To be worried about staying sane stuck inside all winter with a 2 year old?

[Lardeedar]

Is anyone else struggling at home with a 1-3 year old that isn’t in nursery? My options before were park, playgroup, or friends/family visit at theirs but now The weather is turning I’m just having to keep her inside all day every day and we are both losing our minds!! The playgroups are all shut and now not allowed in anyone’s house.

You know the age where they won’t stick at anything for more than 2 minutes because all they want to do is explore new objects, places, people?! She literally cries when she sees that we’re coming home.

There’s a few outdoor play sessions Thank Goodness but mostly they are shutting everything down. I’m genuinely worried about her development and my mental health being cooped up with her crying continually asking for Hours and hours of tv. Anyone else?

In the pre playgroup era I assume kids played together in their neighbourhoods and were allowed to congregate indoors together and mums of babies and toddlers were permitted to visit each other.

I have a wetsuit and appropriate warm clothing but only so much room in my rucksack when we go out. Besides I'm only prepared to put so much effort into something my child doesn't even enjoy.

We have plenty of indoor toys that entertain her for a bit but she gets very restless without real exercise and hard to deal with.

A lot of the suggestions on this thread are great, if you have a car, but if like me you live on an estate with nothing but other buildings around then going to the park, forest, farm etc are all off the table. There are only so many walks around the estate in the pissing rain and cold anyone wants to suffer through lol

@Nancydowns of course private firms can still run groups at a cost each term. They have money to fund the cleaning and staff etc . Little groups in churchins halls are run by volunteers, many elderly or have their own school age children and don't want to risk an extra covid risk by volunteering. Also due to lack of funds have zero money for cleaning etc also add in tne fact that church halls may not be able to high our at tne moment. As a former volunteer at a toddler group I certainly wouldn't be doing it at the moment, my family safety is my priority.

If toddlers don't need to be out of the house playing, learning and interacting - why does the government usually provide free play groups to all?

They don't, do they? All the playgroups here are privately run and you have to pay!

My 3 year old goes to nursery 3 mornings a week. He enjoys it and I agree with others go out exploring in wet weather gear.

@vanillandhoney

It's a good lisy, but those are all reliant on being near open space. Not everyone has woods or beeches near by. I can't afford to drive and hour and a half each way once a week to go to the beech. Those living in cities or towns with no car would struggle to go out to the woods and parks.

It's not as simple as get out into nature for everyone.

Some children have different tolerances and needs as well. I was a indoor kid and woulndt have liked being out in the cold for long periods of time. My own ds is disabled and so can't tolerate being in the cold for long periods, even well wrapped up.

Not all kids can just amble about the woods for hours. And what about parents with their own health or mobility problems.

I have no advice, I'm in the same boat. I have twins who'll be 2 in December and we're climbing the walls here. Can't put them in nursery or really take them anywhere as one is vulnerable and we had to shield. It's going to be a long winter. Good luck xx

Yeh my toddler isn’t one for rain. In the park she likes the playground, to go to the cafe, to kick a ball on the grass- all a bit rubbish in the wet. We can still feed the ducks, unless Boris thinks that’s an issue too soon

No groups here and the library is so strict I could be annoyed to bring small kids anywhere near it. Two of the big parks gave significant repairs going on to the play equipment. The local farm isn't open. It totally sucks!

When I was little I went for walks in the local area. For a toddler just looking at other people's hedges and the street trees can be fascinating. One of the best times with my Mum that I remember was "seeing where the pond went" and following the route that a local park pond took, and realising it was a tributary of a local river.
If you have a garden there is lots a little one can do there. Make "bug homes", dig for treasure, make mud pies.
Then at home they can dance, help with chores, learn to sew, knit etc. Do painting.

Yes its lonely and tiring, but letting them do some exercise regularly through the day, playing pretend with them, reading stories together, and lots of helping Mum.

where does the government provide free play groups? Where I live they are all run by volunteers and you pay per session.

Who do you think funds the groups at libraries. Do you not have children's centres that run free toddler groups? Normally your health visitor gives you a list of all the free baby and toddler groups. They are provided for by the government/local council.

The town I live in has about 6 children's centres each with multiple groups a day on. These range from free play, singing, story time, to educational classes like baby care, nutrition and first aid. All provided by the council. Our council run leisure centre also ran baby swimming at a very cheap rate which has now ended so the only swimming option is the expensive water park.

Well before covid but we were out every day in winter so if the restrictions allow it i would still go out on a bus or drive to a walking place etc.

Even in the snow we walked around our local centre a lot

I have the same worry!
I have joined whirli which is a toy borrowing service. It's been pretty good so far. Lovely toys, really clean and good condition. We have them for a few weeks then send them back when the novelty has worn off so no clutter. I have a discount code for new members if anyone wants it. I have a baby too so and they have baby equipment as well

The weather is still really quite mild. There were young families playing on the beach yesterday when I went swimming. Sandcastles, skipping pebbles, she’ll hunting, crabbing. Parks are still fine too.

