More Reasons Why Your Kids Should Never Be Bored

There are salt and pepper shakers in your home that need to be filled. Now I know that there are some naysayers out there thinking that young kids can't possibly fill these tiny holes with out spilling the salt and pepper. Well I am here to tell you that I am thirty-seven years old and I have never filled one without spilling it and I am still a reasonably well-adjusted person. There is no reason to believe that your children can't suffer this same failure and survive. If you're a penny pincher and can't stand the waste, have them do it over a bowl and put it by the stove and put a pinch of pennies, I mean pepper, into your meals until the bowl is empty. If you're like me and are willing to sacrifice the pennies but want to avoid sweeping at all cost, then have them do it over the sink.

Number Two: Tread Lightly

Your tires are dirty. We may not know each other intimately, but I feel confident about this one. Perhaps it's true that while your kids may love to soap up a car that they will be less thorough on rinsing and will surely will not wipe it dry properly. However, the probability is high that they can't hurt your tires with their cleaning methods and might even get some dust off them. Safety tip: Make sure you have your keys. All of them.

Number Three: Seeing Opportunities Clearly

On the assumption that you are reading this because you have kids in your home, then I think it is also a safe assumption that you have dirty windows. I checked mine today and I stopped counting at thirty-nine handprints. Then I left the bathroom and didn't even bother to count in the rest of the house. I recommended window cleaning to a good friend as a boredom buster for her kids and she shot down the idea with the excuse that they would not do a very good job. I think this is a poor attitude. You see I don't want to clean the window at all so if my kids do it and get half of the window clean, I see this as an improvement. It just depends on the kind of person you are. Do you see the glass window as half full of handprints or half empty of handprints?

Number Four: Scavenger Hunt

There is stuff to be found under your couch cushions and some of it may even be useful or valuable! If you have recliners then you definitely have treasure. That little pouch in the lower back is like a triple whammee combination of your junk drawer (pens, buttons, hair scrunchies, safety pins), your kid's car seat (raisins, Cheerios, fossilized fries and cracker crumbs) and your laundry room window seal (dead bugs, dryer lint). Give your kids some bags and send them under the cushions on a scavenger hunt. Child Development Alert For Three Year Olds: I find three years generally behave reasonably with things like safety pins. However if you feel you may be grossed out if the start eating the stale, dusty food crumbs then you probably want to give them a cup of juice and just leave the room.

Number Five: Heroes Down Under

That venty thingy at the bottom of your refrigerator is nasty. It has that "out of sight, out of mind" thing going on until you drop an ice cube and get down there to fish it out and suddenly Shrek's swamp house starts looking sterile in comparison. In theory, and maybe even literally, your appliances should work more efficiently, so you can save money and the environment by cleaning this thing. Noble causes, yes, but save your back. Kids can get down there (and back up) a lot easier and they love to suck up nasty stuff with the vacuum cleaner. So today give them the magic wand and let them save the world.

Kids whining about boredom? Well, we'll have none. There's filling, scrubbing, wiping, searching and suctioning to be done!