After many days of scheduled quarantine activities for her eight- and six-year-old, Cindy Zibel of Bedford, New Hampshire, needed to accomplish some work from home. She wasn't sure how the kids would handle their unstructured time.

After about 15 minutes of leaving her kids with nothing to do, she went to check. “I found them outside with bikes,” she says. "The older one had taken off the younger one’s training wheels and taught him to ride a two-wheeler.”

Many parents have been full-time activity directors since stay-at-home orders were put in place this spring. That job is not likely to end soon, especially with summer starting, social distancing still in effect, and camps and sitters largely unavailable. Children are quick to say