KEEPING little ones cool and entertained can be quite the tricky task for parents in the summer months.
But it turns out there’s no need to fork out a small fortune on hundreds of garden games in a bid to keep them occupied.
Instead, a savvy mum has shared the genius idea she came up with – using cheap purchases from none other than Home Bargains.
And the best part of all? They cost as little as just 79p.
The woman named Amy Atkinson took to money-saving Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK and posted a snap of the shallow paddling pool set up in her back garden.
Cheap activity and keeps them cool
Amy Atkinson
Alongside the image, she penned: “Bought kids 2 crab fish nets 79p each, reusable ice cubes £1.29 and fake fish both Home Bargains.
“Filled little pool up as a pond.”
Amy noted: “Cheap activity and keeps them cool.”
It wasn’t long before the post racked up several likes and comments, with one praising: “Great idea!”
A second who tried and tested the idea with great success tagged a friend and wrote: “He loved this activity.”
Meanwhile, another who tagged a pal wrote: “Just literally sent you this lol.”
It comes after Fabulous previously told how Geordie Shore’s Holly Hagan shared an Ikea hack to keep kids entertained in the warm weather.
In a clip shared to Instagram (@hollyhaganblyth), the mum-of-one explained how she bought the ‘FLISAT Children’s table’ and coordinating chair from Ikea, which she then turned into a sensory table for her first child Alpha-Jax.
“I can’t believe this has come round so quick and I thought, ‘this can”t be too hard,’ so this is the flisat table and chair from Ikea,” she said.
“You can get the little bins to go with it as well.”
She then went on to say that she quickly realised there’d be no way Alpha-Jax would be able to reach the table with the legs it came with, so she swapped them with the shorter chair legs instead.
“It was actually really easy to build – it took me around 10 minutes,” Holly added.
She then explained that she made the water using blue jelly before digging plastic toy fish in which he had to dig out, and made the sand using Rice Crispies.
“Why on earth has no one else thought of this before because wow, that is a game changer for any child that loves to eat absolutely anything,” she commented.
Most of us welcome hot weather, but when it's too hot, there are health risks. Here are three ways to keep cool according to the NHS...
Keep out of the heat if you can.
If you have to go outside, stay in the shade especially between 11am and 3pm, wear sunscreen, a hat and light clothes, and avoid exercise or activity that makes you hotter.
Cool yourself down.
Have cold food and drinks, avoid alcohol, caffeine and hot drinks, and have a cool shower or put cool water on your skin or clothes.
Keep your living space cool.
Close windows during the day and open them at night when the temperature outside has gone down. Electric fans can help if the temperature is below 35 degrees. Check the temperature of rooms, especially where people at higher risk live and sleep.
