10 Fun Things to Do While Waiting in Line with Preschoolers

No one likes to wait in line. It is right up there with getting a root canal or having blood drawn. Long lines and international flights have got to be the two most irritating places to find yourself trapped when you are in the company of bored and irritable children 5 and under. Nothing causes a parent sweaty palms more than idol minds, fidgety fingers, and restless legs forced to stay put and keep quiet for a half-hour or more.

Here is a quick and simple list of things you can do to keep the whining at a minimum while you’re waiting:

1. Floor tile Fun: If you happen to be standing on multi-colored floor tiles ask your little ones to hop on each color, one at a time. Offer praise for the fastest hop, most accurate landing, best listener, etc….

2. Peruse the Shoes: Ask your kids to count and sort all the shoes they see while waiting in line. You’d be surprised at how much fun this activity can be, and how willing other line-waiters often are to join in the fun. How many people have on black shoes? open-toed shoes, gym shoes? Who’s wearing shoes without socks?

3. ABCs Hiding from Me: This one only works if your child can recognize at least some of his or her letters. Most long lines are fully equipped with plenty of signs around for your viewing pleasure. You can say you see an “A” and then let the child locate the “A” by going under it and pointing at it. When the child becomes more proficient, just up the anti by only giving the letter’s sound, then asking them to name it and find it. Long waits, such as in an airport terminal may allow you to go through the alphabet from A to Z. Anything is game if you are really stuck for time, even reading material being used by those in your immediate proximity, as long as you ask politely and your waiting neighbor is receptive.

Recommended Books:

4. Eye-Spy With My Eye: This trusty favorite has very simple rules. You see something and give out clues until your child correctly guesses what you are looking at. We like to make the game more elaborate as the child ages, but the simplest way to play is by naming a color that you see and asking your child to find an object of the very same color. Objects named that are the correct color are always correct, even if that is not the originally intended object. When the child answers correctly then it is their turn to choose a color and make the parent guess.

5. Simon Says: We play a modified version of this game, which is necessary if you are including toddlers two and under. Basically, Simon always says and no one is ever out. We play continually until Mommy or Daddy repeats a command (accidentally on purpose, of course). The kids will shout that they did it already, thus Mommy and Daddy lose and the kids win. Game over. Some good commands for standing still are: clap your hands, touch your nose, count to 10, stick out your tongue, stand on your tippy toes, etc… The littlest toddlers will always try to imitate the older ones and can be quite amusing to watch.

6. Walk the Line: This isn’t a Johnnie Cash solo, but if you are fortunate enough to have it downloaded into your ipod or nano then you can relax to it while the kids are busy trying to stay on task with this one. You need to have a floor with either grout lines or stripes in the carpeting or linoleum. The basic rule is that the child has to keep both feet either on or off the lines (depending on pattern and child’s skill level). Give the kids at least three chances to misstep before eliminating contestants. Winner chooses the next game to play.

Recommended Books:

7. What am I?: This is similar to charades, but we keep the guessing to a minimum by only acting out animal sounds and actions. Everyone gets equal turns and everyone is a winner when they guess the right animal!

8. Counting Coins: If you are desperate and have some spare change in a change purse there are countless things you can do with it. Your preschooler can sort them by size, count how many there are, arrange them in a line, stack them to make towers, and learn to name them with your help. I always reward my kids by letting them keep the coin if they can tell me what it is and after they’ve mastered that, how much it is worth. Then there is the issue of spending it….

9. Cup Toss: If you are in your thirties and grew up near Chicago, this is akin to Bozo’s “Grand Prize Game.” This is a good one if you can get a hold of a couple of clean coffee cups and a couple of pieces of paper. Just take the cups and place them in a line. Crinkle the paper into tight balls and tell your youngsters to stand in a designated spot. The kids will take turns trying to throw the paper wads into the cups. (The younger the child, the closer the cup, of course.) If you can’t find cups or your child is unable to get the paper in the cup just get a sheet of paper big enough and have them try to throw the wad onto the paper.

10. Rhyme Time: If you have exhausted this list and still have time to kill while you wait for a connecting flight, delayed bus or train, or are at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) trying to renew your license, this one may just save your sanity and keep the kids from forgetting their good manners. Just start with a letter of the alphabet, for example, “A”. Then ask your child for a word that begins with “A”; (let’s assume he or she says “Apple”). Now everyone has to rhyme with apple, all the way up to the letter “Z”. Bapple, Capple, Dapple, Eapple, Fapple, Gapple, Happle, … Zapple. This one will cause a lot of giggles and perhaps a few questions about what these other words mean. For really silly Seuss loving kids this is a great game for making up definitions to silly words and trying them out.

Well, there you have it, a handy how-to for that long boring queue!

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Caryn Talty

The editor of this website has a master's degree in English from Northern Illinois University and a bachelor of science degree in special education. She has taught students from early elementary school through college freshman level. Today she enjoys reading and writing about both hot topics and those not so commonly discussed on other websites. Most of her days are spent playing all kinds of make-believe with her three very young and active sons. | All articles by Caryn Talty.

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