IDEAS FOR ENTERTAINING TWEENS DURING THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

It’s that time of year again when parents up and down the land have the difficult task of keeping their young ones entertained throughout the school holidays. Many of us are already feeling the pinch this year due to rising inflation, staggering petrol prices and costly utility bills – theme parks, day trips and daily ice creams can all leave a huge dent in your wallet.

So, when your little ones are bored of the swings but not old enough to go out and socialise with friends alone, how can you keep this difficult to please age group entertained? Thankfully, with a little forward planning, there are many cheap and free ways to keep your little darlings off their screens and enjoy creating those memory-making school breaks…

1. Museums Museums offer free or cheap interactive fun for all the family. Take Manchester’s National Football Museum, where children can have a go at a penalty shoot-out. Entry costs £11 for an adult and £6 for a child, but there are discounts for local residents and kids under five go free.
   

London’s Science Museum is free and features a huge range of interactive exhibits including a play area in the garden and a multi-sensory gallery to learn about patterns.

If your child is a train fanatic, it’s hard to beat York’s world famous – and free – National Railway Museum, where visitors can pretend to ride locomotives and engines throughout history. There are many smaller local museums that have craft days and things on for children during the holidays, so check them out online.

2. Park life Although your tween might be too old for swings and roundabouts, a local green space or park is the perfect place to meet with other friends and organise some good old-fashioned ball games. Think rounders, football, or even just running races to get them into the competitive spirit. Keep a scoresheet and use your phone for a stopwatch. Many local parks also host activities for older children including basketball courts and skate parks. Bring a picnic to make it a very cheap but fun day out.

3. Cinema and theatre On rainy days, a trip to the cinema or local theatre doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg. A few cinema chains offer heavily discounted tickets for screenings mid-mornings at the weekend, and every day during school holidays. Here are some deals on offer: • Cineworld’s ‘Movies for Juniors’ screenings cost £2.50 for a child. • Odeon Kids run a deal where the adults pay the same price as a child, with the offer running every day during the school holidays as well as each Saturday and Sunday. • Vue has ‘Mini Mornings’ screenings from 10am during the school holidays. Both adult and child tickets cost just £2.49 each.

If you live in or near London, you can also take advantage of Kids Week. Between 1 and 31 August, a child aged 17 and under can get a free theatre seat when accompanied by a full-paying adult, plus an extra two children can attend for half price. Participating West End shows include Disney’s Frozen and Grease.

Some local theatres also offer 'pay what you can' performances, where the price is up to you to decide. They’ll usually be on a specific date in a show's run, and will have limited availability, so you may need to be quick to book.

There are many more ideas for cheap and free things to do over the summer, including free splash parks, play areas, beaches and even local libraries and churches, which often have free activities and summer challenges for all ages – check out what’s near you locally.

And finally…buying clothes for growing children can be costly and old clothes that no longer fit often end up going to landfill. Keep the costs of renewing clothes every few months down with an online clothing rental company. Littleloop.com have easy payment plans where you can rent well-known clothing brands and return them once your child has outgrown them for a fraction of the cost of buying new.