Safely entertaining a 1 year old outside?

[Pinky]

This will be our first spring with a mobile child and we're starting to get nice weather and would like to spend more time outside. How in the world do you keep a busy body 1 year old safely entertained outside? (other than the stroller)

If I put her on the ground she tries to eat everything... if I put her on a blanket she crawls off of it. Also, she's not walking yet, but once she is it seems that she will be darting for the road or to escape any chance she gets. I'm guessing I'm not allowed to tie her to a tree... :rotflmao: That was a joke. ;)

So, how do you keep them entertained? Right now she enjoys being in her stroller but I'm not sure how much longer that will last. And lastly do they make safe(r) ride-on type toys for kids this age that are a little easier to use?

[doberbrat]

I kept dd2 on my back till she could walk outside. The swing is a good option as well. and slides. she loves going down slides (I hold her body)

I've also come to accept germs a bit more. I put her on some climbing structures and pretend they're clean. I bring wipes and sanitizer to the playground. When we get home, I dump the kids in the bath.

[crl]

Well, I'm pretty laid back about germs and dirt. And I have an older child that I'm not quite ready to let loose outside without some supervision. So dd, 10 months, just started walking, goes outside with us nearly every day. I put her down on the sidewalk and take things away when she tries to eat them. She doesn't really try for the street yet, but if she crawls too far from where I am chatting with the neighborhood moms, I retrieve her. Her pants get filthy, but oh well.

She really likes a red car toy that one of the neighbors has. It has a handle so I (or ds) can push her in it.

If you have a park nearby, baby swings can be a lot of fun for this age. Slides too with mom holding on the whole way or riding down on mom's lap. And you'd be surprised how soon some kids will start climbing a bit.

Catherine

[ABO Mama]

With my twins, I kept them in the stroller until they could walk, and then let them wander around the yard (never ventured to a park with them as toddlers by myself...waaay too stressfull for me!). With younger DS he stayed on my back for most of our outings, even once he could walk. He was happy, and it was easier for me to watch the older boys.

[TwinFoxes]

I let the girls play in the back yard when they were that age. I just made sure they didn't eat bugs. :) It took them awhile to go from walking, to walking with any degree of speed/distance, it was easy to keep up with them. I would also take them to the park, and have them "slide". I would try to go during off hours, so there weren't big kids there. They also love the bucket swings.

We also would go to a local nature center where they could walk around freely, again, they weren't very fast so it was easy to shepherd them. Have fun, it's such a cute age. :)

[MamaSnoo]

My kid definitely crawled in the dirt and ate grass (and probably bugs occasionally). I did not worry about it too much.

The main thing for me was close observation to be sure she was not going near the street. We still have to do that.