Trapped toddler parents: puddlesuits splashing towards spring

[WeSearchedHereWeSearchedThere]

All guardians of toddlers welcome, we offer ideas, activities, and a shoulder to lean on when it all gets too much. We’ve conquered winter, next stop spring!

Continuing from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4105179-trapped-toddler-parents-of-the-fabled-winter-2020-2021-puddle-suits-at-the-ready-hello-christmas?pg=1

Thank you for the new thread @WeSearchedHereWeSearchedThere. Just checking in .

Thank you for creating the new one!

Yes thank you! Can’t wait for the day we can get them outside without the daily battle with the puddlesuit.

Can I join you?

DD is 19mo and I'm getting lockdown despair. I've always been a 'come on, let's go out' parent so the winter lockdown has broken me a bit. Can I shamelessly ask for your young toddler ideas? I feel like I've hit a wall.

Hi. Toddler is just over 2, I’d love to join you. Every day she tells me, ‘I want something new!’ And I am all out of ‘new’!!

Pleeeeeeese bring on the warmer weather !!! My almost 2.5 year old is dropping his day time nap and i feel like he is on the verge of meltdown so often at the moment !!

My 2.5 never naps... Adore him but seriously.
Today we are making peppa pig cupcakes and looking at leaves. God its a bit dull now!

Thank you for the thread!

I have a confession...my toddler (DS2) doesn't actually own a puddle suit yet (DS1 has waterproof salopettes). I will remedy that immediately via amazon

(He's only been walking for 3 weeks but I let him out of the pushchair at the playground the other day. He was so happy waddling about the sandpit like a penguin and interacting with other toddlers for the first time ever. Sand got everywhere though, a puddlesuit would be handy.)

@Coffeeandaworry @Purplepjs welcome!

Here are a few ideas from our previous threads.

Tuff trays - Could be a big baking tray, under bed storage box, etc. Ideas include:

• rainbow rice (dye dry rice with food colouring or paint, present it with plenty of spoons, scoops, toy diggers, whatever you have in the house!)
• foam mouldable soap (currently in the middle aisle at Aldi for £1.49, I set it up with lots of cars to “wash”)
• Animals trapped in ice (if it’s below freezing at night where you are - put toys on tray, pour water on, leave it outside, in the morning the kids can pour salt on or just smash the ice to free the toys!)
• use masking tape as a spiders web over the top, with toys underneath to be extracted.

More physical activities:

• teddy bear zip wire - tie a taught string down the stairs, or between a high point and low point. Teddy bears can ride on clothes hangars down it!
• indoor obstacle courses
• indoor/outdoor treasure hunts - depending on age this could be an egg box with different sections painted in colours for them to find things which fit, draw pictures for them to find items, or search for things starting with a letter/sound

Others:

• cooking! Get a child safe knife (Kuhn rikon are great) and get them chopping veg, mixing cakes, etc
• mud kitchen outside - any table and a bowl will do, or buy a swanky one off Instagram. Bit of water and mud, or leaves and petals, make up potions!
• Melissa and Doug reusable sticker books

That might give you something to go on!

Good morning everyone! Thank you for the new thread! Another day! Is it raining? Oh yes of course it is! she says wiping mud off shoes/trainers/wellies/pram wheels ready for a new day.

14 month old DS up at 4.50am, 3 year old did better and slept until 6.15. Have reinforcement today as DH is off for the day!

My 3 year old is starting to love those wipe clean books, writing/pen control books so I got a Priddy book set of 10 off Amazon the other day and some wipe clean pens and they are going down well.

I find paint sticks to be brilliant as you get the same effect but no need for water or brushes.

Bubble wands are a success here too.

Hope everyone has a good day. Is the playground open yet?

@monkeypuddle did you get your covid test back? Hope you’re feeling ok! Sorting childcare is a pain! DS2 is six months, I need to get my act together and decide whether I’m going back to work, I keep hiding from the decision...

@Lostthetastefordahlias great that you’re getting the vaccine! DH has had it, as have my mum and stepdad, definitely feels like a glimpse of normality on the horizon.

I think we have at least a couple of people in Scotland here, so I hope it’s good news for you on early years settings reopening!

I’m just waiting for the rain to stop, then we’re going to a playground which has a good track and surface for bike riding, and a huge slide. As long as we don’t go too often DS1 thinks it’s amazing.

