How to spend time at home with children
Even adults find themselves wondering what to do with time at home, so it’s even tougher for kids—when they get bored, they can get cranky, and it becomes a real challenge.
To help you enjoy those long hours at home, here’s a lineup of games and ideas that kids are sure to love.
There’s a variety—from things you can do with little to no money, to items you can get at a 100-yen shop, to activities that take a bit more time and effort.
Of course, there are also options that adults can enjoy together with the kids, so use these as a reference and have a great time at home!
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How to spend at-home time with children (1–10)
Round Sticker Art
Recently, “circle sticker art” has been getting attention on social media and TV programs.
It uses colorful round stickers—the kind you often saw as students—to create artworks.
By combining stickers of various colors and sizes, you can make pieces that look like mosaic art.
Round stickers are easy to get in large quantities at 100-yen shops and other stores for a low price.
The more stickers you use, the more polished and elaborate your work can become.
Be sure to check out the works of Kana Kitamura and Yukino Omura, who are active as circle sticker artists, for inspiration!
Make a timetable
When you spend more time at home, you tend to use your time differently from your usual lifestyle, don’t you? In times like that, I recommend making a schedule! Just because you’re at home more doesn’t mean you should let the day slip by doing nothing—it would be such a waste.
To avoid lazing around, create your own timetable and set up a daily routine; if you follow it, you won’t waste your time! If you decorate a small chalkboard or whiteboard you can get at a 100-yen shop, it’ll boost your motivation even more!
Hiragana Play
When it comes to things you can enjoy at home, crafts are a great choice! Toys you make yourself feel special, and just having them makes you happy.
Here, we’re making a toy that lets you play with hiragana using plastic bottle caps.
To make it, you simply stick your favorite hiragana stickers onto the caps, so even small children can have fun! Stickers from 100-yen shops are perfectly fine.
It’s two birds with one stone—you can learn hiragana while making and playing with the toy!
How to spend time at home with children (11–20)
Pretending to be at a night pool in the bath
Night pools attached to hotels and the like.
When you’re traveling with the family, having a night pool really gets the kids excited, doesn’t it? Let’s recreate that night pool experience in your home bath! All you need are those glowing toys you often see at summer festivals, sometimes called “pika-pika scoops.” Float various shapes of light-up toys in the tub and play, and you can create a magical, night-pool-like atmosphere! It’s also great for an adult’s relaxation time.
Perler beads
Especially for women, haven’t you played with them at least once? A great recommendation for spending time at home with kids is Perler beads (iron beads).
With iron beads, you arrange beads into your favorite shapes, fuse them with an iron, and make toys like accessories and keychains! They come in many colors and are relatively inexpensive, so they’re highly recommended! You can even create original items inspired by your favorite characters! Since it’s dangerous for children to use an iron by themselves, be sure they always play with an adult.
Making slime
Let’s make slime at home that kids love! Slime has become popular in recent years through ASMR videos.
Simple ones are great, but the colorful kinds with glitter and decorative pieces are so cute you can’t help wanting them, right? To make that kind of slime at home, you’ll need laundry glue, water, food coloring or paint for color, and borax.
You can easily find borax at drugstores! Since you can make it with easy-to-get materials, try creating your own original slime together as a parent-child activity!
table tennis
We usually use the dining table for meals or small tasks.
To make time at home more enjoyable, let’s try using it as a ping-pong table! Table tennis is a sport you can play without professional equipment.
Plus, ping-pong balls are very light and small, so they won’t break things if they hit them, and they won’t hurt if they hit someone.
That’s why it’s perfect as a sport to play at home! If you set up a net—or something that can serve as one—to divide the table, you’ll have a proper ping-pong table ready to go.
If you host a family ping-pong tournament, it can turn into a fun little family event!