Some schools set it and others don’t, but homework over the holidays is one way of keeping the little terrors occupied and ready to get back into the swing of school once the “wonderful” SIX week long holidays are over.

I would even go as far to suggest that parents actively ask teachers for homework for their children; keeping them occupied with geography, english, math (eek!), etc, is a good way to keep them quiet on a rainy day and another way of keeping them out from under your feet, especially on those rainy days.

Also, for the older children, getting them used to “working” will benefit them when they come to the world of work.

This August has seen some pretty dismal weather, with not a lot of indication that it will pick up anytime soon. So what are parents doing with the hundreds of thousands of kids that are off school and bored?

Well, doing the same thing day in and out will only annoy everyone involved, so varying the things to do is a must. But how? Within the same four walls there are only so many things to do!

My sister-in-law gets the kids involved in her daily activities, from the cleaning and washing to the tidying of rooms, especially their bedrooms. The incentive is that when they are helpful and achieve a task, they get to do something more fun, like watch a film or have a biscuit or two with their juice.

It might not be the easiest thing to get them involved in, but its one way of getting things done.

Once up on a time, I was a child and spent hours badgering my parents to play board games with me. Why, I am not too sure as I find them deathly dull these days, but at the time they must have been great fun.

Looking around the local toy store I tried to find a couple of games to play with the niece and nephew – and I couldn’t find a single game that I understood or wanted to play. They all seemed to be basically the same, with different pictures of the latest “hot young star” on the cover.

I that all it takes these days? A pretty picture of a popular person and the game is an immediate hit? Wow, no wonder kids are more demanding for toys, the ones out there are pretty poor!

There are quite literally thousands of books, programs, magazine articles, and tips from friends and family, about how to encourage the kids to eat healthily and enjoy it too.

And I think I’m starting to see this for myself. I never really enjoyed cooking for myself, and was much happier with a take-away or ready meal, but now I regularly look after my young niece and nephew, I worry that they are not eating the right things when they visited me, so I made an effort to do good – and found myself having a blast too!

All of these articles and guides need to promote the amount of fun the adults can have with making faces in fruit salads!

Over the years, TV, gaming, films, etc, have been blamed for causing kids to act out, becoming rude, anti-social and often violent.

I disagree.

I have a brother with 3 kids, and he lets them watch TV – with him and his wife. They are not left alone to “veg out” in front of the TV, or led to believe that this would be an option. TV in this household is a shared activity, where they sit down after dinner or watch a program or two before bed.

Yes, there are arguments over who gets to watch what, but they talk it through, and come to a fair conclusion. The system works, the family spends regular time together, and everyone enjoys themselves.

The only harm I can see is from those parents unwilling to govern their childrens activities – and a lazy parent will only encourage lazy children.