Snow Day Survival Tips
By Julia A. Keirns
(This article was published at ChildrensMall.com on December 1, 2000)
The news reports that although crime is down during cold, snowy days, domestic violence is up. That is a sad statistic, but one that should be taken quite seriously.
Why is domestic violence up during these times? In one word – snowbound. People are sometimes literally trapped inside their homes when road conditions are bad and wind chills are dangerously low. It is tough enough to maintain a level of patience with our family on a regular basis, under normal conditions but add a two-week Christmas break for the kids to be home from school and we are already on our way to some stressful days. Add more time off with no school, no work, no church, or no extracurricular activities because of bad weather, blowing and drifting snow, slippery or icy roads, freezing temperatures, and wind chills below zero, and we will surpass the red danger line on our inner stress-o-meters several times over
So, what can we do to avoid becoming so bored, frustrated, and “stressed out” that we blow up in anger at our loved ones? I have some ideas that I would like to share. Do something different. Break our normal routine. Spend some time doing something we would not normally do. At first thought, it may seem to be more trouble than it is worth, but when we consider the alternative, it could definitely be worth the time. Who knows, we could end up having so much fun with our family that we will wonder why we didn’t do these things before.
1. Camp out in your living room with your kids. This is a great idea if the upstairs bedrooms are especially cold at night. Dig out the summer camping gear and sleeping bags. Roast marshmallows on the stove, sing campfire songs, and tell ghost stories. The kids will absolutely love it and you will be making memories.
2. Set up the card table and chairs in a room and find one of those 1,000 piece puzzles that didn’t sell at last year’s garage sale, and spend the next few snowbound days creating a masterpiece of memories with the kids. Just leave it sit and work on it as you please. Whatever you do, do not quit on it until that last piece is placed. It is such a feeling of accomplishment. You could even modge-podge it and frame it for a lifetime of memories. It would be a great conversation piece at all the future family gatherings.
3. Play a game of Monopoly, clear to the end. That will probably mean leaving it set for a few days also. I never have really liked Monopoly because it takes so long, plus I always lose.
4. For parents of very young children, I like to drag out the toy boxes in the house and dump them completely out into a big pile in the middle of the living room floor. We separate out all the toys, clean them, match up all the lost pieces to their mates, check all the batteries, start a donation pile, and throw out what is broken. I sweep and clean the toy box itself, then put everything back away nice, neat, and organized. This activity will get you on the floor playing with your kids for hours. You will have so much fun looking through all the toys you forgot they had that you won’t even realize how much time has passed.
These are just a few suggestions I could think of. You can probably think of several more great ideas on your own. Whatever you do, don’t let the boredom and frustration get the better of you. Do something to take the edge off. If you don’t like any of my ideas, come up with some of your own. Use the extra time you have with your kids wisely. Our kids grow up so fast we wonder where the time went and most of us end up regretting how little we actually played with them. Use snowbound days to spend that quality time with your kids that they need so much.
Of course, when it is warm enough, send them outside to play. Bundle them up good in layers of clothes, cover all bare areas of skin that might get frostbit, and give them a time limit when it is too cold. You could even dig out that old snowsuit you used to wear all those years ago and go outside with them. If you don’t have a snowsuit, long-johns will work, or just double up the layers. Maybe you can even teach your children how to make a perfect snow angel. Just make sure you are able to get back up.