Q: I have a 6-year-old and an 8-year-old. During the winter, they get cabin fever. What kinds of things can we do so they don't just lounge in front of the TV?

A: The first thing we'd suggest is bundling them up and taking them out into the fresh air.

		Parenting 4 Kids Nationally accredited, 4 Kids Early Learning Network serves children and families throughout the Mon Valley. Through this column, 4 Kids staff members answer reader questions about raising children in the critical early years. E-mail questions for consideration to: questions@4kidsearlyed.org, or mail to: 4 Kids Questions, 445 Fourth St., Braddock, PA 15104.

If there's snow, make snow people, snow angels, or a snow fort. Play detective and hunt for footprints and animal tracks. If there's no snow, take a walk and look for hanging icicles and other signs of winter. Once you're back indoors, the kids can draw pictures of what they did and saw.

Winter's also a great time to explore your local library, the Children's Museum, and other wonderful resources in the area. Many of them are free.

When you're at home and inside, there are a million things to do -- especially if you start now to put aside some materials for creative play. Save square plastic milk jugs -- they can make great igloos. Have the kids pretend they're penguins, and watch their imaginations blossom.

If you don't already have an art box, now's the time to start stocking up on crayons, paper, washable fingerpaints, safety scissors, and other arts and crafts materials. Pull out the art box for hours of quiet indoor play.

How about giving the kids cooking lessons, and encouraging each of them to develop a specialty? Simple recipes for things like pasta sauce, cookies, soups, and more have "kid appeal," and working together is a great opportunity for parent-child conversation and bonding.

You can read a favorite book together -- and then the kids can act it out. They can create the scenery, write the script, and put together some costume elements. You get to sit back and enjoy the show.

The basic principle is this: the best cure for cabin fever is a little bit of creativity!