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.

@FolkSongSweet as well done on getting out and home and keeping everyone alive!
You must be shattered with having to feed so often, you warrior.

DS is at his dads today so it’s just been me and the baby, I’ve been more bloody organised than o have in months. All of DS’s old clothes sorted and put on Facebook to sell, next size up bundle of clothes for the baby in the washer, to be organised on Wednesday when DS is at nursery, kids wardrobe cleaned out and new hanging rail put up, toy kallax rearranged, junk got rid of, space made for inevitable Christmas gifts.

It is surprising just how much stuff I can get done without a 3 year old with me!

Tomorrow is a home day, I’m going to set up his blocks and magna tiles on the tuff tray before I go to bed, he’s not played with them for a week or two so I’m hoping that will spark off some independent play with him.

@BertieBotts there's a great YouTube video of Michael Rosen reading that book. He's so expressive and he almost sings it!

@MonkeyPuddle you've been super productive. We love the magma tiles too. Do you have the real ones? I have lidls one and I've been looking at getting more from Amazon. I wonder if they are compatible with each other

Today we started on the postbox for the December tuff spot idea I have brewing. I thought Xmas cards and pens and a postbox with some lights and other Xmas bits might be nice. I got the box from M and s food hall.

Also we finally played with our clean safe recycling I've been collecting. Thank god I can chuck that now! We sorted it all out and every so often the bin lorry would come and check our piles and beep it's horn if we'd made a mistake. She loved that bit.

Also these Xmas trees are cute but not sure how easy they would be to make without a very hot glue gun which defeats the object really if I'm doing most of the craft.

I like your postbox @footprintsintheslow, might need to steal that idea!
Today we have made skittles, baked biscuits, played lego and been on 2 walks. It sounds impressive but the attention span of my boys and the LONG day when you are at home also means we also fit in watching snail and the whale 3 times and then numberblocks to give me a break to cook dinner!

The biscuits were to this recipe, it’s great. Easy and cheap to do. My 3.5 DS can make them with me and my 2 year old threw a load of jam all over them so it went well. Makes a lot though so I do half a receipe or I end up eating them all!
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/simple-jammy-biscuits/amp

So many lovely play ideas/photos everyone.

DS2 is getting over his cold but barely slept last night (uncomfortable sinuses maybe?) so I woke up with a migraine and DH had to do everything till after lunch while I lay in the dark and whinged.

I think DH and I need to start taking some multivits/berocca.

DS2 has a zoom 10m HV review tomorrow so that will be nice for him I think (he loves smiling at people in the computer! poor
2020 children I don't think DS1 realised there were people in the computer till he was much older).

@Camomila oh god commiserations migraine are so awful. Do you take sumatriptan or anything?

No, I usually have 2 ibuprofen, a warm wheat bag on my forehead while napping , and then lots of salty food after.

Is sumatripan good for nausea? I can get rid of the headache bit ok like that but the nausea tends to last all day.

Aah never mind, I just googled and the main side effect is that it makes you feel sick plus I'm still bfeeding DS2. Thanks for the suggestion though :)

Oooh yes I love that video version :) will stick to the actual book for now though.

Those jammy biscuits look great @Postmanbear will definitely be trying those! We made puff pastry stars today, link is www.myfussyeater.com/cheesy-puff-pastry-stars-kids-christmas/ but basically cutting stars out of ready rolled pastry, brushing them with beaten egg and sprinkling on cheese- DD loved it.
Does anyone have any tips for teaching toddlers to take turns/ participate in games? We have loads which I am looking forward to playing, but DD (2.5) just cant seem to get the hang of them.

@footprintsintheslow we have cheap ones from amazon and i really rate them.

I was going to put them out for morning but DS is super into rescuing things at the minute so I’ve set up a basic rescue on his tuff tray and then we have rice crispies to add to it to extend the play a bit longer if he’s happy to.

@Camomila I haven't had any sickness with them but then I don't get any sickness with a migraine. My worst memory is having a migraine with a newborn. I honestly didn't think I'd get through it. Husband was great through it all fair play.

Glad to hear everyone is now out of isolation long may it last.

Loving some of the suggestions posted recently and it's great to see appreciation for magna tiles, I love playing with them, they are very therapeutic.

Also can I have a little self pitying moan about the new proposed plans for families with children under 1 to be allowed to bubble. Whilst I'm delighted for those with new babies, my small person will have just over a week from December 2nd until he turns 1 so it's blooming useless to us and once again we are being left without support, just wish it was for under school aged.

Hi all! I’ve asked to join the FB group @MonkeyPuddle - my profile pic is me in sunglasses with my toddler on my shoulders
Feel like I’ve given up a bit this last few days amid house move preparation. However since DD turned 3 a few days ago she now has lots of new stuff to play with (downside, even more toys to trip over in our teeny house). Why do all toys have so many bloody parts/bits? But tbf DD has been really good lately and we’ve mostly had fun at the play park or sitting in the tuff tray giving all her toy horses/cars/babies a bath. She can spend hours on this. I just have to remember to have dry clothes handy and it’s great fun!

@Lostthetastefordahlias re turn taking, we’ve got some orchard toys games that are basically too easy for DS (or we play a simplified version of them) - post box game and red dog blue dog are both basic colour matching games - and when we play those they’re basically just practice at turn taking. Sometimes I will get some of DS’s toys to join in so they will all have to have a turn, and I pretend that one of them (usually his octopus who has many hands!) is naughty and won’t wait his turn, which DS finds hilarious. After a few goes like this he’s now much better.

