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.

[Nancydowns]

Who was up an hour early this morning.

Gotta love the clocks going back. 😁

Does anyone use a grow clock?wpuld it be best to put it back the full hour, or should I do it in 15 minute increments over the next 4 days.

[1400spincycle]

I think I need to tell everyone in this thread about warm wellies www.warmwellies.co.uk/ yes I am completely evangelical about them but they are just amazing. Warm dry feet all the time!

Also I have found that getting my two mini rucksacks, toy binoculars/ magnifying glasses, compasses etc has made the going out for a walk thing more interesting for them. - it doesn’t speed us up (Rather the opposite!) but there is less ‘ I want to go home...’ whinging now.

[kwaziseyepatch]

I got our triclimb when DD was 20 months and it probably wasn't worth the expense (about £200) in terms of use for her but they have good second hand resale value and I'm hoping when DS is mobile he might use it more, he's enjoyed batting at scarfs tied to it whilst lying underneath already. It folds flat and goes under the sofa - so huge plus there.

I've borrowed a starter wobbel from whirli and that hasn't really taken off here but if I had the space I would see the benefit long term plus you can use it for exercise etc.

[Twilightstarbright]

@OhRosalind I think it's a great age to get them.

We have the wobbel board with a felt side as we have hard floors, in hindsight I wish I'd got the normal one as we are moving to a carpeted house.

We have the triclimb pikkler. My reason for choosing both is that the weight limit is 100kg so I can go on them, and I feel like they are super sturdy. Don't have any accessories for them. I bought them from babipur but there's a few secondhand groups on Facebook that could be worth a look?

[MessAllOver]

@Nancydowns. Yup, DS up at 6.15 this morning. I know I'll get little sympathy here (), but he usually sleeps until a very comfortable 7.15, which gives me time to have a cup of coffee, get the washing on and empty the dishwasher before he's awake. I used to love the hour change pre-DC as an extra hour of sleep!

[OhRosalind]

Thanks both. I think DS would enjoy the triangle and I quite fancy the wobbel for myself! Was thinking of a non-felted one and just using it on a big rug. The fold-away aspect of the Pikler is definitely appealing, everything is more exciting when it hasn’t been seen for a day or two.

Random activity of the day: DS has spent 25 minutes this morning peeling hard boiled eggs.

[footprintsintheslow]

@Nancydowns I've put our grow clock (for my 2.5 year old) back the full hour and just gone with it. We had a wonderful routine going of bed at 6pm wake up at 7am with the grow clock.

I'm not smug about this at all as I've had no sleep for two years so this was a sudden improvement helped by her growing older and the grow clock working well for us. BUT last week she's decided that 5am is the time to wake up. So any grow clock changes are irrelevant to her right now.

I go into bed with her until the sunshine comes on the clock (now set at 6am) then she can go to play. Then I rest in bed to 'let the new baby grow some more in my tummy'. Can't wait until she wakes at 7 again or is that a mythical time like when covid has gone?!

[ReallySpicyCurry]

Is the grow clock worth it? We're making a move from cosleeping to own toddler bed this week, as soon as DH constructs said bed, and I was wondering if one would help. I think it's the right time, but when she does sleep nicely she's so snuggly, and I'll miss her.

Mine is a crap sleeper too, though she seems to have dropped her nap, which I haven't missed as much as I thought. Anyway it gives us a whole extra hour for puddle jumping.

[footprintsintheslow]

My husband built a triangle which our 2.5 year old loves and we have a non felted cheap version of the wobble board coming for Christmas. I didn't know felt was a thing but I think I could add that. I love the pictures of them getting used in different ways.

[LittleMissLockdown]

Some excellent ideas on this thread! As an early years educator I'm also pleased to see the tuff tray love, such amazingly versatile chunks of plastic. If you need more ideas for using them there are about 11 billion groups on facebook, so that should keep you going until at least November.

I think we need a pre walker support thread too, for the baby that would rather crawl through the puddles rather than jump in them.

Also 100 % agree with this! I have a very active 10 month old. So far he tries to waddle but we are not quite at the puddle jumping stage. Which ironically given the thread would actually make walks in the park so much more interesting. Any and all ideas on keeping him from screaming when the rain cover goes on would also be appreciated.

[PinkDaydreams]

Morning all!
I completely forgot about the clocks, I did wonder why my little one was wide awake at 5.30?!
My boy is nearly 3, has autism, hates messy play, also hates painting, freaks out at wellies.....it's going to be a loooooong winter! We are in a tier 3 area :(
I have ordered some puffy reuseable stickers which are due any day soon :) I love the suggestion of shredded paper, I think I'm going to purchase a cheap shredder as I can imagine him liking paper.
I've also been wondering about kinetic sand but I don't think he will sit still Kong enough to play with it. He loved normal sand in the summer, although he preferred to to pour it onto the floor. I might actually buy a plastic table cloth for on the floor and bring his sand table inside for him to carry on playing with.

