Healthline

It's Time to Get Real Help for Kids

time to Reach Out to Grandma & Grandpa

It's time we start getting real help for kids because kids today have ridiculous levels of stress and there is no better solution to the problem than grandma and grandpa. You don’t have to be an expert in anything to impress a child with your knowledge and leave an indelible impact. Helping kids can be as easy as tying a necktie or driving a car. Here’s a list of things to teach them they’ll never forget.

100 Ways Grandparents can offer real help for kids

1. Whistle. This skill tops the wishlist for preschoolers. If your grandchildren already know how to whistle, teach them to use their fingers to make it extra-loud.
2. Spread icing on a cake. This is a great tasting waste to offer help for kids. Show them how to spread icing smoothly on all sides to make it look just so. Get creative and pipe on some decorations, too. Don't forget to lick your fingers — and the bowl!
3. Dive. It's the coolest way to enter the pool. Help your grandchildren learn to use the proper technique and hit the water straight as an arrow. But remind them that diving is only for the deep end!
4. Grow a plant from seed. Help for kids can start with learning about Mother Nature. It's way better than gaming.
5. Shoot a basketball like their idols. By middle school, many young players are ready and eager to shoot one-handed like their favorite players.
6. Tie a necktie. Grandsons will feel grown-up when they ditch clip-on ties for the real thing. Watch them practice and give pointers. Older kids likely don't know how to tie a real bow tie, a lost art and a classy touch — and one you'll teach them.
7. Have a fingernail and toenail painting party with your granddaughters. Here is a colorful help for kids solution. This one on one time is as close as the nearest bottle of nail polish and you can teach them about self-respect and personal hygiene at the same time. A great way to combat future or current cyber-bullying.
8. Write a thank-you note. This is a skill your grandchildren can use for the rest of their lives. The simple appreciative gesture is fading fast. Help for kids is really powerful when they have a chance to go offline for awhile.
9. Discover the wonders of the local library. Show your grandchildren all the amazing free things the library has to offer. Search on the computer for books they love and teach them how to use call numbers to locate them.
10. Jump rope. Young children love the simple joy of mastering this healthy activity. Teach older children how to jump double-dutch.
11. Make water defy gravity. Young grandchildren will be amazed by the simple trick of holding water in a straw by placing your thumb over the top.
12. Identify a bird by its features and call. Help for kids can be as easy as a pair of binoculars and a bird watching journal.
13. Make a bird feeder. Whether or not you are a carpentry whiz who can make one of the little wooden houses or a bird lover who uses a plastic bottle, bird crafts are fun and educational.
14. Shuffle cards the cool way. Every kid wants to learn the riffle shuffle. Who knew help for kids could be as simple as a deck of cards?
15. Hit a baseball. If your grandchildren play T-ball, softball, or Little League, the fundamentals of hitting are the same. Watch their self-esteem grow with each base hit!
16. Blow on a dandelion and make a wish.
17. Swim all the strokes. Teach them the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and how to breathe as they swim freestyle.
18. Crochet a sweater or scarf. Teaching how to use a pair of knitting needles is a
19. Ride a two-wheel bicycle. A very important way to offer help for kids is by giving them their first taste of independence on a bicycle.
20. Putt a golf ball. Whether your family is made up of Arnold Palmers or of mini-golf lovers, teach them the art of the pure stroke.
21. Tying their own shoelaces is a frustration for most kids and grandparents can really offer help for kids during this time with patience and tolerance.
22. Do push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and other exercises. Make healthy physical exertion fun. The younger kids start, the better.
23. Discover the world from home. Explain what a globe is, then spin it. Have your grandchildren stop it with their finger, and tell them about the country they landed on, including time, climate, and cultural specifics. Help for kids is especially good when it is fun and educational, too.
24. Make a hat out of newspaper. Help for kids can be a blast by making hats and acting out scenes from movies.
25. Set the table. Get out your fine china and show them what a full place setting looks like, complete with all the accoutrements, and teach them how to elegantly fold a napkin, too. Help for kids and stress can be disguised at etiquette lessons.
26. Use good table manners. Teach your grandchildren what each piece of silverware is for and how to use it politely. Make this fun with a tea party (real or imaginary).
27. Shake hands firmly. Learning this skill is a great way to provide help for kids that will benefit them throughout life.
28. Eat with chopsticks. Another tasty help for kids solution.
29. Play with the garden hose. Show them how to use their thumbs to make the hose spray a wide arc or squirt a focused stream.
30. Practice photography. For grandchildren, who don't often get a chance to play with a real camera, share yours and point out techniques that make good photos.
31. Shop for a discount. Show your grandchildren how to get more for less, whether you're buying new shoes or just weekly groceries. Help for kids can be inexpensive.
32. Teach them to snap their fingers. Have a musically, fun time offering help for kids.
33. Push them on the swing so they can go higher.
34. Use all those tools in the garage. Your grandkids may have no idea what the tools are for. Let them help you with a simple home-improvement project. The best way to learn is hands-on, after all.
35. Tell time on an analog clock with hour-and-minute hands.
36. Play a new card game. If your young grandchildren don't know any card games, start with War .
37. Assemble a jigsaw puzzle. Set the top right-side up so you can refer to the image as you go. Find all the straight edges that form the perimeter. Group together pieces clearly from the same area of the image. Show the basic movements of each piece on a chess board.
38. Tell a good ghost story.
39. Speak another language. Teach them all the different ways to say buenos dias and au revoir. After that, start them on colors and counting.
40. Throw a Frisbee. It's all in the wrist. Once they get down the basic backhand toss, there are other cool throws like the forehand and the hammer. Later, teach them how to play Frisbee golf.
41. Do crossword puzzles.
42. Solve a Sudoku puzzle. Help for kids can also help with brain development.
43. Play a game of hangman. Play this simple game almost anywhere, as long as you have a pen and a sheet of paper.
44. Play croquet in the backyard.
45. Play jacks. Forget video games; this classic game will fascinate your grandchildren. Bounce the ball, grab the jacks, and catch that ball!
46. Arrange a vase of flowers.
47. Make an ice cream soda.
48. Share basics of sailing. Impart the special vocabulary (aft, starboard, come about), explain how a boat harnesses the wind, and let their imaginations run wild with thoughts of nautical adventure.
49. Sound it out. Young children need an adult who will sit while they slowly read their first books. Grandparents always want more cuddle time. Win win!
50. Fold origami shapes.
51. Wrap a present elegantly.
52. Drive a car. Increase what the kids learn in drivers' ed, take them to an empty parking lot and let them show their stuff. If you can teach them how to drive a stick shift, so much the better.
53. Shoot pool. Demonstrate the best way to shoot the cue ball with a cue. Help them hold their hands the right way and strike the cue ball cleanly.
54. Make scary flashlight faces.
55. Tie different kinds of knots. If you're a former sailor, eagle scout, girl or boy scout or girl guide, pass on your knowledge. Teach them how to tie a slipknot, a butterfly knot, or a figure eight. Help for kids can get you all tied up in knots with laughter, too.
56. Declare a thumb war — one, two, three, four.
57. Draw better. Share tips on how to draw figures with sharper dimension and better detail.
58. Perform tricks with a yo-yo.
59. Bait a hook. When fishing with the grandkids, teach them how to bait a hook themselves.
60. Braid a friend's hair.
61. Use a compass to find the way.
62. Identify constellations in the night sky.
63. Train a dog. Introduce the kids to ways to have dogs respond to a simple task like "sit" or "fetch." It will also bond the grandchildren to the dog for life.
64. Throw fastballs, curveballs, and more. Share the tricks to make a pitch dip, dive, curve, or rise, and your Little Leaguers will thank you over and over.
65. Throw a football in a tight spiral.
66. Make a sandcastle. Show them how to make a castle that stands proudly.
67. Build a campfire. There are many types of creative campfires you can build with grandkids.
    
