Help my sanity with my toddler!

[Butterfly7378]

Help! What on earth can I do with my toddler all day? 16mo who is full of curiosity and super determined! Out of all the toddlers known to us through NCT group etc, ours is the most strong-willed it seems. I love him for it but boy it is hard work!

I've managed to stave off most massive tantrums (though not all) by validating and naming his feelings etc. However he gets frustrated a lot as there is so much he wants to do and can't. I've tried to proof our home so I'm not always saying no. But he always finds the one thing I can't proof! I'm never cross or impatient with him and I think I'm a very loving parent, but it's so hard to see him frustrated all the time.

His walking is still unsteady but I'm trying to get him outdoors as much as possible. He hates the buggy. We live in London but our area has no park and we have no garden. (We hope to move). It's tough finding places to go. He's not stable enough to let him run along tarmac yet.

Pandemic meant childcare places went and so we are trying to get a part time nanny but this could take a long while to sort. In the meantime I look after him full time whilst husband works until late.

I'm exhausted and looking forward any inspiration!

We do swimming once a week but DS keeps getting a cold as immunity is so low and we keep having to skip it.

What else can I do with him all day to save both our sanity?!

Library, soft play. A journey on a bus to a park
All fun in a toddlers eyes

Outside:
Stay and plays
Library
Bus
Tube
Soft play
Playdates
Supermarket
Cafe
Playgrounds and parks - take a bus?
And there are all sorts of toddler classes (dance, gymnastics, forest school, messy play).

Inside:
Scuttle bug type thing
Long baths with cups etc.
Baking
Obstacle courses
Books
Messy play

watch the trains, watch a building site.
Have you tried giving him something eat such as a crisp in each hand before putting him in the buggy?

Yes we do library etc but you can't get him out of the buggy and he gets frustrated.

No idea how people bake with a 16month old?

He really is very strong willed!

Yes I try giving him my keys or a rice cake.

With no park or no garden locally I would personally put him in formal childcare - be it childminder or nursery everyday for at least half the day. It will help him build the physical skills he needs and stave the boredom

Baking with toddlers that young is just so he can get used to mixing and using his hands - it’s not necessarily for the final product. I am a nursery practioner and ‘baking bread’ tends to be popular with the stubborn ones - involve them when the dough has been made and then give them a piece to bash about & some sparkly hundreds and thousands to decorate. If it rises great if not then just feed it to the birds when it’s cooked.

Is there Tumbletots or Gymboree near you? My DS loved a music class we used to go to.

Why can't he get out of the buggy at the library? Do they have rhymetimes, or something.

Baking with a tiny one - basically just let them pour and scoop, taste everything, and make a mess. Try the book "Tickle Fingers Toddler Cookbook".

Look up Tarka- it could be really good for him.

I have a rampaging strong-willed toddler too. If you need to get out of the house for your own sanity, could you try carrying him in a backpack type carrier? I do this with mine (18 months old) and he loves it - gets us outside and looking at the comings and goings of the world. So much easier than wrestling him into a buggy or running around the house trying to stop him killing himself. An hour a day, in the backpack, take a coffee with you. I promise, carrying them on your back is 100x easier than wrestling them in the house!

Sling? I still use mine when my almost 3 year old is refusing all modes of transport. Or something to do while he's in the buggy? An apple used to work as bribery without causing too much mess.

@Ozanj

Baking with toddlers that young is just so he can get used to mixing and using his hands - it’s not necessarily for the final product. I am a nursery practioner and ‘baking bread’ tends to be popular with the stubborn ones - involve them when the dough has been made and then give them a piece to bash about & some sparkly hundreds and thousands to decorate. If it rises great if not then just feed it to the birds when it’s cooked.

I imagine they are in the high chair? He hates being cooped up unless it's meal time

Kitchen towers are really good. We use one with DD when we bake.

I also put my 18 month in sling most days. Soft play/ libraries etc all still closed where we live re covid.
I usually walk in woods, and let him down to wander, play with leaves etc until he’s worn some energy off.
Where about a in London are you? Pretty much all over London are large parks with more ‘ woody areas’

Baking - made biscuits the other day. Basically I made biscuit dough when he napped, then he played with biscuit cutters, ate some raw dough and baked various hideous looking shapes. Tasted nice.