to wonder what on earth to do with my toddler at weekends?

[Crazycatlady]

OK, so we've just come back from a week in St Ives where is was dead easy to keep DD (20 months) entertained. Plenty of fresh air, the beach, paddling, space to run, wildlife to explore etc...

Back in London and she's tantruming and miserable. Our house is small and has a garden the size of a car. She hates it. Am totally depressed by tossing a coin to decide which London park we'll wade through ten tons of litter to walk to, all the while breathing in the sweet aroma of traffic fumes and KFC, to arrive and have her tantrum at the playground because it's so packed with kids she can't get near the swings.

Am desperate for ideas of what to do with her at the weekends within easy striking distance of home. We live in SW16 and have done all the local parks to death. And Lido season is over. She's bored, we're bored. So far on my list I have Horniman Museum...Help!

we go swimming every sunday morning. and to park with bikes in afternoon. ds1 had a tricycle with parent handle since 18 months.

raf museum is free (hendon) as are lots of the central london museums. aldenham country park has lots of things as is free. library to choose books.

softplay?

our local gym has a toddler sunday am drop in gym session - see if any of your local leisure centres have?

they used to love it as toddlers. Put on the wellies on a rainy sunday afternoon and stamp around in the puddles and look at the animals. We're not in London tho, so bigger garden centres.

Kew is great for little ones of this age. They can just run and run, no traffic (apart from the odd Kew car or 'train', no dog poo (lots of goose poo, but that doesn't smell), a little aquarium, clean loos.

Food is expensive but you can take your own snacks.

If you think you will go more than a couple of times, buy a season ticket and you will get the price back very quickly.

How about somewhere like Westfield in Shepherds Bush? It is huge and covered, so lots of cafes, restaurants and covered/dry/warm running space.

Have you tried looking at your mumsnet local page for specific activities in your area?

We also used to feed the ducks anywhere we went, collect conkers at this time of year.

A plastic tea set can still be used inside and out at this time of year and a paint brush can be used to 'paint' the garden with water too - less messy than actual paint!

Hyde park is lovely. The Princess Diana Memorial Playground is fab with the big pirate ship and the sand and everything. May be some crowds, but not as bad as the school holidays or height of summer and when it's warm and sunny like this it'd be fab. Go early to avoid the crowds. And if it is too busy you can feed the ducks, see the fountains, there is another playground or head over the side to the lake and have a pedalo ride!

Try and find new activities to do in your old park. Collect leaves and then use them for leaf printing at home (a bit messy, but great fun). Make a list of things you need to find/spot and play 'explorers'. Collecting conkers is great fun (bit early yet though).

Soft play centre (though maybe not the best place to avoid the crowds).

Crispy cakes are a good thing to make (fun and easy) and if you don't want her eating too many you can also make a game of distributing them to neighbours/family/friends etc.

Buy a cheap white t-shirt (2 pounds from Primark for example) and get her to decorate it with paints,glitter etc.

Use two empty yoghurt pots or similar to make shakers (diff things in the middle e.g. dry rice, stones, dry pasta etc.) Fun making them and then fun shaking them!

South bank is really fun as well and free other than the tube fair to get there.

Have an activity bath; bath paints (maybe not good if she has excema though?), put the duplo in the bath, teaset, a dolly that won't suffer water damage - treat it as an indoor paddling pool.

Hope some of them will work for you!

When we lived in London, I often used to get on bus with DS for 20 min ride, go to cafe for cake and then get another bus home. Totally dullsville for older kids, but he adored it.

How far are you from Crystal Palace park? It has the bizarre concrete dinosaurs that kids seem to like.

We used to take DS to a garden centre that had an aquarium area - could spend ages looking at the fish, and as it was free was much better value than London Aquarium :)

oh good, well we'll definitely head for Kew one weekend then.

Westfield is awesome and totally brilliant with a tot, have never tried it at the weekend though as I assumed it would be too busy. Have you been at the weekend Daft?

There's loads of brilliant stuff to do with a tot here during the week - some really good playgroups, singing groups etc which she goes to with her nanny but weekends are tricky unless you want to spend an hour getting somewhere and then battle with crowds. Explains why the parks and playgrounds are full of tantruming toddlers and exhausted parents

How about the little zoo at Battersea Park?

Bocketts Farm?

We've done Battersea Park Zoo - it's fab. DD would happily go again for sure, (it's me and DH that are bored of it! )

Bocketts Farm looks lovely, but would take us an age to get to I think.

I sound really negative I know, but the thought of getting on public transport at the weekend after commuting all week is just soul destroying. It's so busy and dirty I can't bear it really.

Croydon is 30-40 minutes down the A23 in weekend traffic, but the Pets at Home store doesn't have any animals in it, only animal feed and toys so it doesn't really seem worth the effort.

Incidentally she loved Ikea when we had to go there once, but trying to get DH to go near the place without him having a tantrum is even harder than keeping DD entertained!

i can't help really as I live in the NE but I recently bought a discover card - it's a touristy thing and gives discounts to certain places in Newcastle and Gateshead - e.g. went to the local aquarium recently and one adult got in free wiht it. Anyway, my long and rambly point is see if there's anything similar near you - not only do you get quite a good discount but ours comes with a leaflet of places that participate - i.e. ideas! Also, our leisure centre has racks and racks of local and national attractions, I've picked up a few good ideas from there too - some for when the DCs are older, admittedly.

