what are you DOING with your toddler?!

[quantumleap]

I'm in a bit of a funk. DD is almost 18 months, very active, loves to run and climb and watch ants. *I'm* tired of our playground, of our house, of our teeny little backyard, and even of our little local zoo (we go once a week or more). We want to get a little wading pool, but they're big enough that one of us will have to go get it sans dd so that there's room in the car to fold down the backseats to (hopefully) fit it in there, so, not an activity for this afternoon. I'm also just plain tired - pregnant and feeling it and dd is getting molars and sleeping even worse than normal. ie: I need activities that let HER burn off energy without requiring too much of me.

Ideas?! Help!

[haurelia]

I've been letting my 16 month old DS play with pans of water while I sit on the patio. He's learning to pour a bit, but mostly just likes to splash and fish things out once he's thrown them in. I use small basins or big salad bowls, and give him different things to put in them, like stones, ice cubes, little toys, a baseball, a stick, etc. That keeps him busy a while, and it's probably something you have around the house so you could do it today. Beware, he does like to sip out of the basin if he has a cup or pan that he can dip up a drink with, and he also started putting his face into the water too, so I watch him pretty carefully when he's got the pans of water.

The other thing he really likes that doesn't require too much of me is digging in the dirt in an unused patch of garden. I give him his big metal (old cooking) spoon and a bucket. He likes to put dirt in the bucket and dump it out. We're living at my grandma's right now, so don't have a sandbox or wading pool, although I'd like to get these things once we get into our own place.

My son also enjoys dragging things around by a string/cord while he watches them come behind him, so you could whip up some sort of dragging toy out of a rope and a dustpan or something.

Good luck, and KUP if you hit on anything spectacular, because I need some new ideas too!

[Everrgreen]

I have this problem too, WE ARE BORED!! Here are some of the things we do:

In the apartment:
- DS is given free range to do what he likes and as long as he's happy I'm happy. He spends most of his time wandering around and making messes, exploring the closets and kitchen cupboards, and chasing our cat around (the cat and him are best buds!). I tidy up behind him a little bit throughout the day, but mostly just fix the mess when he's napping or gone to bed.
- I also get him to 'help' with chores if he's fussy and wants to be with me (otherwise I just do chores while he is busy roaming!). I pull a chair up for him to stand on while I do dishes, give him some clothes to 'fold' (they don't actually get folded, he's not that good ), and he thinks it's hilarious when I vacuum and loves following me around for that
- Sometimes I'll pull out some blocks or musical instruments or something and encourage him to play with me, but that never lasts long.
- Signing time videos once in a while to save my sanity, although they never last long either.

Getting out of the apartment:
- Walks with the stroller - and I like to actually walk somewhere like a store or to the park.
- Bike rides - I LOVE biking together, he has a weeride seat, and we bike to different parks or just go for the ride.
- PLAY GROUPS - I have groups Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and sometimes Mondays. Honestly I wish I could find more regular groups for us!
- Day trips - I also LOVE day trips. There isn't a whole lot to do in my town so we often venture out somewhere else. Usually to visit somebody out of town, but sometimes we go for a specific activity or shopping.
- Picnics! I have so far only taken DS on one picnic but it was so much fun, we will definitely be doing that a lot this summer!

I hope more people chime in here because I'm always looking for new ideas!

And I realize a lot of my ideas don't take into account you being tired and pregnant, but I thought I'd include them anyway in case someone else finds it interesting

[Dahlea]

Mine is really into hot wheels so we spend a lot of time doing those-set up a
long piece of track and make the cars go into trash cans or boxes or make jumps.
We read a lot of books.
Sidewalk chalk, water table, battery powered four wheeler (not great for when I'm tired though)
turning on music and letting him dance

[YayJennie]

I bought this pool for my son at BJs, and it was the best $25 I've ever spent! It's inflatable, so it came in a box small enough to just throw int he backseat with his carseat, and it's big enough I can cool off in the pool with him! I also have playgroup twice a week, along with two great museums in our town, a berry picking place close by, tons of hiking trails that I can bring my son and the dog on, and the zoo. So we alternate different activities each week, spend a lot of time at the playground, and in the backyard, and I let him make tons of messes int he house when we're hanging out in doors and I'm feeling lazy.