68. Make a fire without matches or a lighter.
69. Play a musical instrument. Teach them the basics of your favorite instrument and see if they take to it.
70. Wash the car. This is one of life's great activities for kids: They learn how to wash a car, you both get all wet and have fun outside, and you get a clean car out of the deal!
71. Read music. Teach your future Mozarts the basics of how to read notes and measure time.
72. Tie a pretty bow. Young grandchildren hold this skill in high regard. Bows decorate things they hold dear: hair, presents, clothes, and shoes.
73. Do a cartwheel. Even if you can't do one yourself, you are proving that help for kids is as easy as spending time together and cheering on their efforts.
74. Twirl a hula hoop. Not only will your grandkids love learning to hula hoop, they will never forget the sight of you shaking your hips!
75. Whistle with a blade of grass. If you know how to do this, your grandchildren will be impressed. If you teach them to do it, they will remember it forever.
76. Juggle three or more balls.
77. Make play dough at home.
78. Show the steps to your favorite dance. If you are not exactly Fred Astaire, teach them something silly like the Hokey Pokey or the Chicken Dance!
79. Sing the lyrics to a Beatles' song. Who better than grandma or grandpa to take help for kids back to the 60's and 70's.
80. Balance a spoon on your nose.
81. Cook eggs. There are many fun, easy tricks grandkids can learn: crack the shell on the counter, separate the yolk from the white, make an omelet and fold it.
82. Make a star with a rubber band or provide excellent help for kids with some string and a quick search on Google for some Cat's Cradle designs.
83. Catch fireflies. Catching these enchanting little creatures is one of those magical childhood memories that the grandkids should not miss.
84. Walk along the curb like it's a balance beam.
85. Make shadow puppets with your fingers.
86. Tell a joke. Help your grandchildren exercise their funny bones; give them pointers on making their punchlines sparkle.
87. Throw a piece of popcorn in the air and catch it in your mouth. The ultimate way to offer help for kids.
88. Blow a bubble with a piece of gum.
89. Teach a stock-market lesson. Give your grandchildren a few shares, real or imaginary, in a company (even a single share will do). Encourage them to keep track of how the stock is performing and talk to them about the factors at work.
90. Shoot a rubber band across the room. Have a rubber band shooting competition.
    
91. Make a drinking glass sing by tracing the rim with a damp finger.
92. Play hopscotch. Get out the sidewalk chalk and introduce your grandchildren to this timeless game.
93. Create a flower necklace. The best kind of help for kids is just finding the flowers and spending the time together sorting out the patterns.
94. Fly a kite. Show your grandchildren how to run it out, give it slack, pull it taut, and manage the spool.
95. Making paper snowflakes is a wonderful way to provide help for kids. Make as many different shapes as you can.
    
96. Play Rock, Paper, Scissors. Kids love the simplicity of this game and will use it to settle almost any dispute.
97. Skip a rock across calm waters.
98. Amaze friends with simple magic tricks. Pull a rabbit from a hat, pull a quarter from behind their ear, or pull their nose off with a bit of deception. Whatever fun tricks you can impart, they will cherish.
99. Make guacamole. This delicious dip involves a little bit of seasoning and a lot of messy squishing. Let them use their hands.
100. Having a laughing contest.

Reference: http://www.grandparents.com/grandkids/activities-games-and-crafts/100-things-to-teach-grandchildren

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