I know its been asked before but....

[raggedyanna]

What do you all do with your toddlers, we are stuck without a car in a small town with very little on offer. We do get out for a walk to the park or library or to friends whenever we can but the rest of the time it is just us at home and our yard is off limits until the landscaping is finished.

I have a basket of toys in ds' room and in the family room which I change every now and then but he is not overly interested in them.

I try to do a "special activity" 3 or 4 times a week usually something like art and craft or
songs and music.

We dont do a lot of rough and tumble play because its not really my personality and doesnt seem to be ds' either.

He does love stories and we read about 10 a day of these.

However the problem is the rest of the time he is quite clingy and while I can get him involved in house work for short periods the rest of time he is grouchy and just wants my attention.

What else can I do with him, what do others do?

[MamaG]

What about a parent and toddler group? I'm not a massive fan, but they are ok - DS seems to enjoy it. I've got a car, so I'm not quite as "stuck" as you though.

How about swimming? Is there a pool nearby?

Are there any woods to do a mini beast hunt, collect twigs and leaves to make gluey pictures or just enjoy being in the woods!

How about water - any rivers/streams where you can go play pooh sticks and now the weather is nicer, stick him in jellies/wellies with a bucket and a fishing net- or a stick to prod about with!

My DS loves all hte above :)

[throckenholt]

you sure you can't play in the yard ? My 4 and 3 year olds are having a great time playing in with the mud heap (and sand and rubble - building site castoffs) at the moment. They are having great fun building a "road" with sand and paving blocks etc. As long as there are no big holes to fall down or anything that might collapse then it is a very stimulating place to play.

[BettySpaghetti]

Agree with Throckenholt about the fact kids will play anywhere -we're mid renovation so when DS wants to go out we have to be with him (23m) due to all the piles of rubble etc.Yesterday though he found the remains of a pile of sand and excitedly said "beach" and proceeded to play in it for nearly an hour!

Equally, a bowl or bucket of water and some containers can be fun.

Indoors have you tried playdough, building dens (with sheets over clothes airers etc).

Are there any bus services that run near you? -even a trip to the next village or town can be a great adventure for a toddler!

[wannaBe1974]

baking is always fun, esp biscuits that he can cut out with cutters, then buy some food colouring pens and let him decorate them - we make gingerbread men and ds draws the faces on them when they're cooked using the food colouring pens.

Also if you can go outsie a good thing we used last summer was a bucket of water and a paint brush. ds "painted" the walls, and as its water, as soon as it dries it disappears, voila, magic paint! kept him occupied for hours.

[raggedyanna]

Thanks for replys but yard is deffo off limits as has been sprayed with nasty stuff and is danger zone at the moment. Bus anywhere else takes an hour and ds not so keen. No swimming or toddler groups local but do know 2-3 local toddlers who we visit regularly. May try the water and containers idea and huts ( he is 19months by the way)

[Mum2Ela]

Do you know if any other mums in the area, you could take turns visiting each others houses for coffee?