So im kind of having a hard time...

[jl_darling]

This is my first time posting so please let me know if this is the right spot for this... Anyway here it goes...

So I work out of the house and my wife stays at home with our son, which I'm glad one of us is able to stay home with him. My problem is that I am trying to figure out activities I can do at home with my son inside since I get home so late. I come from a family that is into video games, TV, plastic loud toys etc etc... and my wife is not. Actually since my son was born she has become more and more 'crunchy' I think the term is, and I understand TV isn't something I should sit down and watch with my son all the time but I have a hard time figuring out other activities for a 2yr old after dark. I have fallen into the habit of cartoons and pizza when it's just my son and me, which my wife hates and I'm trying to get on the same page here and turn off the TV and find other activities... again I just don't know what to do with a 2yr old inside really.

Well I don't know if this post makes any sense to anyone, it's just all my scattered thoughts thrown together trying to get some advice from an outside source.... and if you see this post my dear wife... please try not to give me a hard time

So any advice would be welcome

thanks,
jonathan

[plunky]

I think your experience is pretty common with husbands of women who are in the MDC crowd. I'm an adult who likes cartoons and video games. If you want to share that sort of thing with your DS, it's OK as long as it isn't _all_ you do. Pizza every once in awhile should also be OK. I would hope your wife would compromise with you on this, she shouldn't be dictating how you interact with your kid.

I'm not an expert on what games two year olds play, but some ideas: ask your DS what he would like to play maybe? Can two year olds start getting into building play like with blocks and such? That might be fun. Or teaching basic motor skills with a ball?

I'm reading this book, which might help: Playful Parenting. This one is on my list, but I haven't cracked it yet: The Power of Play

I did a google search for "suggesting for playing with two year old" and it looked there were some decent websites out there:

http://www.nncc.org/Child.Dev/ages.stages.2y.html
http://www.littlekidsgamesonline.com...ens-games.html

[medaroge]

Reading! Reading is a great activity, You can go to the library together, pick out books that he is interested in and kind of go from there. See where it takes you. For example, after reading a book about trucks, my son would love to pretend to be a dump truck or cement truck, tumbling around. Kids are so imaginative, books are a great jump start to activities!

[soposdedi]

Puzzles, building blocks, interactive stuff like that. It gets easier the older that they get and the more their imaginations and desire for pretend play grows. Also 'play' can be tickling/wrestling (so good for kids to wrestle with dad!)... go outside for a bit to look at the moon and stars. An evening stroll before bed. Simple things. Also you should be commended for really making an effort to get on the same page as your wife, in parenting. It will bring you both a lot of peace and joy, in the end, and boy will your kiddo be a happy one .

[jighead]

Building forts out of pillows, sheets and blankets. Make a ramp, jump toys off of it. To stay active, I wrestle with and tickle my boys often, we run laps around the house to a made up song that repeats run, run, run over and the last stanza is something like touch the ground or jump in the air or fall down. Swing them back and forth between the couch and love seat, have them walk on your feet, put them up on your shoulders and walk around, or just throw them up and down until you can't take it anymore. My 4yo has been really into a couple of Rube Goldberg type online games, so we have been making small, 1 or 2 step Goldberg contraptions. Hide and seek, reading, coloring, and cleaning up are also staple activities.

Also, don't be afraid to go out in the cold and dark, my kids love seeing bats, stars, playing with flashlights, and we went for a special harvest moon walk a couple weeks ago.

[Authentic_Mother]

Originally Posted by jl_darling

This is my first time posting so please let me know if this is the right spot for this... Anyway here it goes...

So I work out of the house and my wife stays at home with our son, which I'm glad one of us is able to stay home with him. My problem is that I am trying to figure out activities I can do at home with my son inside since I get home so late. I come from a family that is into video games, TV, plastic loud toys etc etc... and my wife is not. Actually since my son was born she has become more and more 'crunchy' I think the term is, and I understand TV isn't something I should sit down and watch with my son all the time but I have a hard time figuring out other activities for a 2yr old after dark. I have fallen into the habit of cartoons and pizza when it's just my son and me, which my wife hates and I'm trying to get on the same page here and turn off the TV and find other activities... again I just don't know what to do with a 2yr old inside really.

