PDA

View Full Version : Help me or I will be INSANE by the spring!



twins r fun
12-11-2003, 11:54 PM
Posted in Toddler's Lounge also.

I don't know if we are just in an adjusting to winter slump or what, but these kids are driving me crazy!! I'm having a horrible time filling our days and thinking of things to do. We're pretty much okay in the mornings, but the afternoons/evenings are torture. The cold is a bit of a problem, but I think it is more the fact that it gets dark so early. The boys are irritable because they're bored and I'm irritable because they are irritating when they're irritable. It doesn't help that Jacob has a 15 second attention span for any toy (Caleb is better, but feeds off Jacob a bit)or that 3 days/week DH doesn't get home from work until the boys are in bed or that I'm limited on the types of out of the house activities I can manage with the two of them. I feel bad because I am way over-using the TV to keep them occupied. We've got quite a few playgroups and classes, but mostly in the mornings and that's all shut down until January. Alright enough griping, can we make a list of activities that will keep toddlers occupied for a chunk of time (like at least 15-30 minutes). Here's what I've come up with, please add your ideas becuase this certainly isn't enough to get through months of cold and darkness.

In The House:
Art activities (painting, playdoh, etc)
Take a bath
Watch a video
Play in the sink
Set up golf obstacle course (okay my kids are a little strange)
Build a fort with blankets
Put all the plastic grocery bags in a pile and jump into them

Out of the House:
Run errands (this isn't their favorite activity)
Children's Place (the store) play area
Go somewhere with a train table

Out of the House (with one toddler)
Go to the library
Throw pennies in the fountains at the mall
Test out the toys at Toys R Us

Please add your ideas!

lisams
12-12-2003, 12:15 AM
This is what I can think of right now, I'll add more if I think of anything:

bubbles

shaving cream (can be messy but smells so good!) Just spray some on the table (or a cookie sheet) and let them play with it in their hands. You can hide small toys in it (like Little People) and have them try to find them.

Make tunnels out of BIG boxes

Play "basketball" using soft balls and a laundry basket

That's all I can think of for now!
Lisa

mom2kandj
12-12-2003, 03:24 AM
The pet store...and yes, I make my crazy kids(at least the younger one) stay in the stroller or cart.

How about putting a kids' wading pool filled with sand in the garage?

HTH!

Rose
mom 2 Katie (almost 3!)
& Jack (19 months)

newbelly2002
12-12-2003, 04:43 AM
I was going to post the same thing, Nicole!

Up here in teh great white North it is dark by 4:15 which is usually just when Dante is waking from his nap. He has no interest in the television. And there's only so many times I can sing the "wiggleworms" CD without killing someone. Cabin fever in early December is a bad sign...

One thing you can do is to make your own "ball pit." Take a Pakc-n-play and fill it with soft balls (either your own or buy them at one of the discounters for cheap). Put the boys in and stand back!

I love the shaving cream idea!

Paula
Mama to Dante, 8/1/02

AngelaS
12-12-2003, 07:13 AM
I've found that we need to be ACTIVE to keep the doldrums away. Some of our favorites are:

Put the step stool in the middle of the living room. Climb up, jump off, repeat.

Play ball in the hall way. If you sit at one end and they sit at the other and you close all the doors, you can have a lovely practice pitching session.

Paper snowball fight. Crumple some paper and pitch the snowballs at each other. Also works with small stuffed animals.

Teach them how to dust. Even my 19 month old is learning how... LOL

Get out ALL the Little People sets and play. It's WAY funner to play with ALL the sets than just one (Noah's driving the firetruck...isn't that silly?)

For my own sanity....I have been known to put in a video (gasp!) and call a friend to chat while they're occupied. MUST HAVE GROWN UP CONVERSATION...... :D

egoldber
12-12-2003, 07:59 AM
I hear you!

Do any of your local malls have a soft play area for kids? There are lots of moms at ours who have two, so its doable

Sarah's new fav toy is a set of Gladware small round containers. She's been playing with them for days!

Other favs:

Shaving cream
Painting in the bathtub
Playing with boxes
Videos she hasn't seen in a long time (new fav is Baby Mozart!)
Barnes&Noble children's book area (usually has a train table)
Zany Brainy train table
Tracing our hands and feet with crayons and then coloring them

Good luck! I'm taking notes here too!

shishamo
12-12-2003, 02:31 PM
I hate the winter also!

Here are some ideas:

-plant nursery (look at different plants, maybe buy one and you can plant it in a pot)
-water all the plants in the house
-cooking (something easy. I usually have my 4 year old and my 18 months old take turns mixing, pouring, etc.) Big mess but they love it! I do it once a week.
-jump on the bed (I know, I know, but my kids love it and my 18 month old will hold onto the headboard)
-modified hide and seek (my older one hides and my younger one seeks)
-plain old roughhousng in bed
-go inside a closet with a flashlight
-have a picnic snack somewhere in the house with a picnic mat, preferrably with something not so messy.
-have them help me clean the house by ging them spray bottles with water and a rag (I use the real windex)
-look up something on the internet (animals are good)

I love the shaving cream idea. I use it as a bathtoy sometimes also (spray on the wall and let them fingerpaint)

Sara

christic
12-15-2003, 12:08 AM
Dance, dance, dance!

We put on some crazy 80s music, get out all the musical instruments, and dance like mad. We've worked our way through all 7 disks of the "Like, Omigod!" 80s collection. A bit of 99 Luftballoons and some spinning can really wear a little girl out!