Mother Talkers

Let's Keep Them Busy!

by littlepear

Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 11:58:03 AM PDT

Everyday I work hard to keep DS busy. He's a high-energy toddler and always on the move. Up until recently, our schedule was filled with things like music class, library story times, nursery school and play dates. As my belly swelled and his tantrum level kicked up a few notches, I scaled back our agenda. So now I needed to find new things to keep him occupied. This month's issue of Parents magazine was a godsend. One of the featured articles is 100 ways to keep little kids happy. Thank you oh wise editors! It couldn't have come at a better time.

Now I am not a mom that is afraid of messy stuff like painting or cooking together. Some of my fondest memories are of Jack smearing brownie batter all over him and our kitchen table. Its only brown batter, right? Messy? Yes. Fun for a toddler? You bet! A pain to clean up? Of course. But he had a blast that afternoon.

I loved some of the suggestions in the article such as opening a petting zoo with stuffed animals, camping out in the living room, listening to books on CD in the car, dancing on bubble wrap, and wiping down the kitchen. We actually did the wipe down the kitchen activity yesterday. I had to clean and I could tell he was bored. It is amazing how a spray bottle filled with water and a dishtowel will mesmerize a 2 yo. He happily sprayed the cabinets and wiped them dry. His little face beamed with pride when we were done "cleaning".

A few of the suggestions were clearly geared toward older kids, but I plan to keep some of those stashed away for later use. One of my good friends actually has a rainy day activity box. Using a plastic take out food container from the craft store she filled it with little pieces of paper that each contain an activity. She pulls it out on rainy days and her son loves to be the one to choose the activity from the box.

There were a few suggestions on the list that I questioned. The author suggested dry erase markers for drawing on fitting room mirrors while mom is busy trying stuff on. For DS that would be a NIGHTMARE!! We'll skip that one. And we'll skip blowing bubble in the Dr's office waiting area/or while shopping.

While I only have 2 years of doing this mommy thing under my belt, I have a few fun actives that weren't included on this list.

  1. Styrofoam packing peanuts - ok, they are an environmental nightmare, but DS had a blast breaking them up into smaller pieces, putting them back into the small box from which they had come, counting them, etc. They kept him occupied for at least an hour. I also thought it would be fun to use them in an art project like glue them to construction paper and paint them. I also discovered that most of them would link together and make a chain. DS thought that was cool.
  1. Blowing bubbles in the bathtub - Great for cold or rainy days.
  1. Bathtub crayons - pain to clean, but DS LOVES them
  1. Making Pizza - we use store made crusts, I spoon on the sauce, he spreads it, he puts on the cheese (then proceeds to scrape the cheese and sauce off and eat them until they are gone and we start all over again...), then I bake.

OK, MTers, anyone out there want to share their favorite fun ways to keep toddlers busy? I'm always on the lookout for fun things to do.

Tags: fun, activities, toddlers (all tags)

Permalink | 24 comments

  • Bubble wrap! (0 / 0)

    Whenever we receive packages with the big bubble wrap, we tape it to the kitchen floor and dance on it. SO much fun.

    I saw the Parents article too and clipped it for future reference. Lots of great ideas!

    by Erika on Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 12:23:47 PM PDT

  • homemade playdoh (0 / 0)

    I used to have a recipe that used kool-aid packets for the color.  It was fun to mix up and it smelled good too.  My toddlers loved it and no worries if if was accidently tasted.

    Also, the kids used to "paint" their outside toys, swing set and the fence with a brush and a bucket of water. (Wish I had some pictures of that!)

    by happy clam on Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 12:24:08 PM PDT

  • shaving cream (0 / 0)

    on bathtub walls at night or when its cold; on outdoor patio tables when its sunny. Also, I sometimes pour a big dollop of Mr. Bubble in the tub with just one to two inches of water and let Darling Girl go at the floor and walls of the shower with a scrub brush. The more she plays "Cinderella" the cleaner the tub gets... she's busy AND helpful!!!

    Does that make me evil?

    by Suzanne77 on Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 12:25:15 PM PDT

  • I used to give liza windex and paper towels (0 / 0)

    to clean my sliders when she was about 2 or 3 (oh blah blah balh chemicals blah blah blah she's fine LOL) and I had the CLEANEST sliders up to about 3 feet that you can imagine! LOL

    by MKatherine1966 on Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 12:26:23 PM PDT

    • Last summer (0 / 0)

      I did that with DS using just water. It is amazing what just a little water will pull off. But he was more interested in putting his hands in the water than wiping it off. But hey, he had fun and that is all that really matters, right?

