101 Things to Do with the Kids

101 Things to Do When There's Nothing to Do - Quick Games for Planes, Cars and Waiting Rooms

Forgot to toss toys in your purse? Carry-on consigned to the cargo hold? Long waiting-room stay used up all your distractions? No matter how organized the parent, there will always come a time when your child will rely on you for distraction, just you and you alone. What do you do when you're stuck without props? Here are 101 informal activities that use nothing more than your clothing, your accessories, and whatever wits you have about you. If your child has a particularly short attention span or low tolerance for boredom, you may have to run through a whole string of these -- but finally, the time will pass.

Play "Rock, Paper, Scissors"
Arm wrestle
Thumb wrestle
Push palms together to see who can push the hardest
Stack hands one atop the other, pulling out the hand at the bottom and bringing it up top
Stack fists, using same rules as above
Stack arms, similarly
Play with your child's hair
Let your child play with your hair
Draw a letter on your child's back with a finger and see if he or she can guess
Draw a letter instead on your child's arm
Have your child draw a letter on your arm or back, and you do the guessing
Take off your shoe and have your child practice shoe-tying
Take off your child's shoe and find a different way to lace it
Take off your child's shoes and sock and use the socks as puppets
Use your wristwatch to give a lesson in telling time
Use your wristwatch to time things going on around you
Let your child try on your wristwatch
Let your child try on your jewelry
Count by twos, threes, fives, tens
Count backward from 100
Pick a number between one and 10
Teach the 9 times table trick
Give a math equation for your child to figure mentally
Give a string of math equations and ask for the answer at the end
Make up math story problems
Say words to spell
Say words to rhyme with
Play "I Spy"
Try some tongue twisters
Play "I Went to ..."
Sing some silly songs (softly)
Do songs with hand motions, with and without the words
Play "20 Questions"
Look for things out the window
Play paddycake
Teach your child some clapping games
Have your child teach you some clapping games
Whisper secrets, silly and serious
Say "Tell you tell me three things you did today"
Tell a story, taking turns one sentence at a time
Write a poem, taking turns one sentence at a time
Hide something (even just your thumb) in one fist -- guess which hand?
Count your change
Count your currency
Make a stack or a snake with loose change
Fold or roll up currency
Make a pattern, train, or house out of credit cards.
Show your child the pictures in your wallet (yes, even your driver's license)
Try to remember one of your child's favorite storybooks; let your child correct your mistakes.
See how your child looks in your glasses
Give an invisible manicure
Give an invisible pedicure
Get an invisible manicure or pedicure
Have your child name all his or her classmates
See how many people your child can name in your extended family
See how many birthdates of friends and family your child can recall
Name a relative's birth year and have your child figure out how old; invent relatives if necessary
Guess what the people around you do for a living
Make a Christmas or birthday wish list
Count how many words you can spot -- on signs, posters, clothes
Make faces
Play Straight Face
Try to make each other laugh -- last one wins
Have a staring contest
Have your child narrate a favorite movie
Interview your child for a TV news show
Speak Pig Latin
Play "Truth or Dare"
Make up your own secret code
Think of rhyming words for items around you
Take turns naming words for a letter of the alphabet; last one to think of a word wins, and you move to the next letter
Same as above, but with rhymes
Same as above, but with entries in categories
Explain the meaning of various figures of speech
Make up silly similes
Make a puppet face with your fist, with your thumb as the lower jaw
Flip a coin
Do "This little piggy" on feet or hands
Give a backrub
Get a backrub
Crawl fingers up your child's back or arm like a spider
Make up an acronym for your child's name, and the names of other family members
Ask for favorites: TV show, movie, book, color, game, animal, friend
Play peek-a-boo
Give your child the name of an object and ask what color it is, what letter it starts with, what shape it is, if it's heavy or light
Go on a "hike" with your two fingers walking over your child's arms, shoulders and head
Break an egg over your child's head by rapping it gently with your fist and then opening your hand to make the egg roll down the face
Do charades
Be mirror images
Play "Simon Says" on a smale scale.
Throw an imaginary ball
Blow imaginary bubbles
Blow a raspberry on your child's arm
"Steal" your child's nose
Be a little goldfish
Do "Here is the church, here is the steeple," or make your own version for another building
Try guided relaxation
Practice breathing techniques
Repeat what the other person says; repeat what the other person says.
See who can go the longest without talking.