Oh moms/parents, share your ideas with me My 7yo is in a big soccer phase (rec league twice a week), and I’m always hunting for after-school/weekend things that actually stick and don’t turn into a battle.
My little mom joy this month: I splurged on an indoor soccer training mat called FPRO for his birthday : pricey, but I caught a discount with SPORTY20. It’s basically a roll-out mat + a kid-friendly app with short video drills and “missions.” He earns points/badges, tries to keep his streak, and we keep it to 15–20 minutes so it stays fun. It rolls back up and lives in the closet. Not an ad, just sharing because it’s been a rare win for rainy days and “I’m booooored” moments.
Okay, your turn - what are your kiddos loving right now?
indoor things that burn a little energy
easy hobbies (music? chess? crafts?) that don’t need a million supplies
any “splurge but worth it” items you don’t regret
Good advise, however I had a discussion regarding returning back to college while having a kid, and there were many moms to reply, so I thought, that maybe could have a couple of discussions regarding motherhood.
Kick him outdoors with a few bottles of water and tell him he can come back inside in two hours. Let him ride his bike around the block. Let HIM come up with ideas. Build a treehouse for him. Don’t overstructure his day.
My kids learned not to say, “I’m boooored,” because they knew I would quickly find a task for them. They were pretty good at using their imagination and entertaining themselves.
All kids are different. Reflecting back to when my two kids were each 7 years old, I don’t recall their saying they were bored, nor do I recall it ever being a “battle” to do activities. They were involved in many activities that they truly enjoyed (or what is the point of doing those)?
They were enrolled in: piano lessons, soccer team, ski racing program, softball team, horseback riding, dance classes, swim classes, and musical theater productions at age 7.
I also had a well stocked playroom (could be in another space) with all sorts of toys, art supplies, blocks, plus they had a well stocked library of books in their rooms. Outdoors, I had all sorts of play equipment, sand box, and play structures. I also recall many play dates arranged (we lived in a rural area, so there were no neighbors or playing on the street).
Came back to add that back then, we had a VCR and lots of kids’ videos, Disney and more, plus my kids liked watching videos of musicals. And to age myself, I’ll add that they had many music cassettes and eventually CDs and CD players!
I’ll play along. Some people have a wide age spread amongst their kids, almost everyone here has a kid who was once 7, and/or they’re grandparents of 7 year olds.
When my kid was seven, my kid was big into Legos and Beyblades. Both phases lasted a number of years (though Lego started before age 7 and lasted longer than Beyblades).
An expensive splurge item that we’ve recently purchased, but have not put up yet, that’s gotten great reviews for everyone from elementary kids to adults is a wall-mounted indoor basketball goal. The back-of-the-door hoops tend to rattle on the door (noise & damage) and can’t be dunked on, at least not for long without breaking. These were the two brands that we were considering and they had great reviews across the web. They’re both American-made and can handle adults dunking. The Ramgoal one is easily adjustable so you can change the height (either different height players or players who grow).
My three kids were very different at age 7. I favored unstructured time and we had no tv or computers or phones. I saw boredom as a positive and did not solve it for them, with one exception. My middle kid sometimes needed more structure than the others and I would set up art projects for them. Two did brief Saturday sports, one did ballet once a week. Otherwise they played freely. They ended up with “passions” in high school, great colleges and careers and partners so in my view it is okay for kids to “do nothing”!
Editing to add: books, drawing/art materials, Legos, dollhouse, play store…important to have these things around!
At about that age, my children loved Lowes’ and Home Depot’s Saturday Kid Workshops. They had a great time pounding nails and painting pieces of wood. They also enjoyed park, museum, and library kid programs. These take some pre-planning on the adult end, most require signing up in advance, but were free or low cost week-end activities.
My children were active in scouts, which at that age included the occasional family campout and a week-long summer day-camp. They took swimming and music lessons.
At home, Lego, Snap Circuits, and things with wheels - bicycles, scooters, matchbox cars, toy trains, could keep them entertained for hours. So could a box of Alka-Seltzer and a few film canisters. Foam water squirters, a water sprinkler, or just spraying the garden hose was fun in the summer months. My children had plenty of books, toys, and arts and crafts supplies to keep them entertained. They rarely complained of boredom.
At 7, my daughter had two structured out of school actives - piano and dance. We lived in a great neighborhood where she could ride bikes after school with friends and have impromptu play dates. She was also an avid reader, crafter/drawer, and lego builder. We tried to not over schedule.
Ah yes, both our kids loved books. D was into myths and anything with gorgeous artwork. S was into chess and books about it plus how to perform magic tricks.