Has anyone got any good Christmas activities planned? We’d like to make it really special for DS since he’s just had the upheaval of a new sister. The things I’ve thought of so far are: book advent calendar (just finished putting this together), making Christmas biscuits/gingerbread, making Christmas cake, Christmas cards, attempting paper chains/garlands, choosing and decorating Christmas tree, walk around to see neighbours’ decorations/lights, learning and singing some Christmas songs, setting up and talking about nativity set...anything else? He’s 2.5 and doesn’t have the patience for complicated crafts yet!

@FolkSongSweet we choose new baubles for everyone each year, so we end up with a complete mishmash of decorations on the tree, but that depends on how you like your tree.
I’ve also bought one of those felt trees to pop in the back of a door for DS to decorate over and over again.

We have some Christmas crafts coming from baker Ross soon. We read ‘the night before Christmas’ with hot chocolate curled up on the sofa multiple times through December. Lots of Christmas song playing, DS is r ally into musical stairs at the minute.
I’ve bought a tin of Ikeas heart shaped Christmas biscuits so we can ice a few of those every now and again without having to go to the effort of making biscuits each time.
I’ve got paper chains this year as well

@Lostthetastefordahlias we have a magnetic fishing game that we use for then taking. I catch one and she catches one etc.

Also those wet no mess picture books which reveal a picture with items to find. So if it's a farm picture with 8 chicks to find, I use the pen until I find one and then it's toddlers turn. And what @FolkSongSweet said orchard games are great.

As for Xmas activities how about a Xmas tuff spot messy play there must be millions on Pinterest.

We've got one of those projectors that you can get that shine snowflakes or whatever up the wall. Toddler hasn't seen ours but was mesmerised by the one in the shop window..."what am I seeing???"

How about a snowball fight? You can buy fake snowballs at home bargains but I've got a stash of white pom-poms for the job.

I'm working from home this morning whilst H is away so I'm hoping a change of tuff spot theme will be an exciting distraction.

Thanks @footprintsintheslow and @FolkSongSweet - will definitely try those ideas to encourage turn taking.

I had forgotten about paper chains but DD will love those this year! Other Christmas activities - I wanted to get the Hobbycraft cardboard igloo but I need to stop ordering online so I have removed the cover from her beach sun tent thing and am going to cover it with a white sheet to make an igloo/ winter den, with fairy lights/ felt icicles/ hanging snowflakes/ white fluffy duvet for “snow”. She has some penguin etc soft toys and some christmas books I will put in there too, and am planning to do some artic activities like “floor is lava” but with icebergs, magnetic fishing in “ice pond” etc.
At DDs nursery last year they covered some packing boxes in white paper (and some in black etc for the hat/ belt) and they built snowmen and knocked them down/ threw beanbags at them. They loved it I think because ofthe scale of it and the crash of the boxes when they fell so Am hoping to try that too.
Dd also loves dressing up and dancing, and I have a few christmas dressing up bits like reindeer antlers and santa hat, so I am going to improvise the rest and do a christmas dressing up box, then we will do dances like “flutter like a snowflake” “prance like a reindeer” etc.
Hope everyone has had an ok day.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas activities this year, only another few days until Advent and then we can crack on 😁

I have a few Christmas craft books I'll have to flick through.

Big DD makes window stars every year, they're far too advanced for little DD but I think we're going to have a window star-and-paperchain making day this Sunday, and I'll do a hot chocolate buffet - hot chocolate in the slow cooker, then little plates of various toppings, grated candycanes, sprinkles, cinnamon, that sort of thing. Factor in a big walk and that will be nice to come home to.

When big DD was younger, I did a few The Snowman parties, which basically involved her mates coming round in their PJs to watch The Snowman and have a hot chocolate buffet. I think it's time to resurrect it, only sadly minus the visiting children

We've a few lovely big red berried holly trees in our garden, so cutting some and making up wreaths will take up a bit of time. DD2 can poke bits in.

Making dried orange slices is another one.

Candycane playdough - basically white and red and peppermint scented, with Christmas cookie cutters

Ice cubes in the tuff tray

Plenty of walks around to see the Christmas lights.

Shaving foam "snow"

Decorate your own bauble - get a cheap pack of plain baubles and let child loose with glue stick and sequins

I've packed away the volcano today for three weeks when the dinosaurs will come
Back out again.
Bloody rice everywhere and this is by far the most popular aspect of the set up. She likes to pour it in bottles and egg boxes.

I've put wooden scoops on the Amazon Xmas list as they would be lovely for that sort of play.

We made three little pigs out of yoghurt pots earlier. I made one and cut out the ears and noses then left her to it. We've painted a toilet roll grey to make a wolf and then we'll aim for some houses.

How is your DH now footprintsintheslow? How is the BF going now MonkeyPuzzle?

@Lostthetastefordahlias he's still staying at his parents to rest and recuperate. We are in our own little routine so it's working well.

@footprintsintheslow. Glad to hear that he's on the road to recovery and you're all doing ok at home .

Roll on bedtime, that's all I'm saying!

@PinkDaydreams

Roll on bedtime, that's all I'm saying!

I'll second that! My ears are ringing and I've decided it's a total myth that under 1s are not capable of having tantrums.