It can be very frustrating to find yourself unable to convince your children to turn off the TV set or pry them away from their computer when you have a weekend or day off to spend with them. Here are a selection of ideas to encourage your children to leave the home if you are simply stuck for inspiration on where to take your children on a day out.
1 – Museums
Visiting a museum can be a great way to engage your children in a topic that they have shown an interest towards, whether that’s history, science, football or fast cars.
There are plenty of specialist museums across the UK and many of them are free to enjoy. Here are a few that we recommend:
- British Museum
- Museum of London
- National Maritime Museum
- Natural History Museum
- Science Museum
- National Football Museum
- National Museum of Scotland
- National Coal Museum
- Coventry Transport Museum
- World Museum Liverpool
Click here to view a full list over 50 national museums which operate with free entry admission.
2 - Libraries
It’s a well known fact that reading encourages development in the brain and, among other things, can improve vocabulary, speech and self-confidence. Libraries are often housed in grand buildings and children will be overwhelmed by the amount of books available to them, but luckily they often have recommended titles for children and you don’t have to worry about wasting money as books can be borrowed from the library free of charge. Additionally, many modern libraries have story time classes where they will read books to children in a friendly environment.
3 – Farm yards
Depending on where you live, visiting a local farm can be a relatively cheap way to teach children about where their food comes from. Many farms will keep cows, sheep, chickens and pigs and with all the sights, sounds and smells, children are bound to have a memorable day out.
4 – Seaside resorts
From the golden sands of Newquay to the bright lights of Blackpool, the UK boasts some fantastic coastal resorts. Whether it’s sorting sea shells, sharing fish & chips, playing on the amusements or just enjoying an ice cream – there are plenty of things to make a trip to the seaside worthwhile.
5 - Parks and woodland areas
Children are encouraged to get at least one hour of physical exercise a day. Parks and woodland areas can be enjoyed all year long and they can be a great way to reconnect your children with the outdoors. Young children can have fun collecting leaves, twigs and stones, rolling down hills or building dens while older children might want to play ball games or Frisbee instead.
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