07/07/2025
What to Do With Children in an Air Raid Shelter
By Lviv Times
School is out, summer is here, and Russia is stepping up its use of drones - it’s a good time to think about your plans for spending time with your young ones in your air raid shelter.
As with other wartime scenarios, it is best to think ahead, plan, and prepare. This is even more important for children, who can easily adapt, but still rely on routine.
With a little planning, long hours spent away from home in a location that may not have internet or electricity can make the experience less stressful - and even one that can be rewarding.
The main idea is to have your children focus their thoughts on a task - participating in storytime, completing an art project, competing in a game, or finishing a project.
The most important thing is to be prepared. You may be in the shelter for hours without electricity or internet, so be sure to have your ‘offline’ activities prepared - either already in your air raid shelter or in your ‘Go Bag’ that you bring along with you.
Be sure to include your child’s favorite toy, any materials needed for the activities you plan to do, and some snacks and drinks.
Here are a few more tips from the staff of Lviv Times:
Storytelling - A tried, true, and trusted stress reliever
Telling stories is a wonderful way to transport your children (and yourself!) to another world - and a great way to relieve stress. It’s also what our ancestors did during similar times of crisis centuries ago.
It’s best to stock your air raid shelter with at least a few stories that you want to share with your kids. You can also download audio of professional storytellers reading your favorite tales, or even watch them online if you have internet and electricity.
Among the best for the situation are folk and fairy tales. It’s a great way to teach your kids about culture and history, and many come with great moral lessons to teach as well. Some might even have been read by your great-great-great-grandparents to your great-great-grandparents while they were under attack.
Folk and fairy tales are also great interactive stories. Be sure to stop along the way and ask questions like “What would you do here?” or “What sound do you think a dragon makes?”
Repetitive singing games with hand and body movements also keep kids engaged. In your planning, ask which ones are their favorites, and have them teach you the movements (or find the game on YouTube).
Games - a fun way to focus attention
Kids love games. So too, often, do adults.
So, having your favorite family games - and a pack of cards - is a great way to pass the time and often a great conversation starter.
Try to keep your favorite games in the air raid shelter you use most often. The long hours spent underground are a great way to teach and perfect a new game, like chess, while you’ll find useful games that feature many players.
Try to carry a pack of cards. In addition to a regular deck, consider adding a pack of Uno cards, or a pack of cards with questions, like “Would you rather have 100 $1 toys or 1 $100 toy?” or “Would you prefer to be raised by wolves or gorillas?” You can also have a list ready on your phone or even print a list of questions.
Some families keep a running annual score of a particular game and have prizes at the end of the year during the holiday season.
Art Projects - A unique way to remember trying times
Few activities offer children a way to express their emotions better than art.
With the amount of time spent in our shelters, art projects are a great way to focus attention and end up with something to mark the experience.
Stock your shelter with basic arts and crafts materials, such as paper, colored pencils, scissors, tape/glue, and thread. ‘Play Doh’ is also very handy. Be sure to have paper and markers in your ‘Go Bag’ as well.
It is helpful to discuss a project with your young ones ahead of time. Perhaps they want to make friendship bracelets to give to their friends or other children in the shelter? Maybe they’d like to make a dreamcatcher to help them sleep at night? Maybe they’ll create a large picture that you could frame? Whatever it is, discuss it first and make sure you have the materials you’ll need for when the time comes.
Some families use the time to sew camouflage nets to provide to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, while others make items to be sold for a fundraiser. Some families use the time to sew vyshyvankas (embroidered shirts). The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
Do discuss with your kids what they might want to have at the end of the war to reflect the time spent in your shelter. This has the added benefit of demonstrating your certainty that the war will, indeed, end at one point.
Learning - Find a new skill to pick-up
During the school year, kids will have homework and assignments to keep them busy. During summer, you may have to bear the burden yourself.
Discuss with your kids a skill that they would like to learn. For the younger ones, it could be basic math skills or how to tie their shoes. For older kids, maybe it’s sewing or how to tie different knots. Again, the important thing is to think ahead and make sure your shelter has the needed materials.
Learning a new language is a great use of your time in your shelter. For foreigners, be sure to have your Ukrainian textbooks in your shelter or ‘Go Bag’. Ukrainians will want to have materials from whatever language their children are learning at school. Flashcards are a great addition to your shelter, and you can also put up multilingual signs of different items in your shelter, like ‘door’ or ‘table’.
For older children, this is a great time to practice a skill they could use after they finish school, like computer programming or sign language. Help them work through the materials. Maybe you can have a conversation with them in a new language by the end of the year!
Whatever it is you decide to do with the time spent with your young ones in your shelter, be sure to plan ahead, and be prepared. Setting goals and periodically checking in on progress will help. Give your kids something to aim for and rewards for achieving their goals.
Whatever you do, it’s important to stay positive, as kids take their cues from the emotions of those around them. So, try to treat the experience as bonus ‘family time’. If you had additional time with your family - without internet or electricity - how would you spend it?
In fact, that’s a great question to ask your kids!
