Trapped Toddler Parents of Winter 2020/21 Support Thread - Puddlesuits at the ready!

[ReallySpicyCurry]

Are you the parent of a small child who doesn't yet sit still for more than five minutes? Do local lockdowns mean there are no baby and toddler groups for miles? Are you sick of walking the same three routes every day since March? Then come and join our support thread! I have started this after some of us had a good moan on a thread in AIBU ("To be worried about staying sane stuck inside all winter with a 2 year old?") because I thought it might be nice to share ideas/activities/general moans and concerns, over what is probably going to be a tricky winter for those of us with babies and toddlers.

Don't forget the answer to all your prayers though... The ever reliable puddlesuit. Puddlesuits are absolutely mandatory this year, and you are expected to wrestle your child into one and make them jump in puddles daily. If your child goes blue with cold, administer a swift dose of hot chocolate and hope your local Amazon delivery driver gets move on with your latest order of kinetic sand/playdough/ball pit/stickers. Failing all else, Peppa Pig is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, in October as in March.

@PolarBearStrength I highly recommend the Aldi wooden doll house. Lovely quality and a bargain at £29.99.

This is the thread I need. DS is 26 months and currently 32 weeks pregnant with DD.

My mum was an early years teacher so bought DS a tuff spot and stand for his birthday. It's currently outdoors as a large elevated puddle. I need to set it up with something but DS loves standing on it and splashing around.

Car picnic, genius! He loves sitting in the car. Imagine the excitement when grandad brings his old landrover over. He could sit in there for hours. I will be trying that. And sausages in a flask. I have to go for a scan tomorrow, I'm tempted to take myself a flask of sausages for lunch!

A current favourite activity after the afternoon nap is to go and clamber around on my bed whilst having all curtains shut and our little moon and stars rotating projector thing on. He was just entertained for an hour doing that. I can get away with just laying on the bed supervising.

Our village playground is currently condemned, with new stuff apparently being installed this month. I wish they'd get on with it, it would be nice to not have to drive 20 minutes to get to another one!

@Twilightstarbright I’ve just seen that and it’s not available online! Gutted! Will have to have my friends and family keep an eye out.

The Melissa and Doug fold and go doll's house is really sweet, I was tempted to get it for Christmas this year, purely because it looks a bit like our actual house. But it may err a little toward the pink side.

I think we've settled on some sort of indoor pop up Wendy house/tipi type thing for DD's main present this year, mainly because it'll be nice as a reading/tea party with dolls nook if she starts using her room a bit more (what with finally sleeping in it and all) plus lockdown, plus shit weather. All potential gifts are now judged on the "how long will it keep us occupied if we're stuck inside" standard.

I forgot about base layers under puddle suits, thank you - I've a few proper ones and a packet of thermal m&s vests yet to open, so that will tide us over for a while yet.

Hanging up the tuff tray outside is genius!

@ReallySpicyCurry Considering the one he loves looks like this: images.app.goo.gl/K9PFdr6Mxnv7rbum6 I don’t think pink is too much of an issue 😂

My DS just got given a reusable sticker set from Melissa and Doug. He's happy to play independently with it for a good while.

Aiming to try and get outside most days for a while too. Got him a pair of waterproof trousers recently which have been fab!

@PolarBearStrength oh my God I'm pretty sure one of my cousins had that exact one pink wouldn't be an issue for me either, but, well, you know

@PolarBearStrength lidls are doing lovely people soon...see pictures

As for wide flasks, does anyone have any recommendations as I bought one and for chunky soups and it's barely luke warm after 3 hours. The soup goes in piping hot and I heat with boiling water first. Am I missing something?

@footprintsintheslow you genius!! I went to tkmaxx, home bargains and Poundland today looking for a table cloth but couldn't find one. I have a shower curtain at home already!! Thank you!

Oh my goodness, this is the thread for me! Placemarking and then I'm going to go back and read the whole thing. DS usually goes to nursery 3 days a week but his bubble had a positive test over the weekend so now he has to isolate for the next 10 days. He's a very active 14 month old and we live in a flat with no garden so it's...interesting. I've got an online supermarket delivery coming tomorrow and I've just added a couple of bottles of wine before the cut off because I'm going to need them.

