Keeping kids busy in the Qatar heat
Vacations have started and you have all the sweet time to yourself and your family. As ideal as that sounds, we know that children get bored pretty quickly, especially if they have to spend the larger part of the day indoors. You can head out to the parks but do so after evenings, when temperatures drop. Never expose children to heat unless you have adequate sun protection and water at hand, and be sure to usher them to sheltered, cool indoors as soon as you can. Take special care in case of infants. Dehydration is a more common and dangerous problem than you might think.
Keep the kids well hydrated and give them lots of summer fruits to feast upon. Let them make fruity popsicles out of freshly squeezed fruit juices.
Here are a few more ways to beat the heat and keep your children happily occupied during summer break.
Indoor games and activities
There are a number of ways you can get creative and make a play area of your own at home for kids. Just hand the kids a few props and they are all set! Children love to live in their make-believe world.
If you worry that turning the tables over for pretend-boat will ruin the furniture, you can convert unused cardboard boxes for the same purpose.
Sit your kids down and make a board game of your own. All you need is a chart paper pasted on a cardboard surface and a few markers and colors.
Get some face paints and let your imagination run wild!
Choose a safe place inside your home where your kids can play ping pong. You can either purchase the play-at-home ping pong set which comes with an attachable net, or you can create makeshift gear by using clipboards or plastic chopping board for racquets and upturned books for net.
Make some scary or funny masks with chart paper and play masquerade games, or dumb charades.
Remember the popsicles made from fruits? Keep the popsicle sticks and let the kids use them to make creative projects. Picture frames, stick structures, car tracks are just a few ways to use them.
Just get your creative juices flowing and make the vacations memorable for yourself and your kids!
Eat out and play
Fortunately, you don’t have to stay locked indoors throughout summer because of the discouraging heat. Many malls, restaurants have play areas for kids where you can shop, eat and have your children stay entertained. A few options are below.
Whenever you are out with your kids on a shopping spree or running to get groceries, don’t worry about rushing home and preparing food in time. Treat yourself and your kids to a nice lunch. If you spot a Pizza Express outlet, you are in good hands. They offer good food as well as entertainment for your kids. Children can get creative and make their own pizza, with chef’s cap, apron and the works. Now that’s some quality time spent with your kids, and creative time for them; win-win!
This hidden gem is not known by many people. Located in Marwan Club, it boasts of fresh produce right out of its own garden there. Enjoy the farm-to-table organic delights while your children play in the well-manicured lawns of the restaurant. They are offering pony or carriage ride after lunch or before dinner Saturday till Thursday at Al Shaqab Arena (Gate 7). Take your kids on a pony trotting adventure and join the fun yourself too.
Almost every mall in Qatar has indoor theme parks or playing areas for children.
Gondolania Indoor Theme Park at Villagio
The exciting indoor theme park has something for everyone. Spread across Villaggio it hosts entertainment from ice-skating, gaming arcades, go-karting, laser-tag, to trampolines and 4-D cinemas.
Circus Land at Landmark Shopping Mall
Clowns, balloons, carousels, elephants and airplanes; Circus Land is true to its name. The elephant and airplane are huge replicas of course, but all the other components add to the carnival atmosphere at this play zone.
Jungle Zone at Hyatt Plaza
Hyatt Plaza has a children’s indoor park of its own. Jungle Zone has creative games in a rainforest and tropical forest themed park. Its rides are safe and fun to use for infants to children up to 12 years of age.
Funville, Ezdan mall
The large play area for kids is on the 2nd floor of Ezdan Mall. It has a Play Zone dedicated to games and rides and another area, Fun n’ Learn for learning with creativity.
Be sure to check out the Wathnan Fun City opening on Wednesday, July 6 at 11 AM.
And now a mention of parks in Qatar. Always remember the rule of thumb about parks and any outdoor entertainment; plan for those in the evenings and night. Any time before that is off limits in this Doha summer heat.
Rumeila (Al Bida) Park
This park has several outdoor games for children, including skateboarding and rollerblading, boats and train rides.
Plan a family outing to AL Khor Park. It is open till 10 PM, so you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the rides and games after sunset. The park includes a waterfall, aviary, miniature golf course, battery-operated train, children’s play area, a basketball court, amphitheater, skating area and a museum.
Al Khor Park by Mohamed Rimzan
Aspire Park offers scenic landscapes, walking and running tracks, calm lake and playground for children.
Aspire Park by Geraldine E
The park of Museum of Islamic Art spreads its wide green lawns with playing areas allotted for children. Its latest offering is an artistic carousel named "Enchanted East".
Other options for your summer adventures can be:
Aqua Park Qatar
A splash (or more) in the waves of this waterpark is a heat buster for sure. Pack your towels and suntan and head for the park, on a Friday preferably as it is family-only day.
Megapolis Entertainment Center at Medina Centrale
This gaming zone is a designed outlet for entertainment and games for kids and adults. It has various arenas like Action Zone, bowling, karaoke, billiards, indoor golf gaming arcades and dining areas. It is located at Medina Centrale in The Pearl, Qatar.
Qatar Summer Festival
1 August – 31 August
The Qatar Summer Festival (QSF) is hosting festivities like the last three times, under the banner of “Color Your Summer”. The Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC) will see the return of The Entertainment City and will host events like comedy shows, concerts, and sports activities.
Stay tuned for the opening of Kidzania, an edutainment park for children, set to open in 2017. It will be based on role playing games for children from 4 – 14 years, in a city designed upon realistic and fun elements for kids.
Check out the latest summer camps this year in this post.
Happy holidays!
