Cardboard Boxes & Sticky Tape: Summer Fun

For many parents, the novelty of the summer holidays may already be wearing thin. There is pressure to keep children happy and entertained, yet a childhood expert from Middlesex University is championing junk modelling with cardboard boxes and sticky tape.

We’re all for creating bespoke boxes, so let’s find out more!

Holiday Activity Ideas: Junk Modelling

Dr Jacqueline Harding suggests that engaging in social interactions with children is more valuable than expensive days out. They can get as much enjoyment from active play with parents as from costly trips.

Creating Happy Memories is a Family Action project providing ideas for parents on how to initiate play and embrace mess to have a fun summer holiday without added financial stress.

We all have the odd cardboard box hanging around from a recent delivery and paints, along with collage using old magazines or junk mail can be used to decorate and transform this packaging into something exciting. Such activities spark creativity and help families bond.

If you are curious about how junk modelling can support child development, visit the Family Action website:

https://www.family-action.org.uk/get-involved/creating-happy-memories__trashed/

Giving your children freedom to create their own ideas is best – remember, it is more about the process than the end result.

If you prefer to start with a project in mind, there are plenty of online sites offering craft activities for kids using cardboard boxes, including these:

https://happytoddlerplaytime.com/cardboard-box-activities-crafts-for-kids/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/emmavanstone/things-to-do-with-a-cardboard-box/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0lJoMC7gCE

Best of luck with your  projects. It’s a good way to reuse those cardboard boxes and maybe it will develop the cardboard engineers and packaging designers of the future!