No need to stay inside just plan good outdoor activities that can go ahead unless it’s sheets of rain. Paddle splashing is fun. Ducks don’t mind being fed in drizzle.
Pumpkin carving and walking to find pumpkins at other houses.
Go to a pumpkin farm as a trip out.
Collect pine cones from a nearby woods to dry and paint.
Collect leaves for leaf printing.
Nearer December go on fairy light walks looking at decorations or to garden centres with good displays.
Pooh sticks over s bridge.
Collecting and painting pebbles.
At moment finding puffball mushrooms to bake.
Go to churches not to pray necessarily, but to brass rub and look at the stained glass colours.
Go to harbours or canal to look at the boats.
Go to small airfield to watch the planes.
Plenty to see and do outside if you look from a child’s perspective.

I would add try and ditch the tv guilt. There are lots of great programmes for toddlers made and tv daily isn’t going to hurt.

I had a very hard to entertain first child and I inevitably ended up letting him watch more tv than I wanted to, which I AGONISED about. No idea why I felt so bad about it. He had the attention span of a gnat, aged two. He is a very able teen now, it didn’t harm him at all.

I totally agree with @isurvived3under2, I also have 19 month old twin girls, get wrapped up and get out to your nearest park. My two absolutely love jumping in puddles, they’d do it all day if they could. But seriously everything is fascinating, so many acorns at the moment, beautiful colours just go out and enjoy 😊

Wanted to add, there's a cbeebies programme called Let's go for a Walk. I found it great for getting ideas to make our walk more interesting.

When mine was that age, there were very few groups around in our town. I did take her to one, once a week, but she often fell asleep on the way there so we just walked home again (it was a couple of miles each way, with her in the buggy). I never found it difficult through the winter though, I took her out every day, whatever the weather, she loved splashing in puddles etc. When we got home, she loved baking, painting, playing with her toys, cuddling up for a story.

@Marzipan12

I completely understand why volenteer groups arnt on. But I don't see why the children centres can't resume groups when pre schools and nurseries are all running. These aren't run by volunteers, they are run by the council and the staff are paid. I've spoken to several and been told they are desperate to reopen and get back to work but arnt allowed due to social distancing. One centre did run a group in the garden which was nice, but it's stopped now the weather has changed and the uptake has gone down.

I'm sacrificing DC2 (not quite 2) going to nursery to reduce the time DC1 (5) is out of school because having 1at home and able to go out a bit is so much better than 2 stuck in as one's bubble has burst... 2 bubbles doubles the risk of being stuck at home for 14 days.

We do puddle walks, park etc but it does not fill an entire morning and there's very limited social interaction!

@kwaziseyepatch

I have the same worry! I have joined whirli which is a toy borrowing service. It's been pretty good so far. Lovely toys, really clean and good condition. We have them for a few weeks then send them back when the novelty has worn off so no clutter. I have a discount code for new members if anyone wants it. I have a baby too so and they have baby equipment as well

Yes please to the discount code :)

“All these organised toddler activities are a relatively new thing - there are plenty of other (free or very cheap) ways to entertain small children.“

Yeah but most people didn’t have to do it without the company of other adults unless they preferred it that way. We had council run stay and play sessions round here for £1 a session. We had friends round or went to theirs. I used to spend a lot of time in free museums and libraries with my toddler wandering around exploring but one-way systems and social distancing and masks (sorry, they can make things very tricky when wrangling small children, I know we’re supposed to be all “oh I barely notice my face mask” so by all means count me among the feeble) make things much more difficult. I am actually fortunate that with a baby and toddler who entertains himself reasonably well, and plenty of outdoor space around me, we will get along ok just like many others. But I am quite fed up with those who had toddlers a while ago making out how easy it should be for those with preschoolers and that parents who are daunted or struggling are making a fuss

learn to sew, knit etc.

You're suggesting we teach 2 year olds to knit and sew. Really?

Personally I think all children should be getting 15 hours nursery funding from 2 while the play groups are shut
So that mummy can have some time for herself? I think there are much more important things funding should go for. Toddlers don't need daily interaction with other kids. For a start, at least half will have at least a sibling to play with outside of school. Then there are likely to be many in a bubble with other if their age. For those who don't, a mum and dad who interact much with will be just fine until they turn 2.

Hi all - I feel your pain, my little one turns two next month. We are still living under relatively light restrictions THANK GOD so can go to the library/cafes/supermarket but a) we are both so sick of these and b) I literally live in dread of further restrictions now winter is approaching. I can see PP saying kids are happy to go out in any weather - that certainly isn't my experience with my LO! We have warm waterproof clothing for her but my problem is her hands- she will not tolerate gloves/mittens- just wants to pull them off and has a massive tantrum if she can't. If anyone has any tips in this situation I'd love to hear them! She'll tolerate being out in a little rain for maybe 10 mins but then her hands go bright red with cold and she (very understandably) wants to go home. As for any wind above a light breeze (e.g. the seaside at this time of year) - forget about it! Yes we could push through the tantrums of course but what is the flipping point- I already have to choose between a million battles a day anyway and an outing on our own in the rain does not often seem like top of the list. The PP who said that no matter what you do there is no social interaction is spot on. It's all very well saying people managed centuries ago - but (sweeping generalisation) in such times families lived more locally to each other and communities were tighter. Children would have been in and out of each other's houses and seeing relatives all the time. There have been church run/school run toddler groups for decades, well before soft play was a thing. We both work part-time so have been lucky not to need much childcare - we thought that was the right decision for us when our LO was born but I am now looking into her doing a couple of mornings at nursery and hopefully upping my hours, purely because it is the only way she will be able to interact fully with other children. Long story short - OP I agree it's rubbish and you have my full sympathy!