They're ruthless, unstoppable and terrifying. They know who you are and will stop at nothing to wear you down. It's day one of the kids' school holidays and you know those fateful words are only seconds away... "I'm booooored".
Never fear! With these handy hints you will manage to escape any breaks from school relatively unscathed.
Preparation and projects
To prevent boredom before it starts use the power of Windows Calender to prepare a schedule of event and activities. Depending on your budget you can either go to lots of local events or use sites like Entertain the kid or go to the dedicated holiday section on the BBC Parenting site for ideas that don't cost very much at all.
Holiday advice from the experts
"Entertaining your children in the summer holidays can be a daunting thought. We find that many mumbs and dads struggle to balance outdoor play with the growing desire of their childrne to be interactive with technology.
My own children are encouraged to involve me with what they are doing, and I try not to use electronic devices as a 'babysitting service'. Being positive about the start of each day and planning your activities can make a huge difference; mixing games and education can be fun.
"My advice to parents is use technology to creative an activity, like a treasure hunt with clues and maps. Become a part of their world and let your children amaze you".
"The key to keeping your sanity is to have plenty of things on hand, andm ake sure you vary the type of activity.
"If you include a few planned trips out, some energetic games for outside or in the home, and also plenty of quieter activities to calm the kids down, then you'll be able to cater for all types of weather and energy levels".
It's also important for you kids to be left alone to develop their own interests and imaginations (that's how you justify a little 'you time'!). Take advantage of some holiday specials and buy a digital camera or two for as little as £20, invent a project or theme and set them loose. On the inevitable rainy day they can simply plug the cameras into Windows Vista and spend hours creating their final photo project.
Use Windows DVD Maker to burn their projects onto DVD and then make a movie premiere out of it. Turn off the lights, set up the TV, sell tickets and let them be the award-winning actors walking down the red carpet to launch their photo movies.
The weather, as mentioned, tends to be the biggest problem in the holidays. It's probably wise to invest in a weather RSS feed such as the one offered by the BBC, so you can keep up to date and adjust your schedules accordingly.
If it does end up raining for days and you're all edging towards homicide then owning a decent PC is going to put you at a distinct advatnage. Instead of the inevitable screams about who chose the movie last time simply put one bunch in front of the TV and another in front of the PC. Windows Media Player is easier to use than a DVD player and you can play a genius version of musical chairs with it too - the loser gets to choose the next song and visualisation. Close the curtains and go full screen (press Alt and Enter) for a party atmosphere!
Broaden horizons
The holiday's are also an opportunity for your chidlren to broaden their horizons so let them use Windows Vista to look up interesting subjects. Pretend that they are the teachers and you are the student and ask them to give you a lesson once a week. Make sure that the Parental Controls have been set up (you'll need to create a separate user account for them, then open up Parental Controls in the Control Panels) so that they can surf securely and then let them find a topic and prepare your lessons.
Hopefully these cunning strategies will make sure that you holiday is all about enjoyment - for you and them.
Tamsin MacKay contributes to Windows Vista: The Official Magazine, and works as a freelance journalist.
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