      Jen in NJ

      by littlepear on Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 12:31:29 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • We filled a box with rice, dry beans, macaroni, (0 / 0)

    sunflower seeds, etc and let DS and DD drive cars in it.  Their schools had "tactile" tables like that and they spent hours in them- our home version was just as lucrative.  We ended up feeding the mixture to the birds and squirrels when they outgrew it- two years after I put the box together.

    The also loved buttons.  We'd sort them, string them on pipe cleaners, trade them, hide them...big fun if you've got one of those monster button bags that seem to magically materialize in homes...

    by Laura on Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 12:54:16 PM PDT

  • All the stuff (0 / 0)

    they do with their hands when they're little, pinching, grasping, tearing, molding, pushing, builds the tiny muscles in the hand and become verrrrrry important when they start to use crayons and pencils for writing!

    With that in mind I bought a huge roll of "contractor's paper" (big roll of brown paper) and let Darling Girl go to town with markers, pens, pencils, crayons, stickers, paint, glitter glue, stamps etc. I'd let it dry and fold it up to use for "all occasion" wrapping paper. People (very often) loved it more than the gift...sigh.

    by Suzanne77 on Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 12:55:04 PM PDT

  • potato stamps (0 / 0)

    My mom used to halve a potato, stick a cookie cutter in the half and trim away the potato around the cookie cutter; take away the cookie cutter, and you have a perfect stamp. It works really well with little hands because it's not hard to grasp. Then all you need is a stamp pad, or even a dish of paint or food coloring in a pinch, and some paper.

    Jess really loves homemade playdough, too.

    by Rachel on Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 02:34:49 PM PDT

  • CLEANING! (0 / 0)

    DD LOVES her bottle of "cleaner" and will gladly sit and clean the same spot for at least twenty minutes.  I think its totally adorable.  I was talking to another mom, and I asked when does the toddler urge to help go away, and she joked "when they get good at it!"  Hah!

    by tessajp on Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 07:11:09 PM PDT

    • enviro cleaners (0 / 0)

      That's one of the good things about environmental cleaners. I've been using the Cinderella brand (which claims to be edible...although drinking it isn't really recommended), so I let the kids go to town with the bathroom spray. It's also hot pink, which makes them happy...

      by aussieyank on Sat Apr 05, 2008 at 06:58:55 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  • Sidewalk chalk! (0 / 0)

    Mine like to draw roads and train tracks and then drive trains and cars on them. Also, I let them use the chalk to "paint" their playset - perfect because it washes off in the next rainstorm.

    When my older son was almost three and I was expecting number 2, we bought a big chair for the nursery. The box that chair came in was a gift from God! We cut a hole for a door and a window and let him decorate it with markers. He loved draping a blanket across the top and playing house, bringing all his stuffed animals in and reading books, throwing balls over the top...we had that box for months and months and months until it finally gave up the ghost.

    Come to think of it, why do I ever buy my children anything? The best "toys" are often things like that.

    by mpg on Sat Apr 05, 2008 at 08:07:32 AM PDT

  • Butcher paper rolls and washing money (0 / 0)

    We blow through butcher paper rolls like mad.  During the summer, I roll a huge length down the driveway, squirt some washable paint on cardboard next to it in a few different places, and let the boys run up and down the length of the paper.  After it's dry, I roll it back up and use it for gift wrap for relatives.  They love it.

    When I'm really desperate, I let the boys empty out their piggy banks into a sink full of suds and have them wash their money.  They love to see how shiny it gets.

    We do a lot of "cooking", too.  We make big containers full of mix-up... usually cheerios, some nuts and seeds, some sort of dried fruit, pretzels and maybe some chocolate chips or something.  I just open the bags and point them in the right direction.  Making pudding by putting it into a tupperware and letting them shake it until it's thickened is a pretty big hit around here, too.

    by K C on Sat Apr 05, 2008 at 12:21:20 PM PDT

  • Fun ideas! (0 / 0)

    I liked reading all these ideas. Will have to bookmark . . . here are a couple more (low set up and clean-up times!)

    playing in the sink with bath toys

    "sandbox"-- buy giant rubbermaid (the long, flat, under the bed kind work best) and a bag of sand. Put it on the deck or porch and let them go to town while you sit and relax. Love this one.

    DS has always been big into blocks and building so pre-Lego, he spent a lot of time with those big cardboard blocks that look like bricks.

    by minnmom on Sun Apr 06, 2008 at 01:54:27 PM PDT

Permalink | 24 comments