4 Ways to Keep Kids Busy and Having Fun {giveaway}

I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for ways to keep my kids busy! I’m sharing 4 ways to keep kids busy – they might not be what you expect! 

I had so much fun writing my top 10 parenting tips that I thought I would go a similar way with this post. Buuuut keeping your kids busy and having fun is a lot harder than doling out parenting advice so instead of ten tips, you’re getting four. I’d love to hear some of your suggestions in the comment section though! (Or tag them #FPInsiders** on social media and you might get a surprising answer!)

First, let’s talk for a minute. Did you know that babies and toddlers get bored easily? I know, right? Betcha would have never guessed. Us moms and dads are doing a happy dance if something other than the television keeps our kids occupied for more than 20 seconds. If you get 10 minutes of uninterrupted quiet time…you’re running to check on them and make sure they are still alive. I’ve survived 4 years of parenting (so far). Here are a few things I learned to make play time fun for your kids, and you. In no particular order…

1. Get outside. Duh. The fresh air will make you all happier, healthier, and maybe even get the kids to sleep better at night. (Bonus!)

2. I mentioned this in my parenting tips post, but I’ll say it again. I personally think it’s one of my best little tricks. Put some toys AWAY. Away away. As in, up in a closet, out of sight, out of reach and out of mind. The day will come when you are sick as a dog and the last thing you want to do is go outside and push your kid on a swing for hours on end. That’s the day you’ll go grab those toys out of the closet that you’ve hidden away. Your kids will think it’s their birthday or something and you might just get a 2 minute break from being a human jungle gym.

3. Find and buy toys that will grow with your kids. Fisher-Price** has come up with what I think is a genius idea. They have a line called “Smart Stages” — toys that grow with your baby. My kids have the Laugh & Learn® Smart Stages™ Chair and they both love it. That’s right — a 4 year old girl and a 2 year old boy that love the same toy! Win!

I also recently had my 1-year-old niece over and she was obsessed with the chair. The 30-second video below will tell you more about the chair and it just so happens to feature a couple of cutie pies you might recognize.

This chair is great because you can program it to grow with your child (it will change modes based on their age), or you can change the level manually to best fit your child. I love that it teaches colors, shapes, and more to my son. My daughter loves when she flips open the book that sits on the armrest and it tells her to fly like a butterfly. It’s full of fun surprises for every age. My sister and niece loved it so much that I’m going to buy her one for Christmas this year.

4. Get creative! It doesn’t have to be fancy. A simple craft, or sitting down and coloring with your kids. Or maybe it’s just using a toy in a different way than you have before. Either way, a simple change in the everyday routine will keep your kids interested longer than something they see or do on a daily basis.

Want to learn more about Smart Stages products or enter to win one of your own? Read on!

You can check out all the Smart Stages toys on the Fisher-Price website.

Up for grabs today is either the chair you saw earlier in this post or this cute train!

Giveaway Details:

One (1) winner will receive their choice of either the Laugh & Learn® Smart Stages™ Chair or the <a “rel=”nofollow” href=”http://www.fisher-price.com/en_US/brands/laugh-and-learn/products/Laugh-and-Learn-Puppys-Smart-Stages-Train” target=”_blank”>Laugh & Learn® Puppy’s Smart Stages™ Train. Use the giveaway widget below to enter. Contact me if you have any problems!

Winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Open to US mailing addresses of people over the age of 18.

**Disclosure: This post is part of my ongoing partnership with Fisher-Price as a FP Insider. I have been compensated for my time but all opinions are as always, my own. Thanks for supporting my blog by reading about brands I love.

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