Daddy's Job: Entertaining the Kids on a Budget

One of the great challenges of parenthood is keeping young children entertained. For those of us on a tight budget, entertaining children may require a little more creativity. In my experience, creative activities that don't require spending money often turn out to be the most enjoyable form of entertainment.

While daily trips to the movies or zoo would be fun, it's not an option considering our family budget. To entertain my two sons, ages four and two, I usually come up with things like an indoor obstacle course or pretending to cook with clay. My husband, on the other hand, has his own idea of fun.

I have some pretty good ideas when it comes to entertaining the kids, but when they REALLY want some fun they know to look for Daddy. My husband has spent many of his days off sitting on the floor while the boys color on his face with washable markers. Some might say I should keep them from drawing on anything except paper, but they have so much fun I wouldn't dare make them stop - it's not my face! Most mothers would automatically say no if a child asked to "paint" her face with markers. That's exactly why they like playing with Daddy.

Sometimes my husband entertains us spontaneously - when nobody is looking to be entertained. One night recently, my husband was on the computer while I bathed the boys and got them ready for bed. After we finished, I told them to go tell Daddy goodnight. Shortly afterwards, I heard terrible music playing. My husband was playing some ridiculous old country song for them and they were all dancing in the living room. He then proceeded to ask if they had ever seen square dancing, and despite my protests (I'm not a country music or square dancing fan, see this) he found a square dancing video online. The next thing I know, the kids are up well after bedtime and my husband is leading us in a family square dance.

Maybe he knew what he was doing after all, the kids were tired after square dancing, and they slept well.

Every year my husband says he has to start acting more mature. I remember when he was going to stop acting "so stupid" when he turned 30, then it was 31, and now it's 32. I certainly wouldn't describe him as stupid. He works hard and comes home to be with us, and that's all he does. There are a lot of stupid fathers doing stupid things, but he's not one of them. I prefer to call him goofy.

I may come home from the grocery store and find him teaching our 2-year-old how to do the Running Man or the Cabbage Patch (80's dance moves), or making up ridiculous jokes with our 4-year-old. When it comes to cheap entertainment though, it doesn't get much better for the kids than goofiness, and it doesn't get much goofier than their Daddy.