Many of us baseball parents have other children that have to get dragged along to games and tournaments, and often times they sit there bored all day because they’re not the ones playing. You would definitely want to keep kids busy on an airplane or car trip, and this could be a similar experience for them. It’s really unfair to expect kids to be captivated by their brothers’ or sisters’ games, so we need to plan for things for bored kids to do while they’re there. Here are a few ideas for what to do for bored kids while you’re being entertained by the games.
iPad
An iPad is probably the best way to keep another child busy while your baller is in the games. As we all know, there are plenty of games they can play like Pokémon Go and Clash Royale, and there are also a lot of educational things they can do on it as well, such as Science Friendzy, Math Friendzy, and Language Arts Friendzy. If you don’t want to invest in an iPad, they can also do all of these things on your iPhone.
Reading
Not all kids enjoy reading, but what a great time to get them to read a great book! Most kids love the Harry Potter books and the Hunger Games series. They can even bring along their reading books from school or homework that needs to get done and we all know how short on time we can be. There are thousands of books available, and the kids can even download them onto the iPad.
Games
It’s always a good idea to keep a set of travel games in your car for baseball tournaments. This can engage your kid and also other kids that have to be there for the day. Kids love to play cards, checkers, chess, and other board games. You can also get a portable Battleship game to bring along.
Sports
Bring along a football, extra baseball gloves and baseballs, a skateboard, or a paddle ball set to keep your other kids from getting bored. This can also get parents up and moving to stretch out their legs between innings and games.
Keep Score
You could teach your other kids to do the score book or you could get one of these nifty portable hanging scoreboards and let them update the score. Kids love to do this and it will keep them occupied throughout the game.
Sidewalk Chalk
This is another great idea that I got from some parents that really works to keep kids busy. Not only can they draw with it, but they can use it to play games like hop scotch and tic tac toe.
Bleacher Chair
I’m just throwing this one in there as a courtesy for your kid. I see a lot of parents bring themselves these nice comfortable chairs to relax in, and they expect their kids to sit on hard bleachers with no back support all day. No bueno! Make sure your other kiddies are comfortable too. It’s only fair.
Exercise
Many baseball fields have places for your kids to exercise and run around. Sometimes there are even playgrounds nearby for the little ones to keep busy on. This can even be an opportunity for you and the kids to take a walk or run together while the team is warming up or in between tournament games.
Snacks
You definitely can’t expect the other kids to go to a baseball game and not have something to munch on. I guarantee you they’re going to be STARVING by the 3rd inning, so make sure you bring along some snacks. Check out my page of Easy Healthy Snack ideas for super simple things to bring that everyone likes.
Pop-up Tent
A small pop-up tent for siblings to play in makes them feel like they have their own little place to go and also gives them shade. I’ve heard from a lot of parents who bring these and they say it really helps to keep them occupied.
I’d love to hear your other ideas for things to keep siblings busy at long games and tournaments. Please feel free to drop me some comments and suggestions below. 🙂
That’s a common problem of many parents. I’ not a parent but I used to get bored very much when my parents dragged me with them.
Now it’s easier then before because when I was a kid tecnhology wasn’t like this. We didn’t have iPads. But now it’s all easy.
Thanks for stopping by my page, Tyler. I have two kids and whenever the one who’s not playing has to tag along, it does get very boring for him. The iPad definitely is a big help. 🙂
Always a great idea to plan in advance for siblings to be entertained. You are right, it’s not fair to expect them to be captivated. I once brought a 9-month-old out to the park with a friend to play some bocce ball. I was truly expecting her to be fully entertained by the balls rolling all over the grass. Wrong! No interest whatsoever.
Games are fun and tablets are great. Especially if you reserve the tablet time for game days. That will give the little ones something to look forward to during the week.
Thanks so much for visiting my page. I appreciate your comments! 🙂
Haha i like this article. There were many times throughout my life where my parents dragged me to places I didn’t want to be at and at that age, I would of gone with your first option and played on an ipad. Pokemon is an awesome time waster for sure. The bleacher chair is a good idea as well because it can get uncomfortable standing all the time.
Hi Josh. Thanks so much for visiting my page and for your comments. Keeping my other kid occupied during my son’s games has always been one of my biggest challenges as a baseball mom. 🙂