Something my son likes is unpacking the food shopping. So whilst he's been having his nap, I've been putting some groceries in bags to make it look like I've been food shopping, put on the kitchen floor and he then enjoys unpacking it all.

With the car picnic, are they sitting in their car seats? Doesnt the food go everywhere?!

Aha yes @PinkDaydreams great plan! I’d never thought to put it in bags but I have definitely put all the teabags back in the box before and pretended it was a new one so dd could fill up the jar...

Also pasta, biscuits.... anything that goes in a jar really!

Have just remembered a few more of our faves....

• “Magic paint” on the house wall Or fence (pot of water with paintbrush)
• washing the French doors
• washing the car. If not too freezing I get dd to help but sometimes she prefers to sit inside and squeal with delight while I throw buckets of water over the car
• scooping oats
• “float or sink?” Random objects (usually raid the recycling) and predict whether they’ll sink or float in a bucket of water

Quite a lot of mine involve water! Never realised how much I use it for child-entertaining purposes.

An active one I stumbled upon was getting my yoga mat out. That’s all the prep required. I just plonked the yoga mat down and she went bonkers doing all sorts of her own stretches and acrobatics for a good half hour with no input. Don’t know why but it was VERY exciting for her.

Also make a “tent”. She will sit inside reading and doing god knows what for ages. I usually get called upon to give my famous bear performance though.

Crafty ones:

• make a rocket out of a kitchen roll tube
• milk carton papier-mâché elephants
• make crazy masks out of cereal boxes
• sock puppets

Make your own puzzle. I glued a printed picture or a page from a magazine onto cardboard and cut it out in random shapes - hey presto new puzzle.

@Magpiefeather oh come on, you can't tease us like that, tell us about your famous bear performance!!!

This was something I was going to mention for little ones. It's a thin covering to go over a balloon so they don't poo and give everyone a heart attack. Then an advert cake on Facebook for them, as though fb had read my mind?! 😬

POP not poo 🤪

Some more great ideas here. Going to steal the balloon, tent and float and sink ones!

@PinkDaydreams picture the scene - mid 30s woman on hands and knees sniffing around a make shift tent and making hungry grunting noises. The bear tries to break into the tent with her snout but is always foiled by the child inside the tent. The woman does not get bored of being the bear but her knees don’t half bloody hurt

@footprintsintheslow I LOVE this! Never knew it existed. Have always feared balloons but no longer!

Oh @Magpiefeather I think I'm going to have to steal your game! I'm going to dig the circus tent out of the shed and play bears tomorrow, I'll be sure to think of you whilst bearing about!

Child is removed from carseat during car picnic. DH likes to stand at the side of the car and look around while he munches his sandwich, so either way the passenger seat is free and child is allowed to sit on it - a very big treat - or on the middle seat in the back, close to her sister. Sometimes if it's a sunny car picnic and we've parked somewhere particularly nice, we will actually exit the car. Car parks at the start of "heritage trail" type places always seem good for this - you know, a wall and a picnic bench and a view over three stones covered in brambles that were Very Significant in 1567 or whatever. You'd never stop there if you didn't have some tuna sandwiches and a two year old.

Yoga mats are indeed great. DD likes a bit of Cosmic Kids

Car picnic is done with the toddler in the boot
I’ve got a blanket down in the bottom so can just shake the crap and crumbs out. Plus the boot door keeps him dry if it’s a bit drizzly. It’s also VERY exciting for the 3 year old.

Also for indoor easy play we play with bubbles a lot. Catching them, blowing them around, lying under a bubble machine.

We did painting with acorns the other week, paper cut so it fit in the bottom of a big Tupperware, acorns dipped in paint, popped in the Tupperware and rolled around to make patterns. Popped the lid on and shook the shit out of them as well for a bit of noise.

I like the idea of doing an autumn treasure hunt... Go on a walk to collect acorns, leaves and sticks and then paint autumn pictures with them.

@MessAllOver

I like the idea of doing an autumn treasure hunt... Go on a walk to collect acorns, leaves and sticks and then paint autumn pictures with them.

Whilst only using the autumn regulation colours of red, yellow, orange and brown!😂