Summer Afternoon Activities to Escape the Hot Sun

Kids playing at summer park by Lisa Suender

Kids love the summer. Come vacations, parents encourage lots of outdoorsy activities - swimming, monkey bars at the park, time on the beach, climbing trees at the park etc. All is fine as long as parents follow some sun and water safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Harsh sunlight can burn tender skin on kids.

Here are some activities to keep indoor bound kids engaged:

1. Cooking: Get the kids to help cook. They could tear lettuce, halve tomatoes, make juices, roll out dough, ice some cupcakes etc. This way they have fun and learn about the processes of cooking.

2. Gaming: From summer gaming camps or workshops to playing Massively Multiplayer Online Games with family, kids are spoilt for choice.  

3. Art Projects: Kids enjoy a variety of arts. Even mechanical assembly projects can be artistic. The long summer is a great time to take up a fun project.

4. Catching up on Movies: If the school year has been very busy, the summer is a great time to watch movies, old and new. Kids love laughing over the movies their parents watched - the clothes, the pace, humor, everything.

5. Family and Friends: Summer's the best time to catch up with family and friends. Seeing the local sights, snuggling up to Granny and having her read stories, trying on mom's footwear - oh, the fun can be endless, for there's always something to do across generations.

The whole purpose of summer is to explore - new ideas, projects, food or just new ways to laze!