What do you do with your toddlers??

What sorts of thing's do you do with your toddlers??

Theo has loads of energy and I am struggling to keep up, we watch way too much TV in our house but it's my way of getting some peace and quiet. The weather is mostly crappy at the moment so this limits us but I need ideas of things I can do with Theo and Klara in tow!

We've tried craft activities like he would do at nursery but Theo gets easily distracted and ends up wanting to paint the furniture rather than the paper!!

It's hard,I would look into things to do that other people setup.Like here,they have Gyboree,I used to take Teo.I was pregnant with Tia,but some of the mum brought along very young babies.They have art classes and music,then just good old playtime,in a rented hall,they have TONS of playgear.I am sure they must have some stuff like that you could drive to near you n maybe meet some other mums,maybe once or twice a wekk,that way,you have adult conversation and Theo can go wild without trashingyor house and get some of his energy out.Thats all I can think of,they have those big playhouses sometimes wher eyou pay like 2 pound per hour and the kids can go in on the bouncy castles etc...but some of the big kids are a bit rough,Theo's still small and of course the places are full of germs.But those are some suggestions! I know it'a hard.Trust me I have been there.My mum would take me outside,come rain,wind or snow,she would just dres me appropraiately,if it was raining,I had wellies and a rain coat and she would let me puddle jump.It's essential for kids (I don't always do this) to have some fresh air each day and to be allowed to run freely for at least 20 mins,boy in particualr.Anyway,I hope you find something near you xx

We have struggled with this too. I live in area that usually has mild winters but this year was unlike any I've ever experienced. It snowed three times and it was also wet and VERY cold. Our local library has reading/play time twice a week so we go to those - it's free and a great way to meet other moms with kids the same age. We go to museums, the zoo, aquarium and the park on a regular basis. A lot fo these places have season passes and we found it saved us money to purchase one - especially to the zoo. If it's not raining and not super windy we try to go out - even if it's just for 20 minutes or so. We take walks (with and without the stroller) around the neighbor and I take a bag with me and let Owen collect things.... rocks, sticks, etc. He LOVES this and it can be done spur of the moment.
We have an indoor play center and we go there sometimes. We also have a place called Pump It Up and we go there was every other week. When we go out to lunch I try to go some place that has an indoor playground and have been known to purchase a cup of coffee and let Owen play for HOURS!!!! We also sometimes just pack up and go to the mall and walk around. I also take him to the farmer's market. It's a great way to teach him about the yummy foods we can eat and the old farmers that run them seem to enjoy having the kids around.
I think the key is to find a few moms you can do things with. Two heads are better than one so it's easier to come up with ideas. Even if you just take turns playing at each other's houses a change of scenery and different toys is always good for the soul! : )

I am getting LM a slide for the summer time here. It's a plastic one that is light weight and folds up easily, and I'm putting it in the front room. It's WAY to hot to play outside here in the summers, it can be very limiting, so I thought that putting the slide in the front room would at least give her a way to get some energy out while stuck inside.

I know my friend has a water activity table that she fills with warm water during the winter and puts it in the kitchen with some towels under it and lets her son play with it. Keeps him occupied for a while.

Good luck though. It is REALLY hard to figure out things to do, let alone with two kids in toe. xxxxx

oh! the slide is a good idea! My sister in law did that and Owen loves to play on it at her house!
When I was little my mom put a baby pool in the kitchen with a couple inches of water in it and she said I would play for hours.

Those are great ideas Tiff!

I have an indoor slide castle type thing. It worked for about a month or so but it gets alot of use when other kids come over. We have also done the zoo, nature center, museum, library rounds so many times I am starting to hate animals. I sign Emy up for a music and gymnastic class every session(sessions last 2 months). I thought about doing soccer this spring but I am not paying $125 for her to kick a ball back and forth until shes at least 3, same with dance classses.

So the newest thing we are doing which is fantastic is we joined a MOM's group. Around my area they have a chapter for every area. They have outings, playdates, picnics, lunch bunch, mommy and me hair cuts to name just a few. They also have playgroups for just the kids born the same year as your kid once a week. You could literally have an activity every single day of the week with the same group of kids. You pick and choose which things you want to attend. It is absolutely fantastic. Many of the moms have toddlers plus newborns, there are at leat 7 other pregnant moms there too right now. Today there was an easter egg hunt at a park 3 minutes from my house. They also do moms night out and a book club too. Most things last at least 2 hours a day, but yo can obviously go less, the bigger outings obviously can take longer, like the zoo trips or firestation visits. In the US yu can find your local group by going to their national website, I don't know about tother countries but I am sure there is something similar, plus every group has to have someone start it, so if you know someone that is super motivated....

heres the link, it does have some international too.

http://www.momsclub.org/join.html

Chris, that mom club sound's really cool and just the sort of thing I would LOVE to go to. If I made the decision to become a SAHM I would be very tempted to start something like that up cos it is so hard to find a Mother and baby group that happily accepts toddlers. There MUST be other Mums like me in my local town craving the same sort of thing....you've given me an idea to try a little harder in searching for one though!!

and Tiff we have a garden slide for Theo and it has never crossed my mind to bring it in....I just may very well try that although I can see Theo using it as a climbing device to reach more of Mummys things he shouldn't!!!!

We unfortunately don't have a Zoo close enough to be able to go along every week, but Theo loves animals so much I can see he would adore to go to the Zoo so it's a shame. I need to start thinking outside the box though and finding out what is going on in my area for Mum's like me!