Public transport shouldn't be too busy on the weekend...not like your ususal commute, on weekday rush hour. If you avoid very touristy things, or get train/bus that's heading away from London you should be ok. I live in London as well (West London) and frequently travel on the tube on the weekend and apart from very Central London it's usually quiet eneough to comfortably get a seat and not feel like cattle!

We're in the middle of Thameslink engineering works and Victoria Line upgrade so weekend public transport is a bit horrid from here at the moment which doesn't help. Buses are ok, but they smell so badly of KFC and stale booze that my PG nose can't take it!

that just prompted me to listen to the london underground song....dya remember that? The bit about 'what you smell is what you get, Burger King and piss and sweat, you roast to death in the boiling heat, with tourists stepping on your feet and chewing gum on every seat, so don't tell me to mind the gap, I want my fucking money back'...it's so true!

Take her swimming. Or why not do some crafty stuff at home like painting and play dough,

Sorry but I think you are mad! London is a great place for kids. You are on the tube line right? Yes I know it is a bit of a pain but it is only really the centre of town that is packed so you would be able to get a seat and it is easy to do with 2 adults and 1 child. Look at Time Out website for things going on and places to go. You have so many parks, museums, theatres etc to explore! Far more interesting than the countryside imo! I live in Croydon and try to get into London as much as possible but the outskirts have so much too. You need to explore a bit more. Horniman Museum in Forest Hill is good and there is a lovely playground across the road with a big sandpit then Crystal Palace is just up the road. A lovely day out is Godstone Farm as it has a massive play area.

Here are a couple of websites:-

www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk/things-to-do/Streatham

www.timeout.com/london/kids/

To be honest though it is nice to be able to have a day at home each weekend where you maybe just pop out for a walk to burn off some energy. Have you considered having another child? That will provide lots of entertainment

Sorry just noticed you are pregnant! Problem solved! Well in a few years anyway

Westfield brilliant with toddler - get there early, go to concierge place on lower ground floor (near M&S parking if I recall correctly) and you can borrow a car trolley (basically a trolley with a car on the front) to push your kid around in - fantastic. And a little play area and the kiddie shops are good for break out sessions.

Realise you're in south london but columbia rd flower market is brilliant with little ones. Lots to see. Near Hackney city farm too. Parking near Columbia Rd is a nightmare but you can park about 10 minutes walk away for free (no wardens/restrictions) no problems.

Also love Hampstead Heath (take a kite on windy days - really good playground at the gospel oak end of the heath). RAF museum in hendon good for rainy days. Though both northwest unfortunately. Can you guess where I'm based?

Thanks for loads more ideas!

nannyl - I love that London Underground song. Used to listen to that on my ipod with a wry smile on my face while commuting on the Northern Line years ago. Never a truer word was said in jest...

I agree there is plenty to do in London if you look for it, but it's just such a bloody hassle getting anywhere with traffic/tube delays/tourists/crowds etc it all just seems like too much hard work with a demanding toddler. Absolutely fine for a special weekend in town if we didn't live here, but to have to battle with it weekend in weekend out I find quite depressing.

Wishing there were nicer things to do on our doorstep but we can't afford to live in a better part of town. Streatham is getting better - it has a Caffe Nero dontchaknow... but the High Road is pretty minging.

Hoping a sibling will help

Ha ha ha, yes TSC, you busted me. Too much to ask for isn't it?

It was so easy at the beach. We all enjoyed it and no effort really required to keep any of us happy or entertained.

To be honest though, there's enough ideas here to keep us going for months on rotation I reckon, and a bit of variety will keep me and DH happy as much as it will DD.

Battersea Park Children's Zoo is good.
Science Museum is fab for toddlers (they have The garden in the basement just for them)

If you have a hot weekend then the fountains at More London (by the Scoop) are great to play in (take spare clothes and a towel). Ditto Somerset House fountains if they haven't finished for the year.

If you can get to Greenwich then the art activities and hands on stuff at the National Maritime museum are brilliant (and they can run up and down the hill to the Observatory).

Art Trolley at the weekend at Tate Britain is great.
If it's not raining then just walking along the South bank and giving 10p to each busker is good fun, a toddler can just run along at their own pace without worrying about traffic.

I could go on.....

All the local parks including (further afield) Crystal palace, with dinosaurs, maze, playground and space?
Sydenham Woods
Sydenham Wells Park with the interactive water bit?
Hillside Gardens (Streatham Hill) is a tiny park but good for littlies and not crowded in the mornings, at weekends
Soft Play in Brixton Rec
Polka Theatre in Wimbledon (easy to get to on the train from Streatham) and Unicorn Theatre at London Bridge sometimes have inter-active productions and workshops for under-3s
Vauxhall City Farm

Duplo
Glove puppets

yes - take newspaper and snack, and sit on the edge of the sandpit in Brockwell Park...I did that week after week for years! You might even find a MNer to chat to