Published: 2 November 2018

Written by Lil Dino Mommy

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Categories: Parenthood

Here’s another great article from our guest poster Maria Cannon. To read more from Maria, go check out her website here. It’s “Your Place for Hobbies”!

Do your kids spend their weekends staring at screens?

Well, you may be surprised to know that too much screen time can actually be bad for their health. That’s one of the reasons it is so important for children to spend time discovering new hobbies. More than just a way to burn time, hobbies can provide stress relief, help little minds develop and even be beneficial for their health. Need some ideas to get your kids started? Here are some hobbies guaranteed to get them away from those screens and having actual fun instead.

Make New Friends With Play and Sports

If your children are glued to the couch too much, it could have a major impact on their overall health. Studies show that teenagers these days tend to be less active than seniors, and that means more instances of obesity and related health issues. Keeping your children active, whether it’s by encouraging them to play or try a new sport, can help prevent some of those problems from becoming major issues. Play is also a great way for your kids to connect with other children their age, so try to schedule some play dates with friends or other families that you know. You can also encourage your child to get involved with organized sports. Basketball is a great sport for kids to try and keeps them moving the entire game. Before your kid hits the court, look online for the best basketball shoes that offer comfort while staying affordable.

Connect with Nature and the Outdoors

Want to improve your child’s self-esteem and help them relieve stress? Get them to take their hobbies outside. Spending time outdoors can help children in several key ways. Kids who spend more time outside tend to have improved vision quality, better social skills, and more focus than those who do not. Exposure to sunlight can also increase vitamin D production, as well as decrease stress and feelings of depression. Wondering what hobbies you can do outside with your children? The possibilities are endless. You can start simple by planning some backyard bird watching, or you can teach them how to garden. If you are feeling adventurous, you could even take your family for some hikes or other excursions into nature. There are also scouting groups that can help your children develop a love of nature, as well as other essential life skills.

Unleash Their Creativity on Arts and Crafts

Did you know that the arts can aid development in your children? By practicing arts and crafts as a hobby, your kids are enhancing their fine motor skills, learning to make decisions and developing visual-spatial skills. The arts are also a fun and creative way for kids to explore other cultures. So encourage your children to put down their tablets and pick up a paintbrush or some clay instead. Visit a local arts and crafts store to pick up some basic art supplies, or look online for budget-friendly starter kits that have all budding Bob Rosses’ need. Children benefit the most from art when they have the space to create freely, so let them have fun and keep the experience positive from start to finish for everyone.

Boost Self-Esteem by Baking for Others

When you think of hobbies your kids might enjoy, you may not consider cooking and baking. Studies show, however, that baking for others can have some very positive impacts on self-esteem and mental health. Putting together a meal or baking a cake can help your children practice creative expression, an important element in nurturing positive mental health. You can get your children started by planning a family baking session. Select a kid-friendly recipe and try to keep things simple at first. Depending on your children’s ages and abilities, you may even want to pick up some kitchen equipment that can make the experience safer for little hands.

Kids need hobbies to keep them healthy. So, give your kids a break from those screens and encourage them to explore a new passion. Their bodies, minds, and health will thank you!

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Organized Decor

A couple years ago, while I was pregnant, I had a strong urge to nest and prepare for the arrival of my baby. One of the ways I wanted to prepare was by decorating the nursery.

I wanted to take a practical, cost-effective approach to setting up the nursery, starting with organization. There are so many cute and unique ways to decorate and organize at the same time! (Just look at Pinterest!) One of these ways is by using fabric storage bins to put on shelves, in closets, or even in drawers (hey, baby clothes are tiny!).

Fabric storage bins help to add color and life to a bookshelf or hutch. I knew I wanted to get some to decorate with, but when I priced them out, I quickly decided I wanted to try my hand at making my own.

How to Create Your Own Fabric Storage Bins – No Sewing

Here are 8 Simple Steps I used to create fabric storage bins for my son’s room:

Collecting Boxes – We order from Amazon (more often than I care to admit), so I started collecting boxes of various sizes based on where I thought I might use them. I save a couple medium size boxes for toys and other baby shower gifts that were coming in. (I also wanted a few small ones to put in the drawers of my son’s dresser, so I saved Kleenex boxes. These I lined with twine, which was a very tedious and completely separate project!).
Fold the fabric under to create a clean edge.
Picking out Fabrics – Next up, my husband and I went to Hobby Lobby to my favorite section in the store! FABRICS! We picked out a pattern for the outside, trains, as you can see, and an off-white color to line the inside.
Cutting the Boxes to Size – As I was using shipping boxes, I wanted to cut the top flaps off. I also trimmed a couple taller boxes to fit on the shelves I knew I wanted to put them on.
Taping or Gluing on Sheets of Paper. (Optional) – I did this because my fabric pattern had enough light spaces and I didn’t want the text from the box to show through, so I used the paper to help even out the tone all over my box.
Cutting the fabric to size. – Admittedly, this took some trial and error for me, but the best way I found is to lay the fabric on the box and wrap it around and then cut it accordingly. I did a separate piece for the bottom. Leave some fabric to overlap the top and into the box.
Use a hot glue gun to attach the fabric
Gluing the Fabric on the Boxes. – Ideally, I would have liked for the cloth to have been removable instead of permanent for cleaning purposes. But in the spirit of a no-sewing project, I used hot glue instead. I glued the bottom piece first so that I could hide the rough edges when wrapping and gluing the final piece. It is best to hot glue a couple inches at a time because the glue cools too quickly to do a large area. (If the glue dries too fast, you can peel it off, but it does waste the glue sticks.) When you get close to an edge, fold it under to create a cleaner look.
Gluing the Inside Fabric. – Now it’s time to glue the fabric on the inside of the box. Start with the bottom and work your way up the sides. Once at the top, fold the edges at the top to create a clean look.
Use the Bins! – Start storing and decorating at the same time! Now your box is complete, and you can start storing things right away.
DIY Fabric Storage Bins

Still Practical? Absolutely!

These bins are still being used in my son’s room to hold toys, clothes, diapering supplies, crafting supplies, and socks! The best part is, my son noticed the pattern I picked out just the other day. He crouched down and looked at his toy box, and exclaimed, “choo choooooo!”

What about you? What practical DIY projects have you found the most useful?

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do…”
Proverbs 16:3a

Guest Post from Maria Cannon

You can find more articles by her at her website: http://hobbyjr.org/

Hobbies That Benefit Kids

As parents, we want to help our kids make the best choices for their success. And one of the best things we can do is to help them choose is good hobbies. Hobbies are more than just a pastime. They have real benefits that help children grow into mature adults. Let’s learn what those benefits are and which hobbies are best.

Overall Benefits of Hobbies

Constructive, useful hobbies can teach kids life skills, set them on a career path and nurture their creativity. Hobbies are also a good way to avoid unhealthy temptations. They fill a child’s life with goal-oriented tasks that allow him to pass up the temptation of troubling problems such as overeating, trying drugs, and bullying other kids. According to the Child Development Institute, LLC, hobbies:

Teach kids about goal setting and achievement,
Allow them to learn about themselves, and
Build their self-esteem.

Read more benefits that hobbies offer kids in this post from Parent Circle.

As a parent, you may wonder, which hobbies are especially beneficial for your child. Recent research has plenty of answers. Here are a few of those ideas.

Learning A Musical Instrument

A recent study showed that “children who learn to play musical instruments are better able to control their emotions, reduce anxiety and focus on any given task.” Playing music has also been shown to induce what’s called the “Mozart effect.” Research has shown that simply listening to Mozart’s music seemed to enhance cognitive abilities.

If you are going this route, you might want to buy your child an instrument so that he can practice it whenever he likes. Having the instrument at home can encourage him to practice and it might end up being less costly than renting one. If you are buying a woodwind instrument, like a clarinet or saxophone, it’s actually safer if he is the only one using it.

Journaling And Blogging

Journaling has long been known as a tool that helps people to cope with their emotions. It has other benefits, too, such as helping kids to see the world in new ways and helping them recover from scary and traumatizing events. Read this mom’s advice on how to help your child start journaling.

Surprisingly, blogging may be even more beneficial, especially for teens. Time reports on new research that shows that blogging benefited teens who struggled to socialize or who felt isolated.

Martial Arts

Martial arts provides countless benefits for a child, including discipline, self-esteem, and even concentration. Children also learn to keep physically fit but it has also shown to be beneficial specifically to kids with ADD or ADHD. Read more about that phenomenon at Yahoo.

Video Games

Surprisingly, according to this article from the American Psychological Association, certain video games can provide mental health and social benefits as well as cognitive benefits. Those include improved spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception. Even a game like Angry Birds has been shown to improve mood, promote relaxation and fend off anxiety.

While your child might love this suggestion, we suggest you limit your child’s screen time as much as possible. Encourage him to play interactive video games that teach a skill, like programming or deductive reasoning.

If you still feel hesitant to indulge your child in video games, traditional games and crafts are great hobbies to stimulate his brain, creativity and interest. Here are seven educational activities for young kids from Earth Science Jr. You can engage your little mad scientist in experiments such as how to make your own edible glass. Turn your home into a lab as you and your kid use household items to make the magic happen.

Getting Your Child Started

Once you’ve chosen a hobby you think would be a good fit for your child, how do you get him started? According to BHG.com, it doesn’t have to be difficult. You can:

Get him excited by setting up a special space devoted to whatever he wants to try.
Work with him or give him helper tasks with one of your own hobbies.
Provide some introductory guidance and then step back and let him take the wheel on the activity.

Introducing your child to a hobby has lots of benefits for his mental health and personal growth. Start today by finding a hobby that suits him just right.

Arts & Crafts

These Hobbies Can Help Your Kids Put Down Those Screens