Thanks for the fab new thread

KINETIC SAND!!! ABSOLUTE MUST! Honestly after it being recommended on the previous thread I purchased some and it's been a life saver!

@Chocolatetrifle you've mentioned wiping pram wheels because they're full of mud......I remember seeing something on Pinterest a few years ago, put a shower cap over each wheel once you're home to stop muddy/wet wheels making a mess indoors.

Morning all, thanks for the new thread!

@MonekyPuddle hoping for a negative test for you!

Our bubble tested negative thankfully so back to tramping around the parks. A few more supplies arrived for DD to play with, at this point I'm as excited about new toys as she is! We bought the Melissa and Doug reuseable sticker pads, wasn't sure about them as she's only 17 months but she loved it! I peeled off the backing around all the stickers and she was able to get them off herself then and spent a good half an hour sticking them down onto the pad and the windows. Would recommend!

In laws are heading for vaccine today and I feel brighter this week, like I can finally have some hope that things are heading the right way.

Until then I'm going to pop on the waterproofs, attempt some baking again and cry every time DD oinks at the TV because she wants Peppa on...

Thank you for the new thread! I have a midwife appointment today :)

Oh god how did I forget kinetic sand! I think that would be the number one thing I would recommend spending money on. In fact this reminded me and I’ve now got it out to keep DS1 busy until we go out (to a chorus of “thank you mummy, thank you!).

We are playing with an empty cardboard box this morning, large enough to sit in sonots providing great fun! We will probably stick some stickers on it later on and attempt some drawing on it also, although son isn't really into drawing.
Probably another game of supermarket shopping as well, basically emptying the kitchen cupboard into one of those sturdy carrier bags and talking about what's going in there, then taking it all out and putting it back. We even had the little shopping trolley out last night so it felt like we were at the supermarket! 😂

@BertieBotts hope the midwife appointment goes well! How many weeks are you?

Possibly the most stressful morning ever but certainly kept them entertained. MIL bought them some new shoes, multiple styles and sizes to try. I'm desperately trying to keep the packaging, shoes and boxes together, they were doing the best to get the shoes and packaging separate.

Hi all
Just popping in to ask for your collective wisdom. I have a 20 month old boy who just loves to walk...the problem is he won't walk where he's supposed to. Round in circles, tries to get onto the road, detects every dog poo going and tries to stomp in them for fun. If there's a lovely poo free wide path he will deliberately walk in the tiny grass verge to the side seeking out all the discarded poo bags....

I'm just at the end of my tether with it really. My daughter was never like this, you would point her in a direction and she would just toddle forwards happily. Every walk ends in me dragging him back on to the path and him just sitting on the floor in a mega strop. He's not even 2 yet, God knows how bad it will get after his birthday.

Tell me this gets better? Our only activity is walking at the moment! How do you all do it?

DS not at nursery this week. This morning's activity is going to be child-safe scissors, glue stick and different coloured scraps of paper. I might add some stickers as well.

To add to the activity ideas in this thread this is what we've been enjoying the most

Ball pit
Bowling using disposable cups as pins
Play doh ice cream factory

All other attempts at crafting or organised activities are subverted by my 'little engineer' as I call him. He has to dismantle everything to see how it works, why play in a blanket den when you can deconstruct it for example!

@DayBath DS1 is three...he will happily walk along until suddenly he stops and takes off like a rocket back the way we’ve come. Very stressful. So I have no advice, sorry!

Hi @DayBath. DS was similar. I don't have much in the way of helpful advice except that they do outgrow it! I used to put mittens on DS's hands so he couldn't pick things up.

We usually took the buggy with us (we still do for very long walks now even though DS is 3). So I'd strap him in when we were walking alongside the road or if he wasn't listening to me and just let him out in the woods or the middle of the common where he could go where he liked (and then run after him with the buggy). We also did playgrounds a lot at that age...dogs not allowed!

He got a lot better at walking with us (as opposed to running away from us) at around 2.5. Also at following instructions ("No, don't touch that", "No, don't dive into the pond", "Leave the ducks alone" ).

The dog poo situation is getting out of hand now...I don't remember it being like this with my youngest. It's just everywhere, like being back in the 80s again! I feel like it spoils my enjoyment of every walk because I'm constantly looking down to steer him away from it. We live next to a massive forest and even in the middle of it there's poo all over the middle of the paths.