Sixty activities for kids from two to ten, sorted by where you are and what the weather is doing: at home, outside, when it rains, in winter, when you have ten minutes and when you have a whole day. Almost all of it is free and needs only what you already have at home. It is the list our nannies go to when someone says they are bored.
"I'm bored" is the most common sentence from children between four and nine, and it rarely means there is nothing to do. It means nobody has decided. Here are sixty things to choose from, in groups, so you can say: pick one of these three.
Wednesday, ten past four, a flat in Hägersten. The four year old has been collected from förskola (municipal preschool, from age one), eaten a sandwich and said it is boring twice in five minutes. It is not boring. It is an hour and twenty minutes until dinner and nobody has decided what is going to happen. This list exists so that deciding takes ten seconds.
The rule: pick one of three
Never say "what do you want to do?" to a child under eight. The question is too big. Say: den, baking or the playground, pick one. The child chooses, you have set the frame, and nobody negotiates. The lists below are sorted so you can pull three from the right group without thinking.
At home, 2 to 4 years
- A mountain of cushions on the floor, then knock it down
- Cook soup with a saucepan and a ladle, water optional
- Bubbles in the bath without water
- Finger painting on big paper on the floor
- A tunnel of chairs and a blanket
- Musical statues
- Glue torn-up paper onto a sheet
- Sort socks into pairs
- Drum on saucepans
- Animal parade: now we are elephants
At home, 5 to 10 years
- Obstacle course in the living room, timed
- Den under the table with a torch
- Treasure hunt with notes, our Treasure hunt for a kids' party works at home
- Theatre with teddies, parents are the audience
- Bake something from Baking with kids
- Stop-motion film with Lego and a phone
- Quiz, kids versus adults, the questions are in Quiz questions for kids
- Build the tallest tower out of whatever is around
- Their own book: the child tells the story, you write, the child draws
- Bead boards, puzzles, card games
- Post box: write letters to each other around the house
- Draw the neighbourhood as a map
Outside, all ages
- The playground, the nearest one
- The parklek (staffed adventure playground), with bikes to borrow and staff on hand
- Nature bingo with ten things to find: a pine cone, a feather, something red
- A bridge of sticks across a puddle
- A den of branches against a tree trunk
- Tag, hide and seek, "under the hawk's wings" (a Swedish playground chasing game)
- Hopscotch with chalk
- Collect leaves, stones and pine cones for a collage
- Cycle or scoot a new route
- Picnic on a blanket, even in October
- Feed the birds in the park
- Go to the library and borrow five books
When it rains
- Waterproofs on and jump in puddles. That is the whole activity.
- The library with story time
- A museum: see Museums for children in Stockholm
- The swimming pool
- Baking with whatever is in the cupboard
- Crafts from Crafts for kids
- Build a marble run out of toilet rolls
- Face painting with a mirror
- Ghost stories in the den
- Tidy a drawer together and find old toys
In winter
- Sledging on the nearest slope
- A snow lantern made of snowballs
- Tracks in the snow: write your name with your feet
- Snowballs at a wall, not at each other
- Ice skating in Kungsträdgården or on a flooded pitch
- Feed the birds with fat balls
- Hot chocolate afterwards, as part of the activity
- Christmas crafts in December, see Christmas crafts for children
When you only have ten minutes
- Musical statues to one song
- Three riddles from 100 riddles for kids with answers, sorted by age
- Kim's game with things from the table
- Draw on each other's backs and guess
- Statues
- Follow the leader through the flat
- Build the tallest tower in one minute
- Throw sock balls into a bucket
By age, what works most reliably
| Age | Indoors | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 3 years | Cushion mountain, finger paint, cooking soup | Sandpit, bubbles, puddles |
| 4 to 5 years | Den, obstacle course, baking | Nature bingo, tag, parklek |
| 6 to 8 years | Treasure hunt, theatre, stop-motion | Stick bridge, hopscotch, cycling |
| 9 to 10 years | Quiz, card games, their own film | The woods, ice skating, kick the can |
Three activities per afternoon: a schedule that holds
| When | Type | Example | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| On the way home | Outside, movement | The playground, puddles, nature bingo | 30 to 45 minutes |
| At the kitchen table | Hands, calmer | Baking, crafts, bead boards | 20 to 30 minutes |
| Before dinner | Quiet | A book, card games, theatre with teddies | 15 to 20 minutes |
That is the nanny's schedule, and it works at home too. Movement first, then fingers, then rest. Reverse the order and it ends in tears at six o'clock.
