Activities / Playthings for 15 mo old

777 Views 11 Replies 10 Participants Last post by ja mama, Oct 1, 2003

BelCanto

Discussion Starter · Sep 28, 2003

Hi--

Lately I have been feeling like I don't know how to keep my dd (15 mo.) entertained. I just started working during the week and on the weekends, I feel pressured to get things done around the house and to spend time with dd. The problem is, I am feeling like all of my time is trying to get "chores" done while constantly saying..."no...don't get into that" to dd.

I thought I had eliminated all of the problem areas but I see there are a few things that I still need to put away so they are not an issue. But I'd like to have more toys that dd can play with safely AND that she is interested in. Little "areas of interest" around the house that she can play with. I went to toysRus and really didn't see anything that caught my eye.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

--Jennifer

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ja mama

· #2 · Sep 29, 2003

My ds is totally into pull toys, he has a snail that makes a little slithery noise as it follows him. He loves it, it's like playing chase by himself. He also like a little ride on firetruck, he just figured out how to make it go forward today, but he's been riding it backwards, getting off, pushing it across the floo so he can go across the room backwards again. However, he does try to stand on the seat every once in a while. And all of a sudden he's in to Matchbox cars, going vroom vroom across the carpet crawling with it. Hope that helps.

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OTMomma

· #3 · Sep 29, 2003

MY dd is 14 months old, and to be honest we have WAY too many toys. At the moment her favorites are: a baby doll that is very realistic- and was mine, that she likes to take care of, and a little people school bus. She puts anything that will fit in the bus and pushes it around the house! But really when I need to do house work it seems like she is *right there* so I have her "help". When I do laundry, I put the wet clothes on the dryer door and she pushes them in, I then let her push the button to make the dryer "GO". When I do dishes, or cook dinner, I put her in her high chair and give her some spoons and a bowl, or whatever is handy, so she can imitate me. For me this is the perfect solution, my baby and the house both get attention. Yes, it does take me longer to do the house work, but dd is happy.

Good luck

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OhMel

· #4 · Sep 29, 2003

Hey Jennifer,

Target has a whole row of wooden/non-electronic toys that look interesting. Some are by the Parents magazine people. Their toys tend to be simple, traditional things but they seem to keep ds's interest the longest. We have a set of their buckets (14 or so nesting buckets) that he's played with for 8 months or so now. He's much more interested in these type of toys than anything electronic. (If only this would translate into him leaving the stereo alone.)

Also, will she let you wear her as you do your chores? Ds is perfectly content to do whatever with me if I wear him. I did get a backpack carrier b/c he's a little heavy for me in the sling for vacuuming and stuff.

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Piglet68

· #5 · Sep 29, 2003

I'm learning that nothing beats the toys you've already got at home. Pots and pans, stackable tupperware, etc.

One thing that has worked well for me when I'm trying to clean is to fill a drawer with "baby safe" items. She is really into taking things out and putting them back, so it can keep her occupied for a long time. She'll take each item out of the drawer one by one, examine it, put it down somewhere, then when it's empty she puts them back (unfortunately, she's not as fastidious as when she's taking them out, lol). When I'm done my little task, I generally just have to scoop up the remaining items, dump them back in the drawer, and we're outta there. If you change the contents every now and then, you can keep this up for a while.

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PumpkinSeeds

· #6 · Sep 29, 2003

What Piglet said.

My ds used to love to rearrange and play with my tupperware.

Oh, he's 27 months now and STILL has his favorite pieces to play with.

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Mamma2Addison

· #7 · Sep 29, 2003

Definitely agreeing on the tupperware! MIL sat ds down with her's and he was mesmerized with stacking them, tearing them apart, etc. I gave him a box of them and he loves pulling them out and "building" things with them. He also likes measuring cups.

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buttercup

· #8 · Sep 29, 2003

I definately ditto Piglet's post re: you already have teh toys in your house - pots, pans, wooden spoons, tupperware w/ lids, etc.

My 15 mo old likes to be w/ me when I get home from work. She will sit at my feet and play w/ a stainless steel bowl and various objects such as apples or oranges that I place in the bowl. She LOVES to pull EVERYTHING out of the lower shelves in our kitchen (we do not have cabinet doors). I have a large box of ziploc containers that she plays w/. It does make a mess, but it keeps her busy for 30 min (enough time for me to do what I need to do).

If she really gets bored, I slip her DH's wallet. She loves to pull everything out of it and tries to put it back. Luckily, dd doesn't chew like on everything so that isn't something I worry about.

DD likes to help me clean and she loves the vaccum cleaner. Walmart sells kid brooms/ dust pans and a mini vaccum cleaner (for $17) that really vaccums.

DD has slide on shoes that you can get from the asian stores (she doesn't like to wear them, but she spends a good 20 min putting them on her feet). We also bought dd an Elmo Play Hut (which is recommended for toddlers 3 and up - I think because you can't lean against the playhut walls). This is dd's favorite toy because it is her 'hiding place' and it has lots and lots of plastic balls. Again, this came from Walmart. DD also has A Dora singing Doll that teachs spanish and has a song called 'I did it!" DD only knows a handful of words, but she can say "I did it!" perfectly when she accomplishes something. There are also various Elmo dolls, too. DD has blocks that come w/ a container she can fill and empty. She also has those containers where you fit a certain shaped block through its corresponding hole - square block goes through square shaped hole.

Hope that helps,
jenni

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natashaccat

· #9 · Sep 30, 2003

a basket full of clean diapers or laundry! dd loves to hand me clean stuff to fold and sort and the climb in the basket.

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buttercup

· #10 · Sep 30, 2003

natashaccat

LOL - I completely forgot about the basket of clothes. DD also loves to pull all the clothes out of a basket and then get it it. And she will just sit there for a few min as if she just climbed a mountain and is at the top looking over what she has accomplished. Too funny.

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pumpkinhead

· #11 · Sep 30, 2003

My 14 month old Bubba's current FAVOURITE 'toys' are : a wicker basket of clothes pins, a mug containing all of his baby spoons and forks AND a glass full of plastic chopsticks as well as a few boxes of pudding mix. Ditto on the tupperware! He has TONS of toys and books, but if I wanna keep him occupied while I hang out clothes\ do a few dishes, I put these things out for him. Works every time! Oh, and he LOVES to pull all of the shoes off the little stacking rack we have.

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ja mama

· #12 · Oct 1, 2003

Ah yes, childfriendly tupperware cabinets! We have a couple he can open that have no safety locks, pots and pans, tupperware, and a drawer full of all the plastic kid cups, spoons, bowls... I also have one locked door that has all my canned goods in it, when I need the novelty factor I open that door. He loves stacking then, unloading it on the floor, rolling them... He hasn't dropped any on his toes yet and I'm hoping he won't. And it's pretty quick to pick them all up.

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