How To Keep Kids Occupied On A Rainy Day

Remember last week when everything seemed so sunny and shiny and everyone was talking about BBQs? No? Us neither, because the weather has taken a turn for the rubbish today. If you’ve got children to entertain this summer, being able to run them round the park, stick them in a paddling pool in the garden and just generally be outdoors in the warm weather made life a million times easier. So, for everyone looking down the barrel of a day of rain, drizzle and wind, here are some ideas for entertaining your children on a rainy day.

Do things that are out of the ordinary

‘Kids love anything that’s out of their ordinary,’ explains Dawn Isaacs author of101 Things For Kids To Do On A Rainy Day. ‘So try a backwards day where they wear pyjamas, everything is done backwards, or pitch a tent in the living room, eat in the bathroom. Anything like that is so exciting and they’ll always remember it – they won’t always remember the greatest computer game.’

Maximise their toys

‘You don’t need to keep buying new toys as you can easily maximise the impact of the toys you already have,’ explains Susie Robbins, the mother-of-three behind the Resolve To Play Instagram account (which is always worth checking out if you're on the hunt for play ideas). ‘Toy rotation is extremely effective. Categorise your toys: cars, books, soft toys, dolls and so on. Leave out one category box and put the rest away – out of sight. If you’re suddenly faced with a rainy weekend, then now is the time to swap the box around and it’ll be like Christmas with new toys each time! You can also do this by theme if you have an older child (sea life, space, construction) and use different types of toys within that theme – a book, puzzle, soft toy.’

Let their imaginations run wild

Dawn Isaacs also suggests setting your children up with things they can run with for hours. ‘Set them up and let them run with it – get them to try junk modelling with old containers, pretty much empty recycling, and let them at it – it will keep them busy for ages. Junk fashion shows are great – give them masking tape, bin bags and newspaper, it costs nothing, you’re being creative and interesting. If you’ve got a bit of outdoor space, get them to make their own fairy houses. Kids’ imaginations are amazing, if you set them up, they can go on for hours.’

Make a virtue of the fact that it’s raining

You could always go on a puddle hunt, suggests Susie Robbins. ‘Or you could do painting with watercolours and put them outside so you can see what happens when they get rained on. Or why not try making your own rain gauge or rain stick with the kids, or a kite that you can then take outside while the wind is up. Crafting is great for rainy days because it passes the time and you don’t get that stagnant feeling at the end of it.’

Try a fun rather than a functional bath

If you want to bring the rain inside, you could try a lot of games in the bath, like building boats out of corks or raft building. And for babies, sensory play with water is perfect – give them a bowl of water to splash in and maybe add a sponge. For toddlers try one empty bowl and one filled with water and a sponge and see if they can transfer the water.

Create a treasure basket

Robbins creates treasure baskets on her Instagram page, which are simple ways to keep a baby or a toddler entertained on.a rainy day: ‘They are a great way of creating sensory experiences for your baby – take a box or basket and fill it with baby safe bits and bobs from around the house. Brushes with bristles to stimulate the sense of touch, shiny objects such as spoons or chunky bracelets to simulate sight, for example.