The 5 Best Ways to Keep Your Kids Occupied This Summer, Ranked

5. Kitchen creativity

Tell them to make old-school ice pops. First, bust out the Kool-Aid. (Yes, they still make it — oh yeahhh!) Maybe don’t let your kid go crazy on the sugar, unless you want them running along the walls of your quarantined crib like Trinity in The Matrix. Pour into ice cube trays. Secure popsicle sticks inside each section. Freeze. Eat. Repeat. If you live in the burbs, let ’em sell them curbside to build that entrepreneurial spirit.

4. Zoom camp!

Find out which parents also need a break. Set up a day and time for the kids to interact via Zoom. Don’t give them dumb ol’ kids games: Instead, try adult icebreakers. Make sure everyone has a dope virtual background.

3. Buy them a kalimba

No, seriously. It’s an inexpensive, handheld, easy instrument to learn. Most important, it won’t drive you crazy as you hear them practice. Tell them their favorite rapper needs some kalimba samples for their next mixtape.

2. Give them a TikTok challenge

They’re on there every day anyway. Pay them to craft their own videos, complete with complicated dance routines. Bonus points if they go viral.

1. Push them toward a life of service

All jokes aside, the Quarantine Generation has seen more in the past year than most of us saw during our entire childhood. They’re brighter, stronger, and more altruistic, too. Have your kid log on to Youth Service America and decide how they can put that power into practice. And have them tell you what your next step should be.