Winter rough on parents of young kids

Winter is a tough time for most people, but for parents of young kids, it can be downright brutal.

Despite our best intentions, my wife Amanda and I have struggled to keep our two boys entertained this winter, especially when the weather turns cold enough to prohibit any outdoor activities.

As someone who grew up on a farm, I’m a firm believer in the positive effects of playing outdoors. When temperatures permit, I try to get the boys outside as often as possible. We build snow forts, visit the nearby playground and hit the tobogganing hills. Often times I’ll even suit them up to assist me as I shovel the driveway.

After an hour of fresh air, they eat better, they sleep better and their behaviour even seems to improve. But when the weather turns cold, tempers generally heat up in our house.

For a while, we can keep the peace with toys, board games, movies and iPad activities. A prolonged wrestling match with Dad is always good fun, until somebody bonks their head or Dad gets kneed in the groin.

Once all those tried-and-true distractions cease being effective, we dig out the Lego, or Play-Doh, or Hot Wheels –  but eventually they become bored with those things too.

Then the whining starts.

“Daaaaad! Grayson pushed me!”

“Mooooom! Rylan is touching my water cup!”

If cooped up for consecutive days, they start to behave like caged apes. They climb on the furniture, raid the pantry without permission, and turn their pent-up frustrations on each other. Brothers that once got along fabulously suddenly begin picking fights, punching, pinching and biting for no good reason, forcing Daddy to dole out discipline on a near-hourly basis.

When the cold snap persists and outside activities are out of the question, we are forced to take alternative measures. Sometimes a trip to an indoor play centre helps burn off energy. A visit to the swimming pool is also a favourite family activity, though it usually exhausts us parents more than the kids. My wife recently took them out to the Abbey Centre in Blackfalds, which I suspect will become another popular destination for us when the thermometer dips below - 15 C.

Lately, it feels like we’re running out of ways to keep them entertained, which is alarming because there are still three months of winter still ahead. We even looked into a warm weather getaway, but it turns out that planning a trip for a family of four is a rather significant financial investment.

Let’s just hope my sanity can hold out until spring.

Leo is a former Advocate editor. Contact him by email at newsdeadline@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LeoPare