DIY for kids

Have you ever encouraged your kids to help you with the DIY? I am always getting the boy involved, as Dad M is not that practical when it comes to the decorating it is nice to have the boy on hand to help. OK! I know it’s not every ones idea of fun, but from early on the boy has been interested in building whether its Lego, train sets or just wooden building blocks. The boy is great at sorting out the different screws when we build ikea furniture, he can fit the dowels and tap them in. He has built wardrobes with me before, and is always on hand to pass me a tool.

When I first found that B&Q do kids workshops and that they were free I was surprised at the quality of the objects the boy was making, now 8 months on the projects get better and better. The boys latest project was a trinket box, it didn’t sound that exciting, and possibly a bit girly but how wrong was I!

This has to be my favourite make yet. The trinket box involves 4 sides fitted to form an oblong, then a base which had been loving machined by Dean our B&Q carpenter. There is a lid with an insert so that the lid fits beautifully, and a knob to top the box. But what I think finishes the box beautifully is the addition of wallpaper. Yes we used a small amount of sample wallpaper from the store to great effect. The boy chose some classic cars, and it makes the trinket box looks so professional.

Now I would recommend that if you have a child aged 7-11 then you should give these workshops a go and you can find all the booking details here on the B&Q website. Not all stores take part, and we have to drive 20 minutes to Havant, but it is worth the petrol and time. I will add that each store is different, while they may be making the same project the finished article will depend on the staff running the workshop. Dean and Robert who run the Havant store workshops are brilliant, and go far beyond the call of duty to make sure the kids not only finish the projects but that they also have something at the end to treasure.

If you can’t make it to the store, then there are a number of handy project sheets so you can make your own bird house, feeder and boats. For fathers day we will be making toolboxes and boats, although I do think that Dad might not get given them if the boy decides they are too nice to give away. Have a look at the sledge we made in Jan, now we need some snow this year to try it out. The boy also made a Christmas tree advent calendar and a spooky bat.

I find you asking why is this a magic moment? Well inspired by a weekend of making pom poms and crafting paper aeroplanes I thought that the boy should take his projects into cubs and see if he could get his DIY badge. Now I am proud to say that he passed and now has his official DIY cub badge ready for me to sew on!.

I have included pictures of just some of the fantastic things he has made, and I hope it inspires you to let you kids have a go at DIY with you very soon.