[ReallySpicyCurry]

I might try Whirli just to give the pikler add ons a go. We have one, bought for DD's first birthday with the money she was given, and I've been flip flopping over whether to keep it or not,now she can climb it. Recently though, she's been turning it into a den, and I wonder would she use it more with some of the add ons, like the ball run. I think they use jt more then, but the add ons themselves are expensive so I'm loathe to take the risk. Plus we only just have the room for the triangle really. Hmmm.

[footprintsintheslow]

@ReallySpicyCurry I bought the clock and hated it immediately. The light is too bright at night in my opinion even on the dimmest setting.
Then in desperation after a few 4am get ups I tried it again. I use the clock on the dark mode at night so the room is pitch black with the sun coming on at 6 am now (was 7 but we are having a relapse).

Anyway from 4am we moved the times in 15 minute increments to a very comfortable 7am. It's been heavenly and changed our lives. Hoping it will work again now but we are potty training and she's waking up to have a poo and wants her nighttime nappy off immediately.

[PinkDaydreams]

Kong?! That was meant to be long.

[MumbleJunction]

We sprang for a tuff tray and stand in lockdown and it is great. It takes up half the bloody kitchen in winter but lives outside in summer.

We've been getting by pretty much using the Imagination Tree, esp their recipe for play dough which I even love to play with. When it goes all crumbly it can be resuscitated by kneading in more water.

[footprintsintheslow]

@LittleMissLockdown I'm a reception/year 1 teacher and at 10 months I did all sensory things with an autumn theme with no other toys out.
A huge basket of autumn leaves, berries in bottles to shake, pine cones, strings of conkers, laminated autumn leaves hanging down from the ceiling out of reach, small pumpkins to investigate. You know normal Pinterest fare and it looked classy whilst actually really enjoyable.

[ReallySpicyCurry]

@PinkDaydreams we love reusable stickers too- you can get gel ones on Amazon which last even longer, JesPlay stickers they're called. We stick them to our acrylic mirror. Melissa and Doug have reusable sticker sets too, they come with little scenes.

Can I also give a big shout out to FUZZY FELT, possibly the most pointless and annoyingly toy in the world, but as addictive as crack to my toddler. £2 set found in a charity shop last year has provided many minutes of peace for me.

[ReallySpicyCurry]

@footprintsintheslow ooh I think you've sold me on it... I'll see how she goes first, we thought we'd better not crack out all the incentives right away, so fingers crossed the new bed and Bing bedding works enough magic first

[PinkDaydreams]

I've seen the gel stickers but havent bought any......yet! Can I ask, if they get stuck to themselves is that it, game over with them? Or can they be unpeeled from themselves?

[Nancydowns]

The grow clock worked really well for us too. Took about a week for dd to understand, she was I think about 1 when we introduced it. She was waking up earlier and ealier until she was wanting to get up at like 4am.

Now she sleeps until 7am. If she gets up before we just tuck her back in and remind her we don't get up until the sun comes up. She happily goes back to sleep.

She's also less stressed in the morning because she knows that if she wakes and the suns up we're going to get her out of bed. So she doesn't cry just calls for us and chats to her toys while she waits.

[sesquipedalia]

Joining!

[ReallySpicyCurry]

Yes to the Imagination Tree no cook playdough recipe. I've been making it for years and it's perfect every time

There's an aromatherapy version with oats and lavender which is amazing. In my dreams, my delightful poppet has a bubbly bath, a warm cup of milk, and winds down by playing with the aromatherapist dough at her dinky little table, before trotting joyfully off to bed for some high quality bedtime stories.

That is not the reality the dough is excellent though

[PinkDaydreams]

I feel a terrible parent saying this but I wish my little one would wear wellies. He just hates them, full meltdown when I've tried to put them on him. It must be part of his asd as he wouldn't wear sandals in the summer either. I also tried some espadrilles for summer but again the same thing.
All this talk of splashing in puddles and playing in the back garden with wellies makes me feel a bit sad as I know he'd love it but just won't wear wellies. I suppose I could get a cheap pair of black trainers (that's all he will wear) but I'm worried his feet will get cold as they will get soaked quickly.

[ReallySpicyCurry]

Gel stickers can indeed be unpeeled! In fact DD smooshed them together in a ball and they're fine.

[LittleMissLockdown]

[quote footprintsintheslow]@LittleMissLockdown I'm a reception/year 1 teacher and at 10 months I did all sensory things with an autumn theme with no other toys out.
A huge basket of autumn leaves, berries in bottles to shake, pine cones, strings of conkers, laminated autumn leaves hanging down from the ceiling out of reach, small pumpkins to investigate. You know normal Pinterest fare and it looked classy whilst actually really enjoyable. [/quote]
I had elaborate plans of doing similar but unfortunately my 10 month old will sit and investigate for about 0.005 seconds and then revert back to trying to learn to walk.