Well I don't know if this post makes any sense to anyone, it's just all my scattered thoughts thrown together trying to get some advice from an outside source.... and if you see this post my dear wife... please try not to give me a hard time

So any advice would be welcome

thanks,
jonathan

I think it's awesome that you are trying your hardest to yeild to your wifes decisions!
I know that since my hubby works offshore for 2 weeks a month and is home for two weeks a month that I am VERY lenient when he is home and generally let him spoil her rotten.
I do agree that tv and pizza everynight might be a little much but if you have a 2 year old - why not build a fort?! Get a few blankets/sheets and build a fort with him and play a puzzle or cars under there. Kids love getting into hiding spots and small little spaces! You could do this probably 2 times a week and it will remain cool to him!
Instead of pizza will she let you do popcorn with him? Popcorn and a book maybe?

[astromama]

Hide and seek, ring around the rosie, movement games to music... get out any instruments you have and have a jam session. This is what my Dh does every day when he gets home, breaks out the guitar and shakers He may like to finger paint or color with large crayons at this age. Also, you could do bath time together and make that a 'daddy' thing. My son (18 months) loves getting in the shower with daddy and having daddy take him to the potty and read him books while he's sitting there. Really, the possibilities are endless. My son loves doing anything, so long as he's included and interacted with, from gardening with DH to washing dishes. (I give him a big bowl with a little bit of water and a lot of suds and a dishcloth and he's content). Watching movies together is fine, IMO, but the more you can connect through other activities the more you will bond and get to know each other, you know? I like the suggestion to take him on walks... that's a really good way to spend one on one time together!

[gmankono]

Late to the game in replying, but lots of the suggestions so far have worked well for me: blocks, reading, running around, building tents/forts, as well as having my daughter help me with whatever needed to get done that evening has been a good use of time.

We try to find a good balance (which, in our case would be 1/5 to 1/4 time on "screen time" videos or TV, with the rest of the time being more "real" activities) so that real interaction and doing things together is happening instead of just being in the same room together watching something that takes us both away mentally.

I'm all for watching old movies (we as a family have really gotten into Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, & Danny Kaye movies) and having "fun" food, but we find it makes a huge difference in mood and interaction (especially while Dear Daughter is learning so much so fast & mimicking a lot) when there is less TV and more direct interaction. She seems much less frustrated and desperate for our attention, since she is actually getting our direct attention and learning more as we do things.

I do look forward to the time when we find it's appropriate to get into video games - I had a huge desire to play old-school Mario on the N64 this past weekend - but again, I want to balance it with real adventures so that the rainy-day, on-screen adventures have a novelty and fun that can be taken or left without as much of the addictive quality that their creators want them to have. I want a Wii as much as the next guy, but I want to make sure DD can actually PLAY all of the sports, or has at least tried them all a few times, before getting into them on-screen.

Have great play-time, however it comes out!

[Meg_s]

my kids really like to play and build with duplo or lego, they're 17 mos and 3 years. The best thing for them is when their papa will sit on the floor and help them build things.

They also love if he lies on the floor and they run around and jump on him, wrestle etc.

Their favourite thing is when the livingroom floor is cleared, they get naked, and just run around and jump and squeal and chase each other or one of us.

[Bluegoat]

Some 2 year olds really like to cook. What about making a pizza together? It is really a very healthy food when you make it yourself, and kids love to put on the toppings. If you don't have time to do the crust, use english muffins or buy frozen dough.

There are lots of other good ideas here. One way we have controlled tv is to make it an event instead of a stand-by. We like Dr Who, so we all watch it together once a week.

[Juvysen]

My husband plays "elephant" with my kids. They say something like "daddy's an elephant!" and then he wanders around on hands and knees making elephant noises and then they get elephant rides. It's definitely a favorite. They all like to play with lincoln logs together. They have a train set that DH plays with them. They get out the musical instruments and have parades. Tickle fights.. Pretty much as long as DH is on the floor with them and prepared to be silly, it's all good.

[MeghansDad]

we do arts and crafts, building blocks, reading, ect.... i dont think its so much what you do as its more about the time spent.

[girlwouldmake3]

My second son is now 3 -- at 2 he loved for dad to build train sets, play "hide and seek", but most of all be chased around on his little plastic car (dad was on a plasma car). And reading. I've found that the more movies he watches (we don't have TV), the more he thinks about that and demands that -- perhaps that's what your wife is experiencing during the day!