How to entertain child at home

My son has been playing in a cardboard box this morning, decorating it with his colouring pens so he can turn it into a robot. That’s kept him entertained for ages. Kinetic sand is also good for keeping him entertained, play dough etc. Sometimes he won’t play for long but other times, if I set him up a challenge like burying some coins in his sand that he has to dig up, then it will keep him entertained for a good while. X

My 5yr old is autistic and a massive sensory seeker, she love sensory play so we do a lot of water play, kinetic sand, playdoh etc. She also loves filling and pouring so things like rice, chickpeas in a tray with scoops and things. Nursery rhymes on and jumping on the bed 😂 she did have an indoor trampoline but much prefers jumping on our bed so I let her as she needs to be moving around/jumping etc to stay regulated. And screen time, helps to keep her regulated too and she’s learnt a lot from it with her speech, she’s actually a gestalt language processor so most of her speech is phrases from shows and songs!

He loves a tuff tray set up that he can keep coming back to and evolving. Yesterday he’d picked the final bits of fruit and veg from the garden, so it started with a farm set up. But then he wanted to wash the stuff, then it was a cafe for a bit, then the trucks came out and were food delivery vans, then it became shop play etc. Water tray in the garden, mud kitchen, soft play stuff, transporting and pouring tuff trays. He likes to ride his bike and use the climbing frame.

Loving play doh at the moment - our set has got some letters and moulds to make different shapes as well as a cutter. Also stickers, so activity sticker books are good to take up a bit more time. Colouring books. Jigsaws. Bubbles. Doctors kit. I also just get her involved in what I'm doing. She likes to watch me wash up, or prepping dinner e.g. peeling potatoes. Help make some cakes - using the packet mixes are good, as you don't need to measure out too many bits.