Do you struggle to keep your children busy after school? It can be very tiresome to deal with energetic children after a long day at work. Fortunately, you don't necessarily have to use up a lot of your own energy to keep the kids entertained.

Clubs and Societies

One of the easiest but in many cases costliest ways of making sure your kids remain entertained after school is to enroll them in various clubs and societies that relate to their interests.

For example, sporty young kids would probably love the opportunity to use up their excess energy taking part in activities such as football, swimming, gymnastics, athletics or alike. Consult the school, community centre or your local council on opportunities in your area.

Do you think your child could do well in music? If it's singing they might be good at, find out how to join the local choir. Perhaps there is one at the school, the community centre or the local church. For those looking to learn how to play an instrument, there are options as well. Most schools have an orchestra or band of sorts that it could be possible to join. Alternatively, hire a private tutor.

Other options for after-school fun and socialising include joining groups such as the Brownies or Scouts. These are great for teaching your children how to be independent, and gain some real life skills.

There could be some more niche interest groups on offer in your local area too that could see your little one learning anything from survival skills to floristry.

Kitchen Fun

If you, your older children or your childminder are keen cooks, transfer this interest and these skills to the younger generation. No one is ever too young to help out in the kitchen; it's just a case of assigning age-appropriate tasks that don't involve sharp knives or other potentially dangerous kitchenware.

You could be baking or making dinner for mum and dad. Activities that young kids can do are mixing ingredients, kneeding dough, and washing fruit and veg, for example.

Experiments

Scientific exploration and discovery should be encouraged, as it teaches kids a lot about how the world works. You'll be happy to hear you don't need many resources to carry out experiments at home. Many can be done with the help of just a few common household items. Find instructions online or in children's activity books. Many charities and educational foundations produce materials that you could use, such as the popular SEEDKIT.

These types of activities are often meant to make it easier for children to understand scientific concepts such as electricity, buoyancy and viscosity.