We’re about halfway through summer, and chances are you’re feeling it. The initial burst of excitement about beach days and family trips has ebbed. The milestone that is July 4th has come and gone. Now it’s just obscenely hot outside and you and your kids have already done everything you could possibly do indoors. If they’re not interested in the toys and books they’re used to and you need to get them away from the TV, these are some of the summer boredom busters I turn to in a pinch.
My qualifications, you ask? I’m a mom with one 5-year-old boy who has worked from home with him quite a bit over the years. I don’t have an endless budget or endless patience, so these are the sorts of products I add to cart when I need to keep him peacefully occupied and off of screens.
Sponge Balls For Endless Water Fun
I knew reusable water balloons were a thing, but these? Oh, these could change the game. You could have an old-school water fight with them, or set up endless games to occupy your kid. Walk with me: You could draw a big chalk target on the driveway and assign points to each ring. Everyone gets to toss the whole set of sponge balls and try to rack up the most points. I’ve done this with my kid, and it kept him outside for a while trying to beat his own best score. Competitive siblings will be at it even longer.
A Double-Sided Plastic Track For Monster Trucks & Cars
This little truck track seems so clutch to me — I wish I’d had it when my son was younger. You could toss it in the car or wagon to take to friends’ houses and outdoor events (like older siblings’ games) to entertain the kids. It can be played with inside, too. It’s just easy and versatile, and it doesn’t make a bunch of annoying sounds.
Mess-Free Paint Sticks (Yes, Paint Sticks)
I love twist-up paint sticks with a passion. They take the gloopy, drippy mess of paint and just do away with it completely while keeping all the fun and vibrancy. A set of these plus a $5 roll of craft paper rolled out across the floor is all the encouragement a kid needs to make a mural for their room, draw a road for their toy cars, or whatever else they can dream up.
An Indoor/Outdoor Tent For All The Open-Ended Play
Something about a fort makes your kid see all their books and toys in a new light. They can make it cozy and read in there! Lay down all their blankets and watch a movie from the floor! Create a cave of stuffies! My son has a tent we take out every so often, and its presence alone keeps him busy for hours. This one would be even better because it can be used outside, so it’s a good beach gear addition too.
A Classic Boredom Buster
Remember Mad Libs?! They were so fun! And they are not gone, oh no — you can grab one of these little paperbacks for a cool five bucks. They’re a silly little thing to keep around for kids to do with friends or on a road trip, at a restaurant, or wherever, really.
Origami Paper & Explainers
Origami but make it cute? If your kid loves to craft and is old enough to do kits without your help, this origami set would be such a fun boredom buster. The 60 patterned papers can be folded into axolotls, unicorns, dragons, and so much more. You’re going to find little creatures all over the house.
A Sprinkler With Basically Zero Setup
One of my favorite summer hacks is to buy some sort of sprinkler or splash pad that requires minimal setup. This one gives you 12 feet of wacky wiggling water streams, and all you have to do is twist it onto the hose and turn on the spigot. I have been known to turn on the sprinkler, hand my kid a popsicle, and gently nudge him out the back door.
A Throwback To Mom & Dad’s School Days
Pattern Blocks and Boards – Classic Toy With 120 Solid Wood Shapes and 5 Double-Sided Panels
Melissa & Doug –Growing up, did anyone else’s teacher have a bunch of these boards for students to play with when they finished their work? This feels like a teacher-approved summer boredom buster that flexes that spatial part of the brain, but it’s also just a fun matching game.
A Nostalgic Bead Pet Kit
Bead frogs and lizards feel like a core childhood memory for millennial parents, and we can easily share the fun with our own kids. A bead-making kit like this would’ve occupied me for hours, and I could see my 7-year-old niece sitting down with this and not getting up til she had three keychains finished. For $10.97 you can’t beat it, and you can always buy more beads to keep making use of the stencils.
A Card Deck Scavenger Hunt
Your kid will need to be old enough to read, but as long as they’ve got that down, you can hand them this card deck and cut them loose. The cards have prompts like “find something that lights up” or “find something round” — open-ended enough that your kid will definitely find something to fit the parameters, but still narrow enough to keep them hunting for a bit.
Sticker-Making Kits That Add An Extra Step
Sticker books are great, but making the stickers before using them is both fun and time-consuming — exactly what a boredom buster should be. My nieces and son love making customized bubble stickers by choosing their background and confetti filler, and then slapping them on all their belongings. This kit is so affordable it’s crazy, but there are also bigger options, like this gem painting sticker kit.
A Big Bag Of Stuff & A Roll Of Tape
All kits aside, nothing keeps my son busier for longer than a big bag of stuff and a few adhesives of his choosing. My mom and I have both purchased an assortment of craft supplies like this, some construction paper, glue sticks and tape, because if you set it all out he’ll spend hours making creatures, bookmarks, and more. The key is just to get a variety of interesting doodads, like googly eyes, sticky gems, and feathers. Don’t forget the feathers.
A Boredom-Busting Toy That’ll Last Through Summer
The sound of a remote control car whirring around the house and slamming into my baseboards is enough to drive me insane, but if you have room for your kid to drive an RC car outside? That’s worth the investment. This Mario Kart one has been very durable despite my son’s terrible driving and is currently on sale. Older kids can set up obstacle courses for theirs with plastic cups, ramps, and other random household objects.
If you can’t make it to the store today, hand your kid a water hose and step away. The water and the power trip will keep them busy for a solid hour, buying you a little sliver of peace until you can add a few more boredom-busting items to your arsenal.
