For those of you with 4-year-olds (especially boys)

[kristine_elen]

My son, age 4 1/2, seems to have lost his ability to entertain himself. He always asks to watch a video, or he literally lays on the floor and just hangs out -- sometimes directly under my feet as I try to clean up the kitchen or whatever.

He used to be into puzzles and painting, but now they don't interest him. He has Buzz Lightyear and Woody dolls (from Toy Story -- a movie he constantly wants to see) but he doesn't actually make up scenes for them or anything. He just pushes the buttons to hear them talk. He has a bunch of animal figures, but he never plays with them, though he always wants to buy more.

I've limited TV to 45 minutes a day (sometimes 0 mintes a day), but still he has trouble doing non-TV activities. (He does like doing computer games, but that seems almost like TV to me.)

What are your 4-year-olds into? Are there some great toys I'm missing? Activities we can do at home? Ways of sparking creativity? Should I lace his Cheerios with acid? What?

Thanks for any advice!

ETA: He's very active outside the house -- at the pool, the library, etc. Loves to ride his bike. It's just in the house that I have a problem.

[Mom to Brandon and 2 cats]

Lately, I've been making worksheets for my 4-yo. I draw simple pictures on one side of the page, and the matching first letter on the other side. Up to him to color the pictures and draw a connecting line between the letter and the picture.

I'm also going to make some worksheets up which involve him writing his name.

I know this is "work" rather than "play", but it keeps him occupied for about 20 minutes.

HTH

[wendmatt]

Oh good, I'm not the only one with a 4yo like that! She would rather watch TV or play on the computer than anything else and I limit both which she doesn't like! She does sometimes do imaginative play but not much and if I'm trying to get stuff done I'll often find her lying on the floor just doing nothing. She is pretty low energy compared to other kids her age (seems to me anyway). We do take the dog for a walk every day and she rides her bike but gets tired out and I have to pull her after a while.
She does like to do some activities from work books, have you tried those? I try to go out as much as poss, but I guess that's harder for you with a little one. I do like the cheerios with acid idea!!
Do you have a paddling pool in the back yard? That keeps Ems occupied for quite a while, she also likes digging in the dirt, but it's been a bit too hot to do that in the day lately.

[DDowning]

Right now, mine is "rescuing" his sister from a "burning building". Basically, I'm making dinner and to keep them contained I let them rearrange the furniture. He's got two dining chairs propped up against an ottoman with a blanket over that, his sister is inside and he's using one of his toy firetrucks to put the fire out. All this while wearing a monster's hard hat. They've also got several sofa seat cushions stacked on end to create a barrack of some sort. I wish my camera card reader was working, I'd post a picture.

[hardysmom]

4 was hard around here as well.. Outside stuff like sand-boxes and baby-pools were great. Bike riding. Bubbles. Our back-yard isn't the type a 4 yr old can play in alone, so I had to go out a lot.

Inside was rough. He liked Play-Dough, but for the 10 minutes he would play, it is a hassle.

Hardy never liked puzzles, work books, art, etc... He had some fine motor issues and it was almost impossible to get him to see those things as fun. Even legos were troublesome. He has some sensory issues and around that time we were actually worried because he seemed to have so little interest in imaginative play and didn't play with toys the "right" way. At one point, we even thought he might be autistic, though very verbal and social.

Imaginative play really took off around 4.5 with little figures (his "guys") who started having all sorts of adventures. Lots of rescues. He particularly liked it if I would give him some yarn and/or pipe cleaners which he would drape all over things as rope for guys to climb on. That was pretty low-key, easy to clean-up and could kill some time.

He also got into Playmobil around that time- not all the tons of little stuff, but the bigger houses, police cars, airplanes, etc... I just put all the little stuff in a baggie for when he was older.

Now, at 5.5, he can play for hours... it does pass.

stephanie

[alleyoop]

I have Deidra's kids! Lizard "pillow houses/caves" have been very popular this summer, including all couch pillows, all house pillows, empty my linen closet of all blankets, etc. Emptying my pantry of all canned goods to make a fort for a battering ram (the play shopping cart). The bigger the mess the better!

But seriously, Maybe he needs some new toys! I would make the jump up to some of the more complex toys like Playmobil or regular sized legos to give him something to really sink his teeth into. The problem with playmobil and legos in this house is that they aren't fun until you have A LOT of them! This site has some great building sets: http://www.constructiontoys.com/ you might get some ideas or let him pick something new.

Have you tried putting music on for him? My son loves the Cars movie and even though we don't let him watch it often, he asks for the CD nearly every day. He can really get engrossed in playing when the music is on. Maybe there is a Toy Story CD that might fit the bill?

HTH!

[new_mommy25]

My DS isn't quite 4, but I could have written your post, word for word. DH and I use the word weary to describe DS because that's how he acts all day long. I'll be watching this thread to get more ideas. :)

[ett]

So this must be pretty common for 4 year olds because my DS, who is almost 4, has been the same way lately. I was just commenting to DH recently on how come DS1 seems to be so bored at home. He just lays around and does nothing for long periods of time. He used to be so into playing with his trains, cars, trucks, and blocks but not anymore. Sometimes, I just put something in front of him and tell him to play with it. In our case, I think part of the reason is that we have a new baby in the household so he does not get all of our attention anymore.

He does still enjoy drawing/coloring with his crayons/markers, magnadoodle, or aquadoodle. I also pulled out the etch a sketch the other day and he really liked playing with that. He also is really into playing games and doing workbooks but both of those activities requires me to be involved, which is not always possible with a 6 month old. Oh and also reading books. He's always into that.

