
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 13, 1994                    TAG: 9406110038 
SECTION: DAILY BREAK                     PAGE: E3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: Larry Maddry 
DATELINE: 940613                                 LENGTH: Medium

KIDS BORED THIS SUMMER? MAKE THEM WASH THE CAT

{LEAD} WELL, HERE WE are into June. In just a few days your child will run into the house, mouth wider than Moon Pie, screaming: ``I can't believe it's over!''

Yep, the big day when school ends is right around the corner. That means your little Buttheads will be hanging around the house until September.

{REST} The first day it won't be a problem. Kids are remarkably self-sufficient for the first 24 hours.

They enjoy hanging out around the house, sticking soda straws up their noses, playing video games, staring into the refrigerator until frost collects on their eyebrows, and other stuff.

For the child, life seems good. No more homework. Bare feet for the next three months.

The problem will be on the second or third day when your munchkin looks into the refrigerator and, finding that there is neither a rock band between the mayonnaise and the pickles nor a miniature space shuttle in orbit around the light bulb, slam the door.

Then, in a world-weary tone of voice your little Butthead will say the words parents hate to hear most in the summertime: ``I'm bored.''

It was once widely believed that women began entering the work force in larger numbers for greater recognition and a desire to maintain a family lifestyle threatened by inflation.

Not so. It was to escape the guilt-trip that a bored 8-year-old can lay on a parent that women began filling out those job applications.

Nobody knows exactly why the dread words ``I am bored'' drove women into such diverse occupations as marketing and lumber jacking. Or why a child who is more creative than Leonardo Da Vinci at finding ways of avoiding homework in winter has his creative juices siphoned away by the summer solstice.

So, it's a good idea to begin planning now for the inevitable. Here are a few activities you can recommend:

Cat Washing. Tell your children to have fun and learn what parenting is like by washing and diapering the cat. All that's needed is a tub, a bar of soap, water, baby powder and a diaper. This is a valuable learning experience for both children and cats. Your youngsters will enjoy themselves all afternoon with this activity. Simply finding the cat under the house could take several hours.

Bang the Drum Slowly. There's probably an old 55-gallon oil drum in your garage. That's all your kids need to develop their motor skills and lung power with this inexpensive game. One child crawls inside the drum while the others roll it around the yard smacking the sides with monkey wrenches or tire irons. The child who screams loudest inside the drum wins the game.

Rat Roulette. Tell your kids they can convert the dryer in the laundry room into a gambling device by painting numbers and dividing stripes on the drum inside. Once they have caught a rat, the rodent is tossed inside the machine and the control set on the heavy duty cycle. Kids who have bet on the number where the rat lands at the end of the cycle win. If a rat isn't handy, a pair of rolled gray socks can be substituted.

Toilet Fishing. Yes, as fantastic as it sounds, your bathroom toilet can be converted into a trout stream for the amusement of your little anglers. Donning waders, a child stands in the toilet and fly casts a pin on a string tied to a stick into the nearby sink. Plastic fish are in the sink. The child who catches the most fish wins. Small children who cannot stand easily in the toilet should be allowed to stand in the sink and fish in the toilet.

by CNB