To ask you what your parenting saviours were?

[NUFAN]

When your little ones were small? My 6mo has the attention span of a fish, he is interested in something for 30 seconds then he is bored of it and it is hard work!

What things were your saviours when you had young kids? What kept them happy or kept you sane?

He’s an allergy baby and I’m hoping it’s not dairy because chocolate is definitely my crux, the thing is use to get through!

What did you find was good for you or for baby? Having a tough day today!

Placing into some kind of tub with stuff to move around was a huge favourite of DDs.

So:

• bath with lots of bubbles and cups/spoons/calpol syringes/jugs to scoop and pour water and bubbles into other things
• big under bed plastic storage tub with rice crispies in, would bury small toys in the rice crispies and provide spoons, bowls, scoops to dig out and re-bury the toys.
• same big tub outside in the garden filled with warm water. Freeze small toys in cups filled with coloured water, then let them melt the toys free and change the colour of the water.
• big tub again, a couple of plastic baby dolls, a flannel and bubble bath let them clean the babies

My friend who told me (when my eldest was around 18 months old), 'goodness, it's not your job to entertain him. He needs to learn how to entertain himself. It's a life skill. It's called imaginative play!'

Saved me from many tedious hours with him and other kids sat on floor, 'entertaining'. As a mother of 5, this was genius advice.