popcorn, and building a circus ring by using chairs placed on their side or pillows.
-The children can invite neighbors or friends over and take turns performing their circus "acts." Some ideas for circus acts are: 

Lion tamer or trained animal act: Use the family cat or dog or a stuffed animal
Acrobat: The children can turn somersaults, do handstands and
headstands, or just jump up and down.
Tight-rope walker: The child can use an umbrella and "walk" on a rope or string put on the floor.
Strong man: The child can try to lift several stuffed animals
at once.
If it's nice outdoors, they can have the circus in the yard or a park and use the swings and jungle gym for their acts - especially the trapeze act.

Have A Parade

-Someone can pick a theme and the adult at home and the children can have a parade around the house or neighborhood.
-Using holiday as an excuse for the parade or the adult at home can ask your children to think up a holiday of their own. (See Family Holiday activity on the next page.)

Flashlight Treasure Hunt

-The adult at home can instruct the children to go into a different room or sit down and hide their eyes.  She can then hide an object that the children are familiar with somewhere in the room.
-She then turns off the lights and each child tries to find the object while using a flashlight as their source of light.
-If they have a hard time finding it, she can help them out with clues.

Olympics Night 

-The adult at home can set up different "Olympic events" in your home for your children and maybe some of their friends.  She can set up one event for each room or do it all in the biggest room of your house.
-The children make ribbons or medals to use as prizes for each event.
-The adult at home acts as announcer and commentator if she is so inspired.  Each participant can receive a medal or prize.
-Some of the events could be as follows:

* hopping on one foot from one side of the room to another
* having a sack race using pillow cases
* having a three-legged race (Two children walk side-by-side with their adjoining legs loosely and safely tied together to form one center leg.)
* carrying a hard-boiled egg or ball on a spoon from one side to another
* constructing an obstacle course out of tables, chairs, pillows and cushions
* trying to go under a limbo stick

Family Holiday

-The adult at home can talk it over with the children and make up a family holiday.  For example, declare a "Family Purple Day" where everyone wears purple, colors purple pictures, drinks grape juice or purple milk, and lists purple things.
-The possibilities are endless.  The evening before is the best time to plan the activities for the holiday celebration and get ready for the event.  Activities might include: getting clothes out, making posters, and decorating.  You or your caregiver might look in Advance Activities for Birthdays or Any Holiday on Page 142 for more ideas.

Some holiday ideas are:
- The adult at home starts the story with one or two sentences.  Each child adds to the story by adding a sentence or two.  Take turns until the story comes t a natural end or the children lose interest.
- You can write the story down or tape it as you go.  The children can illustrate it later.  Ask them to save it for you to hear.

Other activity ideas include:  Photograph Collages, Personal Photo Albums, Household Scavenger Hunt, Silly Suppositions, Secret Code Messages, and Make-A_Mystery

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