Regardless of how hard times get little children need and want to be entertained.
Unfortunately, it seems, for parents, that these little ones see so many commercials and are always being marketed to everywhere they look, on food cartons and juice jugs. Being a good parent does not mean you have to stop being frugal. In fact, now is the perfecct timee to establish frugal habits in your little ones that they can carry into their adult life.
Here's how to entertain the little ones without breaking the bank.
Turn trash into fun "towns"! Something as basic as a cereal box or juice box can become a wild and crazy project for your kids. It's very easy to do. Just have the kids decorate the boxes to look like buildings using old newspapers, markers or crayons, and any other stuff that you have that can make the "town" look more "livable" Then, go out and buy for cheap lots of dollar store cars, plastic men, trucks, and animals. Before you know it, your little engineer may want to expand their little town into a major metropolis!
Learn a craft together! It's almost magic when a parent and child learn something new together. An economy crisis, such as what our world is experiencing, can create the need to learn some of the old time skills that people can use for saving, cost cutting, and meeting their basic needs. You and your child could learn the basics of sewing or crocheting to make a few items that families can always use, like scarves, hats, or blankets. Any frugal fashionista knows that the key to any craft that is done for fun and money saving is to buy for cheap whenever possible. So, always try to use things that you have before going out and spending lots of money on supplies.
Make frugal recipes your fun! Not only can you have a good time with your child in researching and picking frugal recipes, but you could have an even better time turning these frugal recipes into family play. There are some really simple recipes that you will find on the internet including one of the most popular, which is edible playdough. This great concoction can be made with ingredients that you cna buy for cheap such as peanut butter and powdered sugar or dry milk. Let the kids squish it and make into all types of crazy stuff. It's cheap, fun, and very tasty!
There is so much that families can do to keep their little ones entertained during this economy crisis without spending a lot of cash. Just look for different ways to use your existing "stuff" and let your kids try their hand at being creative. You'll be glad that you tried these money saving, cost-conscious strategies and so will your little ones!
to her MakeEndsMeetOnline.com site.
Written on Saturday, 13 June 2009 08:04 by Alexandra Vrugt
