You know the kids have been cooped up too long when they start nagging each other, poking and prodding until one of them finally yells, “He’s pinching me!”
By the time spring and early summer come around, you’re well aware of the restlessness that disrupts your otherwise peaceful home. So how can you cure the last remnants of cabin fever and encourage your kids to get along?
Take it outside!
Create a family sports team
According to Jeroen Vermeulen and Paul Verweel of Utrecht University, the Netherlands, participation in sports helps people solidify their identities and learn to understand social cues and nuances. “From the perspective of real-life, day-to-day identity,” they say, “sport may indeed be seen as providing specific and important resources for constructing bonding and bridging ties.”
Playing together on an organized team gives your kids a common purpose and goal, and forces them to come up with solutions to problems together. It’s also the perfect playing field for teaching life lessons like sportsmanship, fairness, and compassion.
Plant a garden together
“Many hands make light work” may not be 100 percent accurate when it comes to toddlers, but many hands working together outside are an excellent cure for cabin fever. Labor-intensive gardens can be especially great for strong teenagers to help plant and maintain.
A vegetable garden may be a bit too much of a project for your younger children, though. If that’s the case, try sowing a potted herb garden, or create a window-planter masterpiece. Come fall, you’ll have delicious foods, spices, or beautiful flowers that your kids can be proud of.
Is your kids’ cabin fever driving you crazy? Get them out and moving in the spring sunshine! Whether you start your own flag football team or plant your very first family garden, now is the perfect time to get outside — together.