Do you ask for your help in releasing me from two parks a day hell

[ivftake1]

I'm having to be quite careful with social distancing and I really need some ideas other than parks for me and my 2 1/2-year-old!

@Allington

Also there is an aquarium shop near the garden centre at Morden Hall, not sure if it is open but you could get off at Morden tram stop and go and look at the fish

Yes haven't been for a while but will do!

@Susannahmoody

Any construction going on close by?

Yep we've looked at those diggers a few times now though!

I am also a big fan of an afternoon bath with loads of toys and bubbles and receptacles for pouring and swishing and making ‘cocktails’ like a mad scientist.

Stick him in the bath with all his toys one afternoon, get him to put his swimming costume on so it doesn't feel like 'bath time' and let him splash like crazy and put suds all over the wall?

Make a set of laminated cards of things to spot - a dog, a conker, a postbox, an umbrella, a pram, a green car etc etc, and a little box or something with a slit cut in that he can post them into as he finds them. For older children a 'letter hunt' is a good way of encouraging them to keep walking. You get yourself a small metal tray that magnetic letters will stick to. Cut the outlines of the letters out of magnetic sheet and stick some of them to the tray before you set off. These are the letters you have to try and find on your walk. then you go around looking at posters or signs or parked car numberplates or whatever, and as you find the letters (I make it only one per sign, or the activity would be over very quickly!) your child takes it out of their pocket and sticks it on the corresponding outline on their tray.

Another activity to do on walks is to keep a tally chart of how many of each colour car you see. In urban areas you might want to pick a rare colour, like yellow or purple, and just look out for them. For a child too young to keep a tally chart on paper, have them move a marble from one pocket to another or whatever each time they see the colour car they're looking for, and count them when you get home.

X post @WellTidy

@WellTidy

I am also a big fan of an afternoon bath with loads of toys and bubbles and receptacles for pouring and swishing and making ‘cocktails’ like a mad scientist.

I did this on that hugely hot summer a year ago maybe, we didn't have a garden then!

It’s not going out - I think all the best suggestions are above, but I’ve been following Five minute mum on Instagram and using Pinterest to liven up indoor time. It’s been especially good as the weather has begun to turn. Five minute mum covers loads of topics for a pre school and school age range and often they’re learning without realising. She has a book too but so far I’ve not purchased it as she’s always sharing her games/activists on Instagram which feels a bit cheeky now I’ve written it down...! Good luck x

What about some craft? Get a roll of wallpaper, put the patterned side down on the floor or a long table and secure it with tape so that it doesn’t move around. Ds used to make an imaginary world along the length of the paper - everything that he would want in his fantasy world eg beach, storm, zoo, birthday party. We would use stickers, pens, chalk, shredded paper etc to create it. If you can draw an outline, she could stick in scrunched up coloured paper, shredded paper and things like that to colour it in.

Putting a length of wallpaper on the floor means that you can also do hand and foot prints on it.

In the day time whilst the kids are at school our local libraries seem quiet, my toddler loves going and picking out some books.
Could you do little treasure hunts, like find a red, yellow and orange leaf, then find an acorn, a pebble etc stuff liken that gets my toddler very engaged, thinks it's the competition element 😂 she also loves picnics so sometimes if it's dry she loves eating her normal lunch but just packing it and taking it to a park etc. I guess you've just got to think outside the box at the nub haven't you but it is hard with the little ones xx

Following, some great suggestions on here! I feel your pain OP

city farms? art galleries

Big sheets of paper and poster paint in tubs, let him do footprint painting in the garden if you have one. I even allowed it in the kitchen in bad weather but that's harder to clean up. But lots of fun!

My two were rubbish at looking at bigger things - so building sites or national trust etc wouldn't appeal for long. They needed hands on action so trampolines etc. Woodland walks and tree climbing (ish) were good. Den building as PPs have suggested - inside or out. Good luck!

crazy golf always an option?

Garden centres....especially if they have pet centre and fish! Go in the week, lunch at home and then cake and coffee in their cafe later when it's quieter.

