3 yr old - bored out of his mind

[NettleTea]

My 3 yr old seems to have lost his ability to entertain himself and keep somewhat of an attention span. He's not interested in his toys. He flooded a good portion of the house a week ago. Last night he threw his...crap....all over the bathroom. It has been becoming more and more apparent to me that he is just totally bored. He's not even interested in playing outside anymore. He will sit at the table and color, draw, etc, but that doesn't hold his attention for more than a few minutes.

Right now is a rare moment - he is playing with some of his toys. That's probably the first time in a week or so that he's been interested.

We'll be going out of town for a few days. Hopefully that will break up the monotony for him for the time being.

Any ideas, suggestions? Has anyone else had a young child that was completely unamused by everything?

[meemee]

i think i recognise this. its the 'make things happen' stage. esp. since you talk about flooding your house.

it isnt toys really he wants. he is getting interested in teh real world and wants to see how things work. that was the age when dd mixed my liquid makeup, shampoo and toothpaste together to see how they would mix. 

any building toys might be good for him now. giving him a bunch of different things for him to put together - real life things like rocks, sticks, pinecones, acorns might work for him. 

stringing beads?

do u have a sensory box/bowl - a bowl full of rice or beans and then a bunch of measuring and pouring instruments? dd would play with that for HOURS. because she loved messy play towards the end we'd add flour and/or sugar with water and she'd have a field day. 

strings, rubber bands. 

[NZJMama]

I also suggest a sensory tub (with rice, beans, oatmeal whatever ) or even better yet a sandbox or sand/water table outside. I fill up our water table my boys (4 & 6) will play for a long time. In either case give him lots of real "tools" to use to scoop and pour.

I also put food colring and water in an ice cube tray and give him an eye dropper to  let him make his own colors.

Check out www.notimeforflashcards.com

A set of magnets is alot of fun too.

[Mittsy]

We're going to be putting together Pre-K Activities in a Bag for ds(4) to do while we work on lessons with dd(6) come this fall.

http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/preschool_activities.htm

http://www.activitybags.com/

[pianojazzgirl]

My ds has recently become v. interested in smaller, more detail-oriented toys, vs. more "toddleresque" kind of stuff.  I wonder if the same thing has happened with your ds (outgrown his toys).  Playmobil is a huge hit with my ds, and also really enjoys playing with his "big kid Lego" (ie. not Duplo).  His playing has changed a lot in focus between 3 - 3.5.  If you are as lucky as we are to have a used toy store in your area, maybe give it a scout to see if there's anything there you can pick up for cheaply that he might enjoy.

[maddymama]

How often do you get out of the house and do playdates or go to the playground with your son?

When DD1 was that age, we HAD to do alot of playdates.  She was interested in playing with friends, not alone.  If we did a playdate every other day or so (and did story time at the library) and other activities with others, she was much happier.  We ended up enrolling her in preschool a few mornings a week to meet her social needs.

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by maddymama 

How often do you get out of the house and do playdates or go to the playground with your son?

When DD1 was that age, we HAD to do alot of playdates.  She was interested in playing with friends, not alone.  If we did a playdate every other day or so (and did story time at the library) and other activities with others, she was much happier.  We ended up enrolling her in preschool a few mornings a week to meet her social needs.

This.

My 2yo gets destructive when we are home all day.  She's always been much happier and more adequately stimulated when we are out and about, visiting friends, going to the playground, storytime, the zoo, beach, etc.  Fortunately I like getting out and being active too, so there are days when not much gets done at the house, but DD is so messy at home that she undoes most of my cleaning anyway!

[HidaShara]

Originally Posted by maddymama 

How often do you get out of the house and do playdates or go to the playground with your son?

When DD1 was that age, we HAD to do alot of playdates.  She was interested in playing with friends, not alone.  If we did a playdate every other day or so (and did story time at the library) and other activities with others, she was much happier.  We ended up enrolling her in preschool a few mornings a week to meet her social needs.

Also agreed!  DD is about the same age and *any* amount of getting out of the house helps 1000%.  Even going to the grocery store, the park, anything.  Just a new place where she can explore and see things.  I can't stand to spend a single day in the house with her.  We both get so bored and cabin-fever-y that we're fighting over nothings in no time.  But even a grassy park with no children and no playground is a world of discovery to a 3-year-old.  Turning over rocks looking for bugs, building forts, chasing birds, learning the names of plants - ANYTHING new keeps us both happy.

It also wears her out and makes play time quieter and bedtime quicker, for the record. :D