I reckon it will be 100% easier to forfill our days if I meet other Mums in the same situation. I am now on a mission to find some toddler friendly activities in Trowbridge!!!

Thank you!!!!! x x x

We do playgroup every Wednesday from 9:30-11:30am. I signed up to go to a course on learning about the infant/toddler brain and they have free childcare and Jasper stays with me, it's for 3 days so that keeps me with somethign to do. If it's nice we go out every day that it's nice. Audrey now brings along her stroller and baby and she's also held onto her chalk bucket and walked with it. We also go to the park sometimes. We currently just bought a bicycle and a child trailer that goes behind and so that'll be something else for me to do. Audrey's got a slide and a bubble car but she's tired of them . For the summer we bought one of those blow up pool activity thingies, looks pretty cool. We also watch lots of tv, but I'm just so beat some days, lol!

Thanks for your input Gutter

I wanted to update you all particularly Chrisb as I found a website called Netmums whom have a whole sub-site dedicated to Mums in the South West of England. I managed to track down a group that was arranging their FIRST ever meet-up at a softplay center so I bit the bullet and went along.....had we all had a lovely time! We are going to the next meet-up in a couple of weeks time. I think there will be get togethers every 2 weeks or so.

I have also met a couple of ladies whom live locally and want to meet up (publicly) and let the kids play at this rate I will have so many things to do I will crave a day off from it all just to watch TV LOL!!!!

The weather has been much better recently which has really made a difference, Theo is able to play out in the garden for a couple of hours and wear himself out

Glad to hear you'll be able to get out more and socialize with other moms. I'm just not looking forward to going back to work, then Ill have no time with the kids, so that's why I can't make any mom friends

Tuesdays Lucy goes to a preschool/daycare for the day. Wednesdays we attend a free program at the library. We have graduated from ''Baby Story Time" to "Wiggle Worms" Wiggle worms has music and alot of dancing and movements to the music, Lucy really loves it.

Other than that, we try to hit a nearby playground every couple days. Lucy has really gotten into swinging and just wants you to push her on the swing ALL the time. We will also go to a nearby McDonalds which has a "Toddler Zone" play area. She really loves the slide there, but we have to be careful because sometimes it is crowded with wild 4-5 year olds who are basically unsupervised. Last week we went and an older girl pushed Lucy down the stairs from the top of the slide (3 feet maybe) and she was lying there in a crumpled up heap crying hysterically. From preschool she really enjoys interacting with other children, and I think alot of the kids who show up at McDonalds don't have those skills yet.

She loves the dancing and movements from Wiggle Worms so much I am going to try to enroll her in a parks and recreation dept toddler dancing class. Plus swimming lessons are coming up just around the corner again.

Other than that we hang out and watch NickJr, and play in the back yard a little. She lies to be read to, and park of the day I just have her play by herself with her toys.

Georgi another thing we have done is the days out on the tesco vouchers ..... I was thinking maybe one time over the summer holiday if tesco still do the vouchers for this how about a meet at longleet ??? I am pretty sure you can still use the tesco vouchers to do it so enrty would be free !!

Oh, I forgot to say.... you mentioned art projects and attention span? At Lucy's preschool they had valentines day and easter parties that we were invited to even though it wasn't Lucy's school day. Anyways I spent a couple hours there each time just observing. One thing I noticed is any activity that the kids need to focus on, like an art projects, only lasts 5 - 10 min max. Then they are on to the next thing. I guess that is probably about the attention span limit for most toddlers.........maybe yu are having difficulties because of length of time?

Wiggle Worms sounds fab!! We do have a weekly rhyme and sing-a-long session at our local library BUT as much as I know Theo would enjoy it, he would run a mock all around the library and I find this not only embarrassing (bcos he will have a tantrum when I catch him) but now with Klara in tow I have to have eyes in the back of my head ensuring that I can see her aswell as Theo.

I think I have to stop feeling guilty as Theo does go to nursery 2 days a week so he gets 2 full days of jam packed fun, craft projects, playing outside and interacting with other children. However, it's good to know that the craft projects they do are very short - thanks for that Dolly....I was clearly expecting Theo to concentrate on one thing for far too long.

Georgi - Owen runs around like a wild animal during our library time but SO DO ALL THE OTHER KIDS!!!!! LOL!!!!
At first, it really bothered me and then I realized that it's just what kids that age do! You could try going and see how he does and you can always leave if you need to but our library and the other guests seem to understand and most people just comment on how cute they are!!!!

Yeah - there is a reason they named it ''Wiggle Worms''. Kids run amuck all over the place. Luckily they have a room in the corner of the library, so they are closed in during the program. But before hand it is pretty wild with kids running amuck all over the library.

I realized while watching at the preschool that I had been expecting to much attention span for activities too.

Jadah has softball practice 3 times a week, so Jayden gets to run around climb the fence, eat sunflower seeds(get into trouble) there for an hour and half. Sometimes I take her to the local park for like 30 minutes. On the days that I just do not feel like getting out, we go outside and she just gets into whatever she can. My baby is bad as hell. Yeah, I know she's just being a 2 year old. But dang, it's just horrible sometimes. She seems to have a hard time doing "normal" stuff. But, I do know that she gets into less trouble to more we hang outside instead of inside. I think I might look into activities at the library. She loves to read and sing(very loudly), so that might be great for her.