Having 5 kids and being a SAHM, I had kids here all of the time, if my kids didn’t have friends over, they were at friends’ homes (we live in an area with mostly sidewalks and everything close by). I drove so many carpools with 7 kids in them (my husband, mom and dad drove minivans too). We had bikes, scooters, swing set, sandbox, all the sports equipment, and they played. I remember one day counting 16 kids (I think it was after a bad weather week). My landscaper found out years later that I was not in fact a daycare. They did all of the activities (swimming, skating, dance, gymnastics, soccer, baseball, softball, ice hockey, roller hockey, TKD, art, flag football, basketball, piano, violin, bagpipes…) but also just played with friends. Plus they did activities with friends (which of course made them even more fun). If they signed up for something and didn’t like it, they finished, and that was that (not all of them liked the same stuff, which was fine).
Ninja Warrior (the Japanese version) was big when my boys were that age. They made courses in our backyard. (smacks head) Organized activities were soccer and swimming. Summers, they went to week day camps with our parks and rec department (canoeing, rock climbing, hiking, etc) and also some art camps.
It’s hard to remember exactly what they did like. I know the older one like Yugi Oh cards and dueling. We would take him to Toys R us starting in kindergarten. He’d keep track of everyone’s points in his head, while the 10-12 y.o.s and adults used their calculators.
The younger one was more into playing with action figures and dinosaurs. He was big on watching the nature channel shows and the history channel. Oh and old sports games on ESPN Classic. And god help you, if he picked the wrong team to root for that was going to lose. You could tell him… they’re not going to win… and he wouldn’t believe you and pitch a royal fit when they lost. Good times.
We also went to a LOT of playgrounds. Seriously, I think we hit every single one in our entire city multiple times. Also the science center. It’s not huge now, but in their day, it was really tiny and there wouldn’t be anyone there. They had a big playroom area in the basement and it was like our own private play place.
Mine weren’t big into music or dressing up, but they would make up these weird fight scene plays with their (toy) swords, and make us watch. We also had a ball python that one of them would have around their necks during the battle.
When my kids were 7 they were all about having a little freedom. Bikes or scooters in the cul-de-sac, playing with a few kids outside with mom just checking in from afar every once in a while, going to the playground. My son loved to learn new strategy games (chess, Battleship, cards, Qwirkle, 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe). My daughter loved playing with her horses and American Girl dolls, and bracelet making. Because they were the same age, they engaged in a lot of imaginary play, especially school. If their sibling wasn’t around, they would draft the dogs into the role of student. Or their stuffed animals. We have long and snowy winters. One of mine loves the snow and one hates it. Sometimes I’d just have to bundle them up and throw them outside.
My son loved sports, so we had a soccer net and batting tee in the driveway. We were lucky enough to have a town beach where they could swim or play in the sand. Since late afternoon was often when they started looking for something to do after being able to entertain themselves earlier in the day, we would often pack a picnic dinner and go to a playground/park around 4 and stay until about 6.
What never went well was me trying to supervise art projects or “educational crafts”. I also tried to impose some schedules (you must read/clean your room before playing type stuff) that went over like a lead balloon. It’s not that my kids didn’t read or clean their rooms, just expecting them to live on some schedule I made up in a spreadsheet because I like to have something to hang on the wall wasn’t their jam.
I tried to give my kids a lot of unsupervised time, I just had to make sure there were no unsanctioned science experiments or home reno projects taking place. (May neighbors tell epic stories about my “feral” son). Now that they are both in college, I do see the way they used their unstructured time very much reflected in their career choices, ability to be self-motivated, and (for one of them) to remain intellectually curious.
My kids are older than this now, but I still have a nephew near that age. My daughter babysits my nephew and here are the things she says he likes:
-Climbing walls. Either real ones you pay to go to, or homemade ones with a mat on the floor underneath.
-Shrinky Dinks (the craft)
-Magic Treehouse books
-Watching him and saying “wow” while he does an endless number of various stunts, jumps, etc
-Gossip! He loves, loves, LOVES to hear all about her fabulous teenage life, dumb ex-boyfriends, latest breakups in her friend group etc
-Planning a simple dinner, going to grocery store to get ingredients, helping cook it, decorating the table, lighting candles
-Making fires in the fireplace or outside in the fire ring
I have read a lot about how things have changed. Many of us posting had 7 year olds a long time ago. Phones and social media start young apparently., Parents are afraid to have their kids “free range.” Early academics, lots of pressure (even about college, this early) on kids and parents. Lots of scheduled activities. I hope someone who is raising a 7 year old or thereabouts will post to answer the OP.
When mine was 7 she was into reading (and Lord of the Rings specifically), digging musicals and playing with anything to do with fabric, drawing or painting…just like now, only add 30 years!
My 7yo is in a big soccer phase (rec league twice a week), and I’m always hunting for after-school/weekend things that actually stick and don’t turn into a battle.
We can share what the grands are into to keep them busy and happy.