10 Fun Activities to Do With Children Ages 5 - 9 to Get Them off Computer

We truly live in a high tech age today. Just look around you and you will see that our entire life is computerized. Computers have completely took over our life virtually everywhere - work, home, stores, hospitals, gas stations, schools - computers are all around us. Everything has become much easier in this computer age. Lives are saved, criminals are brought to justice, lights are switched at the intersection, and new cures are created daily. Internet has become the ultimate information source and is used daily by millions all over the globe. We don't imagine our lives without computers anymore and, if anything goes wrong and computers become extinct, it would probably put us back in the dark ages.

Did you know that the first mechanical computer, also called Automatic Computing Machine, was created in 1822 by Charles Babbage who was passionate inventor and is considered to be the father of computer? The word "computer" itself came to life in 1613 and was referred to a person who performs calculations or computations. Charles Babbage has developed a Difference Engine which was basically a device capable of computing few sets of numbers and making a hard copy of the result.

Computers have become an important part of our children's lives as well. Our schools use computers for education making it possible for our children to acquire new valuable skills we couldn't even dream of when we were in school many years ago. But, regrettably, a lot of our children became so obsesses with computers that they spend most, if not all, of their time sitting in front of the computer screen. Our children become consumed by online games, videos, chat rooms and many other activities Mother Internet has to offer. This has considerably impacted the way our families live and function. Most families don't spend as much time together as they should, all because of their children's computer addiction.

When this became a problem for my family, I decided to act and find the way to get involved into some fun activities together with our children. This helped us to spend some quality time together, learn new things, and take a needed break from computers.

1. Sports. Getting your kids involved into sports is my all times favorite. Not only it's so much fun for kids to learn and play new sports, it's also very healthy to be active for few hours a day. You can practice different kinds of sports right in your backyard. You can also take your kids to the park to play soccer or any other kind of game together. Try to teach your kids different kinds of sports to open them up to the new possibilities. Talk to your kids to see what kinds of sports they like and how they would like to practice those sports.

Putting your kids on the sports team is probably the best way to introduce them to a new sport. It will also keep them busy at least few times a week when they have to get off computer and go to practice. They can meet new friends and explore their athletic abilities. Not to mention that most of the sport practices do take place outside. Fresh air and lots of exercise are great for kids of all ages.

There are lots of sports opportunities available during summer time when you can put your kids in soccer, tennis, swimming, basketball or any other kinds of camps.

2. Coloring activities. Coloring is quite classic and may seem boring, but you can also add a new twist to it. Challenge your kids to find fun coloring pages on Internet for them to color. Print few pages and have a completion between your kids or between you and your child. You can complete for the best colored picture, fastest colored picture, or best realistic colors used.

It will be a great idea to make coloring a part of learning experience. Search and find some math or spelling coloring pages and use those to improve your kid's education. You may also make a memory binder out of all the coloring pages your children color. Add new coloring pages to this binder daily and save it to show it to your kids 10 years later. You are going to have a lot of fun looking at these coloring pages together as they bring so many beautiful memories!

3. Cook together with your kids. I have never met a child who doesn't like to get involved in the kitchen. Kids love to be a part of the food preparation at home and this is a great opportunity to get them off computer and have them learn how to cook. The best way of doing this is to ask your child to find a recipe of his or her favorite dish or dessert on the Internet. Have them print the recipe and find all of the ingredients for the recipe. You may take a shopping trip together to find the missing ingredients. Cooking together will definitely keep your kids from computer for at least an hour or two.

I love making cookies together with my kids and I always ask them to look for new recipes. This is one of those fun cooking activities that can never go wrong.

4. Take a walk in the park. This will be a great exercise for the whole family and a good way to enjoy the great outdoors together. If you own a dog, bring your dog on a walk with you and play together. Have a running competition between the family members or your children, or play some games together. Practicing sports, playing with other children, collecting flowers, studying new plants, watching the insects - there is so much you can do in the park. Have an ice cream together after you are done to make it more fun.

5. Read a book together. Not all children like reading, in fact, majority of kids are very reluctant to read. You may use few tricks to make your children interested in reading. Purchase the books on your child's favorite subject and make sure to find the books with the most colorful pictures. Children don't enjoy reading the books without illustrations because pictures make the learning experience more fun. Taking a trip to your local library together will be a great distraction from computer for your child. Have your child pick a book she or he likes the most, read it together, and have your child make a summary of everything you can learn from this book.

6. Clean your house together. This is not one of the favorites for many children, but there are ways to make it fun. Have your child clean her or his room and reward them with an ice cream or some money for their piggy bank. Have a cleaning competition to see who is the fastest to clean their room. Take pictures for "Before" and "After" and praise your child for the great work done.

7. Work on some craft project together. Crafts and DIY projects are great tools for keeping kids away from computer for a while. There are so many different things you can craft together, it's just impossible not to be able to find at least one crafting activity your child will like to do. Take a trip to your local craft store together and explore the possibilities. Have your child pick up the craft supplies for the project he or she would like to work on. Making a gift for someone's upcoming birthday or a holiday is a good way to get your child involved into exploring their artistic abilities.

8. Go grocery shopping together. This is a fun and productive activity for kids of all ages. Plan you meals together, have your child help you make a grocery list, get them evolved into buying the groceries, and use that time to educate your children about different foods.

9. Take a break from computer to watch a newly released movie. New movies get released weekly and this is great opportunity to get kids away from computer. The best thing about this kind of activity is that all children love watching new movies. Take a trip to your local movie rental store together, pick up a movie or two, and enjoy.

10. Have a yard sale. This is one of the fun and profitable projects you can do together with your children at any time. First of all, have your child give up all unwanted toys and clothing, then ask your child to help you with finding unwanted stuff around the house. Make colorful price tags together and prepare the merchandise for your yard sale. A lot of kids enjoy getting involved into the yard sale, because it gives them the opportunity to meet new people. Always split the profit with your kids to keep them interested in future projects.