entertaining 7-month old boy

[MumOfLeo]

My ds, 7 months old, is getting bored with his toys. He can't yet sit up by himself, so he can't easily enjoy some of the really fabulous stuff we have for him. He isn't too interested in the activity center that we have (it has a seat in which he sits comfortably). He enjoys the jumper thingie that hangs in the doorway for about 15 - 20 mins at a time. Any suggestions? He is quite energetic and I want to challenge and entertain him! Thanks in advance!

take him ato a busy raod in his pram/

Swing at the park

M and S food on old ladies day

Sit him in the laundry basket supported by a pillow with a selection of household bits and bobs (measuring jug, tea strainer etc) and stick it in front of the washing machine while it is washing.

I should add that Leo (my ds) loathes tummy time! I'm interested especially in ways in which he can entertain himself, while I do fun stuff like wash up, bottles, etc. He is a fairly independent fellow, but lately has been whining after only 5-10 mins of playing with toys (swing, playmat) that used to entertain him for 20 mins or more.

My ds is now 8 months and we recently went through the same. But it has suddenly passed (in the last couple of weeks, funnily enough when dd went back to school!) Anyway onto good entertainment stuff. Have you heard of treasure baskets? My HV recommended it for my dd when she was small. Basically its a collection of safe and natural household objects, in a basket, for them to explore. The idea is to get away from the bright and plastic for a while. DS spent nearly an hour looking through his in his highchair while I was cooking etc the other day.
The items should be a selection of textures, weights, shapes and colours. Ideas for things to put in: wooden spoon, cotton reels/large buttons threaded securely on string, pieces of different fabrics, dried pasta in a plastic bottle, washing up brush, nail brush, beanbag, clothes peg...
If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

Agree with the ordinary household stuff idea. My DS was difficult to entertain as a baby but if I sat him in front of the cupboard with pots and pans/tuppaware and plastic stuff in it and gave him a couple of wooden spoons he would be happy for more than half and hour!

My 7mth olds happy place is in the bathroom where we have a big rug. I think he likes the echo (good for squealing) and the glass bench top (with colourful stuff sitting on top) and the chrome bin. He will roll over and over to get to stuff I put on the rug, like a bright toiletry bag or a hairbrush. I usually sing him songs while he is there and I'm having a shower or doing my hair etc. I can leave him there while I go about other stuff for quite a while.

The other fairly happy place is on the spare bed (queen size) where the clean but unironed clothes are piled (high). He likes to grab the different clothes and roll around with them (I don't worry too much about him sticking them in his mouth). Also a good spot for playing peekaboo. This is good while folding and while hanging out the washing.

I will probably get hammered for this and it is not very energetic, but when absolutely desperate (guests about to arrive etc) I have been known to sit him in his high chair or car seat about 2.5metres from the tele on the cartoon chanel. I read that it doesn't really mean a thing to them except colour and sound till they are about 10mo.

I like all these ideas. What is M and S food on old ladies day? Sounds a little bit rude.

Have you got a bumbo? I found that he could play with all the cool toys that you have to sit up for if he was in his bumbo. I wedged a few down the sides for him to discover once he'd thrown everything out of reach.

For some bizarre reason, counting scoops out loud as I made bottles or teaspoons as I washed them made him really happy. And putting a piece of paper or card on the fridge with a magnet so he had to pull it off before he chewed it.

Oh, and of course, Baby Mozart - a whole 27 minutes to wash up to your hearts content.

Mind you, the method I now use (now he's 8 months) is to leave him for someone else to entertain while I relax at work!

M and S food - obvious,, Ours always has loads of old ladies in it on market day - you cant move for them wanting to coodge ds 3

ps would not stress in the slightest about tv till they ae 1

With my dd of just 9 months at 7mths it was like a switch turned on. Have you tried mother + baby groups? She sat unaided as soon as seeing other kids doing it. Also reading and puppet shows when she was on door swing helped grab her attention.

thanks for all the great ideas! Please keep them coming, as I'm sure I'm not the only mum in this boat.

fisil: what is a bumbo? I am American and thus sadly ignorant of cool brit slang!

baby mozart -- where would I be without it?? DS loves Baby Mozart, Beethoven, Neptune, and Neighborhood Animals. What a great series. We own all ten of them on DVD!

MumofLeo ... I am English and I have no idea what a Bumbo is either! Come on fisil ... do tell us what it is, I am dying to know!!

Message withdrawn

bloss: thank you! The Bumpo looks like a great idea for babies like my ds who cannot yet sit up unassisted. I'm going to find out how much they would charge to ship it to the U.S.

Bumbo in the U.S.:

shop.store.yahoo.com/shophsg2/bumbabsit.html

we have one - its ok but ds3 can lever himself out hes 6 months

Bumbo is South African - don't know if that helps you to get it cheaper or easier.

Love the idea of going to M&S just to get cooed over. I certainly used to get to the check out at Tesco and think "oops, forgot such and such, oh good, an excuse to come back tommorrow!"

I have got from a friend the BEST thing ever..hold on will try and find a link.

back soon

heres the boy!

even in dollars
I tell you this is FANTASTIC wish I had bought it for ds1. worth every penny. Ours is not hte smae as this - its 5 years ol but theya re great.

I have just put baby mozart on my amazon wish list..tell me more about it.

1. Switch on video.

2. Place baby in front.

3. Wander off and do what you like for 27 minutes.

4. Occassionally look in on baby and marvel at how anything can hold his/her rapt attention for so long, especially something which comprises of bad Mozart played on a Casio electric organ accompanied by images of cheap toys and 70s desk toys.

5. Rewind video and leave in machine for next time.

I left my childless friend to mind ds at 6 months while I went to work. She played it 3 times back to back to him - and he didn't get bored!

fisil's summary is excellent. the founder of the company sold it to Disney a year ago for $25 million. And, I'm telling you, Disney got a BARGAIN. This series, Baby Einstein, is absolutely miraculous. If you have a DVD player, get it on DVD, rather than video. The DVD's will last forever, while videotapes wear out. And, believe me, you will play these over and over and over ...

Cods: I have an activity center just like the one you liked to, below. But my ds (7 mos) just isn't that interested in it. Do you remember if your baby wasn't thrilled with it at first?

Puyt snacks in the tray bit?!! try again and put the tv on too!

Books - I read loads to my ds and I don't think you can ever find a better toy to challenge and entertain a child. Also agree with taking him to the shops. My ds had an exceptionally cute knitted matinee coat and bonnet which was a total old lady magnet. I used to dress him in it specially and he had a fine time at the supermarket. My ds was - and is - captivated by swings so a trip to the park always worked. I also just took him everywhere with me (happy days of maternity leave, sigh) and he seemed to like the changes of scene. At home, I had a baby video but he didn't love it. Friends speak very highly of Baby Mozart though.