Museums
Art galleries
Leaf rubbings/other activities in the woods
Farms/petting zoos
Cinema (I took my four year old and it was empty. Just us in there and they fog it in between performances)
Swimming (if open for anything other than lane swimming)
Aquarium (or aquatics department at a garden centre)
Garden centres - kids love playing hide and seek in them amongst the plants/sheds
Take a bag of nuts and feed squirrels
Any National Trust properties near by?
Join baby swimming or other sports groups such as rugby tots etc (organised sports are exempt from the rule of 6) so we're still able to do swimming.
Check to see if any groups are meeting up in small numbers in parks/halls.

Solidarity. I am missing toddler groups so much. I will never take them for granted again!

Can you afford a couple of hours in nursery? I was going to wait til my toddler turned 3 and got their free hours, but she's been so bored that I've booked her in for a some short weekly sessions. She gets all the fun of toddler groups and I get a small amount of time to catch up on work/restore sanity. It breaks up the week a bit too.

I honestly don't know anyone who took their child out twice a day every day!!!

A big walk in the morning or a big play, then have some activities at home in the afternoon. Also let them just potter/"help"/get in the way while you do some jobs in the house. Free play at home is also great. But they can bake with you, or make play dough together and have them sit and stuff things in it/make shapes while you drink a cup of tea. They can run around making dens or playing in a sheet while you sort washing etc. Play in the garden? Have you got a trampoline or anything to play with? There's tons you can do at home. Stories. drawing. Toys??

I think being out twice a day is going to get boring/take its toll.

@PineappleUpsideDownCake

I honestly don't know anyone who took their child out twice a day every day!!!

A big walk in the morning or a big play, then have some activities at home in the afternoon. Also let them just potter/"help"/get in the way while you do some jobs in the house. Free play at home is also great. But they can bake with you, or make play dough together and have them sit and stuff things in it/make shapes while you drink a cup of tea. They can run around making dens or playing in a sheet while you sort washing etc. Play in the garden? Have you got a trampoline or anything to play with? There's tons you can do at home. Stories. drawing. Toys??

I think being out twice a day is going to get boring/take its toll.

We don't go out twice a day every single day but maybe at least Monday through to Thursday, then we have the weekend as a family.

I honestly don't know anyone who took their child out twice a day every day!!!

I do most weekends and my non working weekday. She isn’t good at independent play when she’s at home with me and there’s only so much role play participation I can cope with, so I’d rather have her out burning off energy outside!

@nevermorelenore

Solidarity. I am missing toddler groups so much. I will never take them for granted again!

Can you afford a couple of hours in nursery? I was going to wait til my toddler turned 3 and got their free hours, but she's been so bored that I've booked her in for a some short weekly sessions. She gets all the fun of toddler groups and I get a small amount of time to catch up on work/restore sanity. It breaks up the week a bit too.

Cancelled nursery because I wanted to keep our circle smaller.

So you have a garden now? Fire! Kids love a campfire.

He can collect sticks for it and help assemble it. Many fun snacks can be made on a campfire. Hot dogs are good for a little person because they don't need to be properly cooked to be edible. Impale it on a stick, char the outside a bit, and eat!

@Saracen

So you have a garden now? Fire! Kids love a campfire.

He can collect sticks for it and help assemble it. Many fun snacks can be made on a campfire. Hot dogs are good for a little person because they don't need to be properly cooked to be edible. Impale it on a stick, char the outside a bit, and eat!

Artificial grass unfortunately!!

Dog spotting (if he likes dogs)

Make up a sheet with pictures of dogs on (you can draw them yourself if you've any ability). Then go out for a walk and cross off the dogs as you see them - white dog, spotty dog, big dog, small dog, dog on a lead, dog off a lead...that sort of thing can add interest to a walk!

Do you have a garden?

Chalk drawing on our patio seemed popular.
We got a mini trampet thing free from Facebook when DD was that age.

Water play was also popular, pouring from jugs into buckets, into tubs....