To beg for ideas to entertain my toddler

[Monkeymonkeymoo]

My 17 month old son has ‘hand, foot and mouth’ so has to stay home all week and away from other children (no nursery, parks or soft play).
I’m quickly running out of ideas for how to entertain him.
He’s very active and doesn’t seem to feel unwell (he’s just very spotty).

Any suggestions for activities, toys or games that have worked well for you.
(We’re already going for 2 walks a day!)
We don’t have a garden and our house isn’t enormous.

I’m in the first trimester of pregnancy and knackered so need something to keep him busy!

The nhs guidance is to keep them at home when they are actually unwell. I was surprised as well but if he’s ok in himself then there’s nothing to stop you going to parks etc

He looks awful and he’s definitely still contagious (the spots are still coming up and haven’t crusted over).
Because of his age he’s still all over other kids and touches everything! Even if it’s technically fine I’m not sure other parents would appreciate having him in the park 😂

I think they’re most contagious before they get spots and the spots can still look bad after a couple of weeks anyway. I probably wouldn’t take them to soft play or playgroups but would go to the park.

Check out suggestions on peeple.org.uk (yes spelt like that) click on parents tab it’s indoor and outdoor activities for babies and toddlers based on things you normally find around the house. You may get some new ideas from there.

Mine loved playing with water at that age. Two shallow bowls and plastic cups or egg cups. Lots of bubbles with washing up liquid.

Is your nursery really insisting he can't go back till the spots are gone? NHS guidance is that they can go back as soon as they are feeling better. As a pp said, they're most infectious before they get the spots, and it's a pretty safe bet that every kid in the nursery has already got/had it!

Are you anywhere near a beach? They’re pretty deserted round here, especially mornings and late afternoons during the week. You could bundle him up warmly and let him burn off some energy. Or local woodland? Or any open spaces where there are no play parks? Like a football field he could kick a ball about without coming into contact with other children?

Or, if you need to stay indoors then what about ‘the floor is lava’ with sofa cushions and books? Or help him build a camp with a blanket and a couple of chairs. Have you got Amazon Prime? You could get him some of those bath crayons and use the loo as a seat while he’s splashing away. Or finger painting in a dry bath, which will contain the mess. You can get some very simple, very reasonably priced remote control toys at that age which are very simple to operate and have kept the toddler we care for occupied for ages.