Need ideas to keep son engaged

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Hi summers upon us and I'm in need of some help. I am a mom of two ADHD young children one w aspergeers and the other I have suspensions on. So here we are w summer time. I have the month of July planned out for my son but between now and then I'm a little stuck and with limited finances. So I'm looking for some fun creative ways to keep him engaged and not whining that he is "bored" all the time or playing his DS 24/7. Hs bik is at his dads so riding his bikes isn't an option. We go to the park and play however it gets boring. I've included them cooking and cleaning and even given options for fun actives. Arts n crafts are hard cuz of the attention span. Does anyone have suggestions....thank you.

I don't know where you live, but most large cities have lots and lots of free things to do, if you just know where to look - hidden away parks, hiking paths, free museums, special movie days at the library, free mother-day-out programs at churches, etc, etc. You could also see about doing some volunteer work - sometimes places like the local food pantry will allow children to come with their parents and help volunteer.

Check if your local library and bookstores have a summer "reading game." Ours has prizes you can earn over the course of the summer.

Water guns. My son doesn't like to be wet, but he loves getting other things wet. Bubble making machines, too. (And DS is 11, so are his friends. These things don't fail.)

I bought this book for my son, it does take fine motor skills though: http://www.amazon.com/Origami-Model-Air ... 400&sr=8-5

Papercrafts are great, all over the internet in general for free, and often tailored to the kid's interest (search on google) http://www.cubeecraft.com/

Family Fun magazine is often a good source of ideas, if you don't mind the constant hocking of Disney products: http://familyfun.go.com/magazine/

This is a good list: http://www.crystalandcomp.com/2011/05/8 ... -for-kids/

http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/ one of our local bowling lanes also has cheap coupons for the shoe rental so while its not completely free, it is pretty cheap.

Oh, a lot of the major movie chains have free or cheap movies during the summer (this was where I figured out DS's aversion to movies, poor thing.)

free library programs! We LOVE the summer library programs, crafts, stroy, reading programs, art, etc... Also local Regal movies have programs for summer reading and free movies, etc...

Free bowling has been mentioned, what about local sprinkler parks, not sure if you live near the coast but maybe a small local beach.

any volunteer programs in your area? Local pet stores usually have adoption partners, and those adoption partners NEED volunteers. A lot (mine included) will allow young kids to participate as long as an adult is with them. You can check your local PetSmart, Petco, Petland, etc...or your local animal shelter.

What about religious organizations? Churches have volunteer programs too, food banks, soup kitchens, etc...

good luck!

I'm ADD adult.

Whats the problem with playing on his DS? I'm a child of video games, and of the TV. I'm guessing your not. The internet is very good for ADD. A copping mechanism for us, is to start many thing at the same time, and jump from one topic to the other in turn. The Internet, and electronic gadgets are great at doing that.

If you are among the crowd that scream heresy at everything with a screen, you doing them more wrong then good.

Books are a terrible idea. Unless is something factual, and really interest them. Just trust me on this, you'll doing a mistake if you try to force that.

From what I have seen there are very few parents here who eschew "screen time" all together. I personally just try to strike a balance and I recognize that the amount of screen time my son "needs" varies from day to day. I don't mind him spending a certain amount of time on video games and TV however, I really like getting him involved in other things too and I think this is what the OP is striving for as well. There are actually several other activities my son enjoys that don't involve electronics and sometimes he just needs a little more encouragement to get started in a different activity. For example he LOVES bowling, which surprised me, I thought the noise would be troublesome for him but as long as we don't spend too long, he has a great time. I think it can be tempting at times just to let our kids do their own thing all the time because doing anything else can take a lot of effort however, I think it is important for them to get a little out of their comfort zone once in a while and try new things.

PS - my son loves books, both fiction and non-fiction, as I have heard many other aspies do as well.

Do they have special interests that they hyperfocus on,, either separately or together?

I made all sorts of "plans" in my head and they are changing anyway due to changes in focus of special interests.

If they need some guidance, figure out what art supplies/toys etc. that you have can be adapted to special interests. They may not need much guidance and will get obsessed on a type of play on their own.

This from the guy with an avitar from a comic BOOK.

Have you looked into Scouting at all?

Also, what about YMCA day camps? It's fairly cheap and they keep them busy.

Did you come up with anything? I am stuck too. My daughter was supposed to do 2 weeks of camp but is refusing now So these next few weeks are really unstructured. People always suggest outing to the library and movies and stuff but I have 2 children. DD7 w Asperger's and DD5 who has attention issues. I worry that we will get to the library and the little one will be running around and the older one will have a meltdown over something. Then I am stuck dealing with it and being envious of my husband that is at work!

What are some things to do at home besides arts and crafts? The TV has been on way too much.

One thing you can do with the library that I just discovered - do your searching for books on their website (hopefully they all have one these days!) and put the books on hold. Then all you have to do is get there for 5 minutes to check them out.

You can also see if they have a delivery service - many libraries have this for elderly patrons; explain you have special needs kids and getting there is difficult for you.

There are all kinds of science experiments you can do at home - not a lot different than arts and crafts, but a change of pace: http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/ ... enscience/