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WHEN YOU COME TO THINK OF IT rainy days seem to get divided into two kinds: First of all, there's the will it, won't it rain' type of day. It's the kind of weather that made your grandmother say, You're neither sugar nor salt, now go outside and play!' But the second kind of rainy day is atrocious; you know the kind, the Indian monsoon with the odd typhoon thrown in for good measure sort. That's the day when you need to bring the Rainy Day Box' out from under the stairs.

Preparation is the key ingredient for a good Rainy Day Box' if your children are somewhere between say 5 and 11. Then things aren't too difficult. For a start make sure there's a pack of cards in there - a good game of Rummy or Whist can while away the time and surprisingly it's one of the best aids for honing those mathematical skills. Pens, paper and crayons are another staple, you can't keep score in the card game without them and they're invaluable for a thousand and one other uses like doodling, drawing, sending secret messages and playing hangman. A favorite DVD and a bag of microwavable popcorn always come in handy, as do some paper/plastic cups (great for sharing the popcorn and also for measuring just how much rain has actually fallen outside!).

Old newspapers and a roll of tinfoil are marvelous for making play acting outfits and something else you might like to include is a plastic bag full of slips of paper that have the name of a country on them, and another bag that contains the names of their capital. Link the country with the capital and give that child a well-deserved reward. (If you don't include Taiwan there's 192 recognized countries in the world at present).

Sadly, the 12-16 year age group do seem to pose more problems. It's harder to enthuse a terminally bored 14 year old with a cup of popcorn and a yellow crayon but luckily the Internet is at hand. Mp3 sites abound and if by chance you just happen to have a card that entitles the bearer to say $10 of music, who says the blues can't melt away? Board games are always a tried and trusted friend but you as the adult have got to be prepared to spend the time playing the game. Or finally, how about giving your child something they'll be able to use forever, a cooking lesson. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, maybe just the basics on how to boil an egg or even bake a chocolate cake, but you can guarantee whatever it is, it's a shared memory they'll treasure for a long time to come.

Learn more about this author, Dan Byrne.
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