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.

2. Blowing bubbles in the bathtub – Great for cold or rainy days.

3. Bathtub crayons – pain to clean, but DS LOVES them

4. 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.