It is boring, and that is fine
Ten minutes of boredom is not a problem to solve. It is often what comes just before the child invents something themselves: a game with the cushions, a book on the floor. Wait a little before you fill the gap. What does not fill it well, though, is a screen as a filler. Folkhälsomyndigheten (the Public Health Agency of Sweden) recommends at most an hour a day for children between two and five, and one to two hours for six to twelve year olds, and an afternoon that starts with the tablet rarely ends in an obstacle course. More on that in Screen time for children.
What you do not need
- New toys. Children play with what is there, and with the box more than with what came in it.
- A soft play centre every weekend. Good once a month, exhausting every week, for everyone.
- A planned activity every day. Free time is an activity too.
- You being involved the whole time. From age four, children can manage twenty minutes on their own if you are nearby, and they need it.
- A nice result. The craft should get done, not look good. The way there is the activity.
How we do it with our families
Nike's Thursday in Solna looks the same every week, and that is the point. At quarter to four she collects the four year old and the six year old from förskola and fritids (after-school care). On the way home they choose one thing from the outdoor list: usually the stick bridge over the puddle by the playground, in winter the sledging slope behind the school. At home by half past four it is the kitchen table: baking every other week, otherwise bead boards or a marble run of toilet rolls that the six year old keeps extending every Thursday. At quarter past five it is the sofa and a book while she puts the pasta on. The children get to choose between two things at each step, never more. After three weeks she knew what the favourites were, and after two months the six year old is already asking on Wednesday what they are going to do tomorrow. That is what the same nanny every time gives you: a list that becomes a habit.
Would you like a nanny who comes on the same days every week and whom the children know? Book a free first meeting with the nanny in your home, and we will work out a price for your hours.
Read more: Games for kids · Outdoor games for kids · Things to do with kids in Stockholm · FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What can you do with kids on a rainy Sunday?
A den under the table with a torch, baking, an obstacle course in the living room, a treasure hunt with notes, theatre with teddies, and a walk in the rain in waterproofs. Children have nothing against rain, it is adults who do. If it is a long day: the library with story time or the swimming pool, both work in November. Three short things beat one long one.
Which activities are free?
Almost all of the ones here. The playground, the woods, the library, the parklek, den building, baking with what is at home, puddles in waterproofs, and all the games. What costs money is soft play centres and museums, and they are rarely needed more than once a month. What children remember is not what it cost, but that someone was there with them.
How long does an activity last?
Two year olds ten to fifteen minutes, four year olds half an hour, seven year olds an hour if they get to decide a little themselves. Plan three short ones instead of one long one: one outside, one at the kitchen table, one calm one before dinner. Switch before interest runs out, not after, and have the next thing ready in your head so there is no gap.
What do you do when the children are different ages?
Choose activities where everyone can join in at their own level: baking, treasure hunts, dens, the woods, obstacle courses. The older one leads or gets responsibility, the younger one tags along and gets to win. Avoid competitions between siblings and anything with points. Sometimes it is best to split up: twenty minutes with the little one while the older one gets to draw in peace.
What can you do with a two year old at home?
A cushion mountain, cooking soup with a saucepan and a ladle, a tunnel of chairs and a blanket, finger paint on big paper on the floor, drumming on saucepans, sorting socks into pairs, musical statues and an animal parade. Ten to fifteen minutes per thing, and a two year old often wants to do the same thing again rather than something new. It is not boring for the child, only for you.