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.

@WeSearchedHereWeSearchedThere oh yes!!! There is a building site near us, I stand there like a lemon while DS nearly wets himself with excitement... often I've thought 'should have bought a chair'

Please can someone point me in the right direction of the kindercraft knife?

Joining in! Ds is just 2 and at a very "creative" nursery where they do loads of amazing crafty stuff and outdoors things (it's also a forest school) so generally I feel like a terrible mum in comparison! On the plus side he's pretty good in wet and windy because they're out in all weathers there.

We can't do sand for medical reasons. Presumably kinetic sand is also fundamentally sand?

Ohtobeaseahorse- we live on an A road in a rural area, I've spent hours on the roadside whilst ds watches tractors and lorries go past! And the dustbin lorry! A tractor broke down outside our house one day. You can imagine the joy that caused.

@StrawScarecrow we are exactly the same. Bin man lorry! is what gets shouted most in our house!

DH doesn't work on Thursdays but I do (we both work a four day week) and when I started working from home in March I discovered that his and DS's one immoveable, set activity on that day was watching the bin men because it's our rubbish day... DH says recycling week is the best because they have to empty four separate bins/containers and so it takes long enough that he can drink a cup of tea while DS watches!

@Twilightstarbright here they are. The set of two are on offer right now. I feel like I should get commission on these because I tell everyone to buy them, but honestly it's been an absolute game changer for getting dinner ready.

www.kuhnrikon.co.uk/kinderkitchen-knife-set?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxNT8BRD9ARIsAJ8S5xYSXllmVv5L2FLWRh5QYMFjmCHy95YcujHvxoMsf3ju1FqH2TU0LpYaAhsDEALw_wcB

To the poster feeling a bit overwhelmed, honestly please don't. I'm certainly not some sort of super crafty mum- I did it a lot as part of my job, and I enjoy it to a point yes, but tbh what I was looking forward to when DD hit the toddler years was getting OUT and doing different things- swimming, farms, museums, activity groups. When I had my first child I was skint as hell and didn't drive, so much free puddle jumping occured, and it's knackering trying to count pennies and think up free stuff, and I used to feel awful that I couldn't afford/get to all the sing and sign and toddler drama classes I saw advertised. Even soft play was too far away and expensive. Then it took me years to have dc2,and frankly by that point I wanted to enjoy the fact that she was here and I had a bit of spare cash and a car this time round (amongst other things. Like a husband) and I wanted to just chuck money at enjoying it all, and frankly sitting at home making playdough is a right fucking busman's holiday for me and of course now it's all gone tits up again and by the time this is all over she'll be starting nursery so the toddler swim coffee mornings with the bugaboo brigade won't be happening anyway, and that will be that!

@ReallySpicyCurry thank you.

I'm with you, it's me who wants to do.the classes/activities etc. I love museums and galleries so all the toddler or preschool stuff they did for free at lots of the London museums was brilliant.

I'm thinking of buying the tuff tray stand as I think we'd get more use from it.

@Hardbackwriter my son LOVES the bin lorry. Deffo a thursday highlight in our house too. We upped the excitement levels by running and putting a packet of penguin biscuits on top of the bin for them

@StrawScarecrow

Joining in! Ds is just 2 and at a very "creative" nursery where they do loads of amazing crafty stuff and outdoors things (it's also a forest school) so generally I feel like a terrible mum in comparison! On the plus side he's pretty good in wet and windy because they're out in all weathers there.

We can't do sand for medical reasons. Presumably kinetic sand is also fundamentally sand?

Ohtobeaseahorse- we live on an A road in a rural area, I've spent hours on the roadside whilst ds watches tractors and lorries go past! And the dustbin lorry! A tractor broke down outside our house one day. You can imagine the joy that caused.

@StrawScarecrow Sounds like DS’s nursery. I send him so I don’t have to wreck my house doing messy painting, rice trays, indoor water play etc. 😂

I was brave and took DS1 to the playground in the rain yesterday - great fun, the slide became a waterslide with a lovely mud/sand bit at the bottom. There were other puddlesuited kids to play with and everything :)

Can't do it everyday though, I ran everything through the washing machine and now it will take 2 or 3 days to dry (live in a flat).

We're off to mum's later to play with ther toys instead, I'm in a university town so we both want to make the most of it before we get made into tier 2 as well.

