...to ask for your 'Can I please just have 10 minutes to myself!' tips?

[user1485182339]

I'd love to collate them together. I need more. Please help.

My standby this last month has been to tip half a packet of flour onto the floor and just let them at it until they get bored. That way it is already on the floor so you don't have the added stress of watching as it falls onto the floor, thus leaving you with two surfaces to clean. I so very much hate mess that multiplies too much. It takes zero preparation too, which is a plus, and if you have a handheld vacuum they can do the initial cleaning themselves.
Stats: Flour on Floor
Minutes of peace (average): 7 to 15
Prep time: 0
Cleaning time: negligible (unless water gets involved).
Repercussions: Children somewhat white in places for remainder of day.
Downsides: Water involvement; potential flour tracking through rest of house or onto toys; nothing to bake those cupcakes with for the nursery bake sale tonight at 10pm when you remember...

Flour is not so non messy though. My toddlers found and opened a packet on the kitchen floor- much fun, and they were quiet for 10 minutes, but it took a long time to clean it up. I found its way onto high shelves, window ledges, skirting boards.

Have that time to yourself at 10pm - instead of baking cupcakes buy them from the supermarket.

Can't you make them watch TV ! That's a horrific mess to clean up !!!

Or when they are asleep box up their toys and keep a second best box

Chuck it at them when they have forgotten it !!! Not literally ....

How old op?

Put them in a dry bath with bath crayons - messy toys.

Aqua doodle
Kinetic sand
Play doh
Contents of Tupperware box on floor

We have a huge under bed plastic box that is filled with old cutlery/straws/empty plastic bottles/muffin cases/etc and I let them play with those with some dried pasta or dry rice. Entertains for hours

Recommend a super cheap shower curtain (£2 from IKEA) and put that on floor first.

The thought of a bag of flour all over your lovely clean floor OP. don't dooooo itttttttttt!

Lock yourself in the bathroom. Take chocolate.

Play dough, 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, a glue of oil and up to a cup of water (if adding food colouring put it in the water so you don't dye your hands)

A glug of oil, (autocorrect)

Balloons when it's not somebody's birthday, lots of them.

Hiding sweeties around the house. Musical statues is also minimal input as long as YOU are the dj.
Hoovering each other, especially hair can be quite entertaining.

Hide and seek can also take up time, again you must hide really well.

How old?

Mine used to entertain themselves for minutes with a packet of baby wipes, or post it notes.

I used to put a big bath sheet down on the kitchen floor and sit the 1 year old down with the washing up bowl and a cheap tea set. This used to give me half an hour of peace!!!

Cardboard box and crayons - make s door by putting s hole as the door handle and putting s sock through with a knot st each end
Failing that .... iPad

How old?

Pots and pans and a wooden spoon always went down well for me. Depends on your noise tolerance though!

A bit more prep time, but wrapping something small in lots and lots of layers of newspaper, a bit like a pass the parcel ?

I imagine flour takes longer to clear up than the peace it brings!

rick hoovering each other? That is def not something I would let my DC do unsupervised. They would suck each other's eyeballs out and have their hair/fingers/penises stuck down the hose in no time

Definitely not flour!

Play dough at the table or sand and water in the garden.

If I needed to make a work phone call I would put my baby in the play pen with a newspaper to tear up. He loved it and I could clean it up in 2 minutes as it was contained.

1 and 3 pod
Gosh, maybe it's my kids that have some supreme power not to make too much of a mess with flour? It seems truly negligible and takes three minutes with the handheld vacuum. And see now, the idea of having to fish out dried beans or rice from a carpet or behind cushions before they stick into your feet or the back of your knees makes me cry.
At mine have never hoovered each other. Yet.

Flour must be the worst thing to clean up, not the easiest.
Rice crispies are fun on a hard floor and vacuum up easily.

A cupboard or box of their own filled with plastic bowls and cups or real saucepans to get in and out. And wooden spoons.

Mine used to entertain themselves for minutes with a packet of baby wipes, or post it notes.

Or toothpaste. It's called "painting"

There is no amount of 'a bit of peace' that would involve children & flour. No. Thank. You.

Various containers & dried rice.
Plastics drawer
A basket of clean laundry (towels, socks etc)
Soft toys sitting in a row on the sofa

...the key to any of it, is not to give it to them, but to allow them to discover the 'forbidden'. Far, far, far more interesting that way!

Flour on the floor! You must be desperate for peace!!

I drive about with them in the back. They are quiet in the car. They doze or read books.

When they start clattering around in the saucepan and baking tray cupboard, getting them all out etc give them some fridge magnets to play with as well.

Do remember to remove all of them before cooking. I might have got 10 minutes peace but I lost more than 10 minutes puzzling at what the primary coloured lump of molten gunge that had "suddenly appeared" in my hot oven was. Duh!