Rainy days with young dc

[jammytoast2]

The forecast is pretty much torrential rain all day tomorrow and some of Saturday. I hate staying in all day with my 3 year old. She will play nicely with toys for a while but it does us both good to get out. I know people say just wrap up and put wellies on and go for a walk but it’s really not enjoyable.

Im thinking of dashing into the library then maybe going somewhere for a hot chocolate just to break the day up. Other than that we probably will cabin up and maybe bake some buns. What do you do with your dc when the weather is horrendous?

Well tomorrow is my day off and my little girl will attend her gymnastics class as normal.

We're going to pop to the pottery lady who has fired my pieces which includes a little pot my daughter has made and we will glaze it in the afternoon.

Then depending on times maybe a film followed by shower and hair wash

Sounds like a great idea OP. i’d often get all the craft stuff out, colouring books they’ve forgotten about. Also you could make more of the baking, write a list together with some other groceries, get the shopping bags go to the supermarket etc. late afternoon you could do a ‘movie night’ get in pj’s with blankets and popcorn

Are there any groups? Or soft play / role play cafes?

I used to get some Dvds from the local library, make a blanket fort and snuggle up with my sons. Or get some cheap craft stuff/ baking session

We used to enjoy a little sort out/tidy up together. Finding random things forgotten about, building a den etc. Go for a walk with raincoats and wellies on. I know it sounds silly but my kids are 23 & 21 now and a fond memory I have this time of year, was walking in the rain late afternoon to the park and walking home past the parade of shops in the near dark with their lights on and my daughter (son in pram) being amazed by it all x

At home: crafts, baking, painting, dressing up, make dens or obstacle course

Outside: library, soft play, play cafe, or even a big shopping centre or supermarket where you can do a kind of indoor walk, just let them run about (as long as closely monitored so nothing gets broken!) bonus if there’s a cafe too

Also many snacks!

Similarly we often do a library trip and then a cafe for lunch/hot chocolate. I go armed with sticker books and a little travel sized tub of Lego. Our library is in walking distance as we’re in a small town and my 4 year old likes to have puddle suit and wellies on and to go on his scooter through the puddles. We have a duck pond nearby so we stop by with a bag of oats for them too. We have to break the day by going outside- staying in the entire time is rarely an option.

Other go-to options are the local soft play, cinema, swimming, or organise a play date.

Our best rainy day activities at home are den building, playdoh, kinetic sand, and Lego.

On rainy days me and DD go puddle jumping, playgroups, swimming, soft play, baking, crafting, go to the garden centre and look at Christmas lights, bit of shopping and lunch out etc.

Lots of options, at that age they’re just your little side kick, you can make an adventure out of anything!

go to a garden centre for a look around all the lovely Xmas stuff.

Maybe get a cuppa and a cake from the cafe.

Or go for a browse around a shopping centre, or you local matalan / dunelm / aldi / pets at home / B&M etc

Ah this is making me nostalgic and my son only started Reception this year!

We would need to go somewhere, even on a rainy day. Mornings are fine at home as with chores and a few games and books, lunch time comes so quickly. But on a rainy afternoon we would probably go to a garden centre for the chirstmas section and a cake, or a local museum which has a good softplay and cafe. Or go and watch the trains at our local station.

For a whole day out we would sometimes go to our big local shopping mall with a john lewis and an ikea. I didn't get to look at very much myself but it didn't matter, it was dry, loads to see for him and nice places to eat!!

When my kids were little sometimes I'd coverer the kitchen floor in paper and layout trays of glitter and paint and we'd have a full body masterpiece in the works. Have a bath afterwards, and with clean up, that's a whole afternoon. I'd cut up the artwork to make little fun displays in the front room.

We made the front room into a cinema, a morning making popcorn containers and tickets, setting up the chairs, then an afternoon of the whole role play of taking tickets serving the treats and watching the film together.

Making dens and literally living in them for the full day!

Making and decorating biscuits, wrap the table in tin foil, make a basic biscuit and then colourful glace icing and go nuts with a spoon or icing bags.

Thank you OP you've given me quite a few happy memories I'd forgotten about.

We used to bake, do arts and crafts and play board games and let them watch tv.

I wouldn't entertain them constantly though, they had to learn that not every day is an adventure and its ok to be a bit bored and think of something to do themselves.

Playdoh is always a winner here

Toddler in a box was a hit on the worst days. I kept large cardboard boxes if I had anything delivered in one, put the child inside wearing just pants with a mixture of crayons/pens/paint sticks/glue/stickers etc.

Large sheets of paper typed to a washable floor and let loose with paints was good fun. Once I drew round her and we had a lovely time decorating a full sized picture of her!

A couple of times I pushed the furniture back and set up the wooden train set to stretch as far as we could. I possibly enjoyed that more than she did...

Oh I forgot the masking tape on the floor of the front room. We made whole towns and roads. Coloured it in with pencil crayons to make signs and traffic lights. Then spent days doing play round it. The carpet kept the lines for a while after I eventually pulled it up 😅

Another good idea is to keep a special bath box only for the days you’re really struggling. They get an extra bath in the day and you bring out the bath box full of bath toys they don’t normally have, various bath foams and glitters (Kid’s Stuff brand is brilliant), bath crayons and so on.

I absolutely love the toddler in a box idea. Just wondering if we have a big enough box anywhere 😂

Playgroups, movie club, library, soft play if they're not too crowded for Saturday.

On Sunday, swimming is a good one, tires them out a lot!
Garden centre, to look at decoration and animals when they have them.

I can't spend an entire day at home, I am too bored, so we are out absolutely every day, but indoors when it's pouring with rain.

YOU know it is 'bad' weather. But your child doesn't have the same concept of good weather and bad weather.

So what does your child want to do? Go and play outside? Get them and you togged up - dry and warm. Be in the rain. Be in the wet. Be in the wind (as long as it is safe).

Get out there. Be exhiliarated. Turn you faces up to the rain rather than sheltering from it. Jump in every puddle. Shout against the wind.

Live with nature rather than hiding from it.

Walk outside getting muddy then Bubble bath with toys. Kills loads of time

Library for sure

Research any drop-in toddler groups

Go and get a coffee, take colouring books for her

Supermarket shop for bits

A bit of drizzle - yes

Lashing rain, high winds, reduced visibility on roads, every other sane being behind closed doors - no, thanks.

Following this with interest as I live on the west coast so have a lot of rain! When it was just me and my two year old last winter I did most of the things mentioned here but now I have a three year old and a newborn and I'm not sure how easy it would be to manage baking and baths and so on with them both. Baby is only a month old, so maybe I'll get into the swing of it?! Not wanting to hijack the thread OP but if anyone has any tips... We spent a painful day indoors earlier this week with newborn cluster feeding and toddler rampaging and I'm keen to manage it better next time!

Mine are a lot older now, but when they were little we used to play quite a few games as it felt like it was always raining! Hiding a chocolate button somewhere in the living room and playing hotter/colder always went down well. I also used to put them in an empty bath with lots of paper and pens, maybe paint. It kept all the mess contained and was easy to clean up afterwards.
If you have a long hallway or corridor, you can do little races or obstacle courses. My DS1 in particular used to love playing a game of fetch along the hallway!
The five minute mum book was really helpful to me when mine were little. Lots of ideas in there.

Garden centre for a walk and look at the Christmas stuff?