[gagin37]

we go to playgroups a lot to get out of the house, or sometimes host them at our house. my ds also loves moving dirt in and out of an unused flower pot, or splashing in a pan of water outside. sometimes i turn the hose to the mist setting at let him water stuff in the yard. we have a swing that we bought last year that he really enjoys. we hung it in part of the yard that is always shaded. Inside he has a giant cardboard box play house he likes to play in. we read a lot. he also likes to look at books on his own. his ride on toys are always a big hit too. i let him shred the junk mail and just pick up the mess later on, he has so much fun with it and it keeps him busy.

[quantumleap]

Originally Posted by YayJennie

I bought this pool for my son at BJs, and it was the best $25 I've ever spent! It's inflatable, so it came in a box small enough to just throw int he backseat with his carseat, and it's big enough I can cool off in the pool with him!

That pool is INSANE! Does it take four years to inflate?! We rent, and the landlord lives in the other part of the house, and the yard is seriously the size of a postage stamp, so we're not allowed to leave a pool out. I had been thinking that one of those moulded plastic ones would be best, because we could just dump the water out and tuck it in between the fence and the shed and call it "gone" when we weren't using it. But, if your blowup tower of fun is an easy set up, I'm sold. No idea what/where BJ's is though...

Thanks for the ideas. The pans of water outside is a good idea - I'll be using that one. I need to get more motivated with the playgroups. We're relatively new to town, and people are nice, but I don't really feel I'm at the point in a friendship with anyone where I could call and say, "I'm seriously going to LOSE MY MIND if I don't do something this afternoon. Can I come over? (Or, will you come over?)" I also feel fairly socially inept much of the time, and it's all so much *work* for me. I know it's worth it, but, like I said, I'm in a bit of funk and am having trouble getting motivated.

We went for a little hike yesterday afternoon, and it was totally delightful. We wound up on the shores of a little lake with a few other random people. There were HUGE tadpoles in the lake, and the water was actually very comfortable. I was completely unprepared for water, and dd managed to get pretty wet despite her hesitations, but it was a lot of fun. She then spent a good 20 minutes sitting in the middle of the trail on the way home drawing in the dirt with a stick. I really love that she does stuff like that, but I struggle with my own boredom sometimes. I need to just carry a book, I think! She's cute, and brilliant, but a toddler drawing in the dirt is only interesting for so long!

I'd still love to hear more ideas!

[SpuglyRoo]

there were some great suggestions on this thread. It's older but it may have some things you hadn't thought of

it would help if I included the link, right?
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...r#post11749423

[YayJennie]

Originally Posted by selkat

That pool is INSANE! Does it take four years to inflate?! We rent, and the landlord lives in the other part of the house, and the yard is seriously the size of a postage stamp, so we're not allowed to leave a pool out. I had been thinking that one of those moulded plastic ones would be best, because we could just dump the water out and tuck it in between the fence and the shed and call it "gone" when we weren't using it. But, if your blowup tower of fun is an easy set up, I'm sold. No idea what/where BJ's is though...

You can check here to see if there's a BJs around you, but you need to have a membership to shop (it's a wholesale club). You need an air compressor or something similar to inflate it though...my husband just happened to have one. But with that, it inflated in less than 20 minutes. I leave it inflated and just prop it up after I dump the water out. We have a pretty decent sized backyard even though we rent. You can tuck it (I prop it in between the house and the neighbor's fence, which is only a few feet wide), but it sounds like a smaller pool might be better for your situation

[LDSmomma]

Originally Posted by YayJennie

You can check here to see if there's a BJs around you, but you need to have a membership to shop (it's a wholesale club). You need an air compressor or something similar to inflate it though...my husband just happened to have one. But with that, it inflated in less than 20 minutes. I leave it inflated and just prop it up after I dump the water out. We have a pretty decent sized backyard even though we rent. You can tuck it (I prop it in between the house and the neighbor's fence, which is only a few feet wide), but it sounds like a smaller pool might be better for your situation

At Sam's & Costco, you can shop even w/o a membership, you just get charged a little extra. So for a one-time purchase, it may be worth it.

[Latte Mama]

OP, I just found this site which sells some really cool looking kiddie pools!

http://www.justkidspools.com/kids_pools.html

I'm thinking about getting a teeny one for our terrace. How pathetic, i know but we have no backyard!

[simplemama32]

They have pools and water tables, etc. at Amazon and Target (and maybe Hearthsong, too?).

Anything with water gets an A+ from me! Pools, buckets, sprinklers, waterhose...it's all good. ;-) Even inside in the bathtub...throw in some shaving cream or bubbles and let your DC have fun while you sit.

Actually, any kind of container you could repurpose as a "sensory table" is great. Depending on the day, you can just change it up with sand, oatmeal, dried beans, shredded paper, water, and other stuff.