[lizajane]

mine has trouble entertaining himself lately, but in an opposite way.

he doesn't sit and watch tv. it is too boring. he will watch maybe 15 minutes, 30 if he is really tired. but he will usually just get up and start playing. or leave the room if there are no toys around. he even turns it off himself.

he sneaks off outside a lot. he is allowed to go into the fenced in back yard by himself (we have two big dogs, so he is well protected! lol!) but i catch him in the FRONT yard sometimes and then he is in trouble. but he gets bored with the backyard and "needs" something from the front...

he loves to give stuffed animals baths, which means he ends up bathing the entire bathroom floor. sigh...

so the best thing for my active 4 year old is to set him up with a project and then let him loose. he is really into art these days and he is very creative. i made him an art box that has markers, paper, scissors, puff balls, beads, glue and stickers. he has a number of coloring books and some activity books (like connecting the letter to the picture, as pp mentioned.) he will "play art" for quite a while these days. especially if he is on the floor or at a table in the room with me.

another good one is setting him up with playdough and a bunch of playdough tools.

and he really likes to clean! so i can give him some windex and a few paper towels and he will do every window in the house, lol!!


ETA: sometimes, he literally runs circles around the house. and i let him. he and his brother chase each other around the circle in our living/dining/foyer/kitchen. or he will even just run it by himself "for his exercise."

try "lazytown" if you are stuck with TV or video. schuyler has really been taking the message to heart. he already did tons of exercise, but he came downstairs with an apple the other day, chomping away and telling me that apples are the healthiest snack, so that is why he picked it!

[Bens Momma]

Just as the OP and PPs, my 4 yr old (actually he will be in 2 weeks) DS is exactly like this!!!! It has been comforting to me to read the posts and realize that it's not just me or something I've done wrong as a Mom. I am really trying to limit the TV that he watches and use it in the times when I really need time (cleaning, getting dinner, etc). I was thinking something was wrong with him because he is SO HIGH ENERGY and just want to watch his "shows" all the time. He loves going outside but there again he wants me to chase him or run around with him constantly. I'll do it for awhile, but I run out of energy long before he does and I would love to have a little time to get some yard work done while he plays. Am I expecting to much, is he too young for this? I've been asking myself why can't he be happy playing with his toys or amuse himself for more than 5-10 minutes. I remember playing with Little People sets or the like for hours at a time. He has gotten a little more "pretend play" oriented in the last month but stil seems to have little interest in Little People, etc. He has been having fun with "pillow forts" the past few days. While I'm not thrilled with my couch cusions being tossed and stepped on, it keeps him and little brother occupied! I will be watching this post for more ideas!

Momma to 2 DS

[Momof3Labs]

DS is really into building track layouts for Thomas trains these days. He's beginning to read, and loves to flip through books. Is fascinated by bugs, and will look at books about bugs for a long time. But outside, active stuff rules here too!

[deborah_r]

I was just discussing with a friend of mine how our 4 year olds seem to have entered a "moody" phase. It seems like an early glimpse into adolescence. All mine wants to do is play video games. We have a Wii, and he plays a little, but mostly he wants DH and I to play while he tells us what to do. I've been all the way through Ice Age 2 about 5 times.

[deborah_r]

**double post**

[lhk777]

I just discovered that my 4yo really likes using sidewalk chalk and drawing on our driveway. I tried to stay away from it as long as possible because it would be messy, but I finally gave in.

It takes her awhile to cover the entire driveway so that gives me some time to sit outside and do yard work or read a book or something. She will spend at least an hour with the chalk. I will draw pictures and have her color them in with the chalk, or I will write the alphabet on the driveway and have her copy it.

We also broke out the bubble guns this summer. She loves being able to 'make' her own bubbles and then chases after them.

Some other ideas off the top of my head:

Speaking of cheerios I let her string her own cheerios and make a necklace.

She also likes to break dry noodles - not sure why - but it does entertain her. I will put all length color noodles in a big plastic tub type bowl and she will just sit at the kitchen table breaking the noodles with her hands. Just make sure the noodles aren't too sharp on the edges.

We've also done art on bread. Basically take ketchup, mayo, bbq sauce and squeeze each into a sandwich bag and tie it with a rubberband or knot it. Cut one corner so she can squeeze the stuff out and make designs on slices of bread.

Foam stickers - give them big sheets of paper and a big assortment of stickers and let them make a sticker picture.

Stamps - I bought this box of cute/mini animal stamps from Lakeshore and she spends a lot of time making pictures with them.

Hope these ideas help.

-Linda

[hellbennt]

ROTFLMAO!!!!
*I* want some of your cheerios!!!!!

yes my 4yr old is doing the same...thanks for the ideas everyone!
~laura in miami~
ds1 7/03
ds2 7/06

[gatorsmom]

I feel so guilty. My 4 year old loves creative play but most of the time I'm too tired to get into much with him (besides, I'm not moving too fast and trying to keep messes to a minimum). But he was in a Preschool Playground program 2 mornings a week and he has 4 hour playdates with some friends every Tuesday and Thursday. The rest of the time, I'm embarassed to say, he's watching TV.

But, in the fall, he's enrolled in a fun program that I get to participate in (if I can still move) and I got a list of stuff he could do other than watch TV. Here are some good ones:

Play in the sink with funnels, soap, eggbeaters, squirt bottles, etc.
Let them wash the car, their bikes, toys, etc.
Paint the house with water and a big brush.
Milk carton basket ball- milk cartons and rolled socks.
Digging for worms
Make an obstacle course with boxes, pillows, etc.
Let your child hammer golf tees into an egg carton.
Make a play store with empty food boxes.
Fill a bucket with water and put some squirt guns in it.

Lisa
Mom to Gator July 2003
And Cha-Cha July 2005
and surprise! twins due 11/07!