Oh, I had a tip - did you know you are meant to put the waterproof trousers over the wellies, not tuck them in? I only got told yesterday. (Maybe its obvious to everyone else )

Hi! I have a 2.5yr old DD. I only need to entertain her 3 days a week and I am still feeling anxious about winter. Here is a list of things we used to do that are no longer open/legal:

• Soft play - all closed and one shut down for good.
• Play cafes - two shut down for good and the other closed, although a new one is meant to be opening in a few months.
• Playgroups or play sections in cafes/churches/children's centres/museums and art galleries - all the ones we went to have not reopened.
• Play dates in other peoples' houses - illegal here.
• Swimming - open but every time I look I can't get booked as it's only two families allowed at a time.

We don't have a car so can't access things like zoo or aquarium. I also can't wear a face covering for more than about 20/30 minutes for medical reasons and I get awful anxiety going somewhere where I won't be wearing a covering in case people say anything to me so that's putting me off trying to access things too tbh. And on top of that, DD has been out of nappies for 2 months and just when she had been accident free for a few weeks and I was finally getting the courage to try taking her to soft play or whatever (before it closed!) she has suddenly started having loads of little accidents every day for the last few weeks, although only with me and DH, not at nursery or with her DGM. Like just enough that i have to change her underwear, rarely her trousers. Having to do this in the rain in the park when she's wearing a puddle suit and wellies for example...! The fear is real. So definitely feeling trapped.

I will read back for suggestions from this thread!

These ideas are amazing thanks everyone! I don’t have much to add but eagerly following

what age can you start doing any sort of craft activities with them without them eating it?

One thing we've tried in the past is putting lots of towels down under the tuff tray and having a water table with jugs and plastic beakers to mix colours. Water does get everywhere, though! Also, we've found it's best to use washable paint to dye the water, NOT food colouring, as some people suggest . But this one isn't for the faint-hearted

what age can you start doing any sort of craft activities with them without them eating it?

I think it depends on the DC, DS1 never mouthed things past the baby stage. From working in a nursery around 18m-2? Some of the older babies would happily scribble with the chunky crayons for ages (tape the paper to the table)

Juniper Without them eating it? We reached this point at about 22 months. Much later than most though, DS is not terribly advanced.

Polarbearstrength I did a rice tray at home once. Never again! I'm still finding the odd bit of rice a year later!

Just been for a MN style walk in the cold wet woods. DS lasted eight minutes before asking to be carried and twelve before insisting on going home. Oh well!

Brilliant ideas!
I add leaf collection to the idea pile!
I have a 21 month old and a 13 week old. I am bloody exhausted!!!

We attempted crafts from about 15,16 months I think... DS puts random stuff in his mouth when he’s teething badly so we switch back to water play when he’s in that phase.

Today we spent quite a while burying farm animals in a box of dried beans and polenta and digging/sieving them out, with DS proudly shouting “make mess” the whole time.

Has anyone got a good play dough recipe that doesn’t involve cream of tartar (can’t find it here, I’m not sure what it actually does?). My last attempts have been really slimy but I love the idea of lavender scented etc.

@Camomila what?! I have been tucking in all this time and wondering why DS was getting wet socks.

👋🏻 Another muddy puddle jumper here. Ds doesn't start nursery until January, enjoying all these ideas. Dreading the days we can't get out- We're very lucky that we have a nature reserve literally up the road so lots of out door exploring & 'dinosaur adventures' we also own 2 puddle suits & 2 pairs of wellies.

Great Thread 👍🏻

Checking in. Currently on day 10 of toddlers SI after coming into contact with a positive covid case at nursery. It's all just so difficult at the moment. Going to go through all the suggestions as I'm running low on the energy to think for myself right now!

Bring on bedtime .

Yup, those elastic bits some waterproof trousers have at the bottom, they go over the welly. Then if they jump in a really deep puddle water doesn't get in.

We ended up not going to DMs (because the boiler man came late) so did some baking for snack time as I hate taking the DC with me to the tiny Sainsburies local (mask + glasses + DS1 'helping')

Non messy messy-play, sellotape paint-filled ziplock bags to the window and they can create patterns (although it took years for the sticky residue to come off )

And in a month or so - a walk at 4 as it starts to get dark to see Christmas lights.