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Cabin Fever Prevention Many parents are at a loss for what to do when the weather is forbidding and spirits are below ankle-level. It can be terribly trying when school is canceled, and the playground is buried under snow and the children are bouncing off the walls. Luckily, here are some suggestions to keep your home intact and parents' good spirits bubbling over. When I was growing up, I had a baby-sitter who was my favorite person in the whole world. Whenever she babysat, she'd bring this large satchel that became known, appropriately enough, as the "Miss Olga Bag." It held all kinds of fun things: construction paper and cardboard, funny-shaped scissors, magic markers, crayons, pieces of multicolored string, glue and paste, different types of macaroni in nifty shapes, toilet tissue and paper towel tubes, jar tops to trace - everything a kid could want to make the most amazing artwork imaginable. She frequently had magazines to cut up and make collages with pictures of our favorite foods or cool cars. Once, we made a book with the pictures from magazines and framed the pictures with leaves from trees in the yard, arrows made from string, and cotton balls dyed with food coloring. It was a terrific way to beat the house-bound blues.

Move Over, BARNEY Movies are another way to help beat cabin fever. But there are only so many times parents can watch cartoon movies about cute cuddly animals and dinosaurs in distress. Try pulling out some "old" favorites. Classics are perfect for children. Swearing and gore were strictly avoided in the terrific movies from the 1930s through 1960s. Not only will the children be enchanted, but parents will be entertained and asked just enough questions for it to be a shared family time. Have you ever dragged out your old childhood photographs and sat down with your children to go through them? Kids are fascinated by the idea that their parents used to be young. Old photo albums are good for perking up a dreary afternoon, and you can even have the children help you put together an album just for them. Choose some old photos (anything from your old photos to baby pictures that didn't make the family album but just weren't destined for the garbage) and stick them with glue to some plain paper or even some wrapping paper for a festive touch. The kids even might come up with some funny sayings or ideas for "thought bubbles" to be added to the paper surrounding the pictures. Another great activity for children is cooking. Children can help you measure ingredients and put spoonfuls of batter on cookie sheets. They can help push a cereal treat mixture into the tin for cooling. They can assemble nachos, where chopping up tomatoes and shredding cheese before you sprinkle it over the chips is a ton of fun. These recipes also have the added benefit of being great to eat together, but, of course, must be supervised by an adult. Housebound days can be tiring and trying, but with a little imagination and some active parent participation, you can have a lot of fun with your children and get back to enjoying having them around. And what parent wouldn't like to spend more time doing that? by Jennifer I.W. Hess Jennifer I.W. Hess is a free-lance writer and full-time mother of three pre-schoolers..