...to TODDLER BOREDOM!
Okay all of you out there - I need some serious help coming up with ideas to help entertain my 18 month-old. She's been on this Little Mermaid kick where she wants to watch it 1, 2 or even 3 times a day. I say yes to 1 time on most days, sometimes yes to 2 times, (when I'm enjoying getting project time - though feeling guilty about it) but no to 3 times. Of course, Mommy gets a little bored sometimes too. So - needless to say, we could use some fresh ideas.
If only she had a twin to play with! (right, Anne Marie?)
How do you keep an 18-month old, with no siblings, happy and entertained? Generic and Original ideas welcome!
Melisa Osmond: Finding the Power in You
4 years ago
5 comments:
When Jasmine was little she loved to play with measuring cups and small containers with water in the sink or bath tub. She still does but now it's barbie dolls and farm animals. She also enjoys playing with shaving cream on our kitcken table drawing all kinds of things.It is a little messy but so much fun!
I miss the open gym at one of the recreation centers; it's probably not too far from your home. They have open gym MWF 10:30 until 12 noon, for only $1 per child. It's a great place to run around and play with big toys. Winter stinks for kids and moms, since it's harder to play outside. But I've even gone to the park and the zoo in the dead of winter with my older boys and just dressed everyone up really well. Play-doh is of course a classic. I've gone to toy stores to let my kids play with the train tables. I know the library has some good books out there for entertaining kids as well. Wonderscope is a pretty cool kids' museum near Kansas City. You could get a membership to make it a little more affordable each time. The nature center has some good programs for toddlers too. Best of luck! Winter is the worst with kids.
A few more things...I'm going to start rotating toys with my twins, so that different boxes are kept out of the way and then come back into circulation for a day or two, so the toys seem kind of new. I got some play food for them for Christmas that they can pretend to eat and cook with. Toddlers always love to play with pretend food and either real or pretend dishes and pots. Best of luck. My creative juices stop flowing when I'm pregnant; I just feel too tired.
Lori - you need to get the "Toddlers Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner. It has saved my life, seriously.
Although the weather has turned cold, something that my kids still love to do is "paint" the house - I just give them a cup of water and a small paintbrush and let them paint the patio, fence, or outside of the house with it. Along the same lines as the shaving cream that livia mentioned, you can also let her finger paint with yogurt - tasty and fun! The bathtub is also a great place to play even when it isn't bathtime. I got an idea from family fun magazine that said that when it snows, you get a big bucketfull of snow and dump it in the bathtub and let them play with the snow there. When it melts it just runs down the drain, and they don't freeze playing with snow inside! Just a few ideas - good luck!
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