not taking out my toddler

[mummyofalittleprince]

i'm a sahm to an almost 2 year old, does anyone have any good ideas for activities / days out for my toddler? i dont mind paying money for activities if he is going to enjoy them but i feel like the things we do are very repetitive, children center, soft play once a week, maybe a play date? thats about it and ofcourse if the weather is good we go down to the playground too.

any ideas in london, mainly north london (acton, ealing, wembley, sudbury, harrow, perivale, northolt etc) these would be preferred but i dont mind if something is a little further out.

thanks a lot in advance and sorry for posting it here but i've posted it under parenting a few weeks ago and literally no one replied to me, thats mumsnet for you :)

Do you swim? Maybe get ahead with swimming lessons for you and him. I always looked for playgroups in various church places - kids don't know they are churchy and often run by professionals. Ours was Baptist and run by ex Midwives and was a lovely group. Library story times, bookshops same. There are often small Mum run businesses offering things like baking, messy play etc and bonus is mess gets left there!!!

Even a different playground can be exciting at that age. Is there anywhere where you could feed the ducks? Does the children's centre not advertise other activities? Where do your friends go?
Hanwell Zoo
Horsenden Farm
Richmond Park
Syon Park butterfly house ... all from Google Maps

Mine absolutely loved the library at that age, we could easily spend 30-60 mins choosing books, then head to a cafe for another hour where they'd look at all the books they'd chosen and have a drink. They both still love reading now age 13 and 16. Our local library does free events like story time and rhyme time as well.

Depending on the weather, we would feed the ducks, go to the park, meet up with friends, take the bus into town (kids love buses!) go to swimming lessons, local playgroups etc.

Kentish Town city farm?

Granary square in Kings Cross is really lovely in warmer weather

Bablands is a good resource for London (mainly) things, by area. Even a new playground is an adventure at this age.

Library
Play farm
Petting farm
Craft sessions/messy play at local children's or religious centre

You don't need to pay for anything! Walks in the park collecting leaves etc are great, and feeding the ducks or squirrels if there are any. Ride on an open top bus (in London), library, swimming, shopping - give him his own basket. I'm sure you can find loads of things to do :)

Our regular activities are
Swimming
Messy play
gymnastics
music and movement

Ad hoc activities are
farms
library
softplay
parks

At that age, one of my favourite activities was climbing on the wooden animals in Brent Cross shopping centre.

Wembley outlet centre has an amazing outside but covered play park, no charge for entry.

Welsh Harp nature reserve. If you access from the Wembley Park end, go to the garden centre near the entrance and check out the aquariums.

Ah I loved them too. Sadly they are long gone.

If you drive, Tots Go Wild at Black Park is excellent (although a bit too cold at the moment).

Have you tried posting on a local Facebook group? Most areas have a local family Facebook group where you can ask for ideas. It isn’t always easy to find the church playgroups, unless you go to the website of each church you can find in the area

Try happity website to see if there are any classes suitable near you. Is there a tumble tots or other toddler gymnastics class near you? I would second swimming as it burns a lot of energy. Library is a good free way to spend an hour.