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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

18 month old bored already! How can I occupy him?

31 replies

CravingSunshine · 04/05/2012 19:39

I know this is ultra common- active boy, clambering all over the furniture etc. but I have a 4 month-old to feed and find it impossible to give her the nice, uninterrupted feed she deserves because DS1 is ALWAYS doing something hazardous: standing on speakers to pull books off shelves, climbing onto the bar stools in the kitchen to reach the cooker ...you get the picture. I feel I'm always pulling him down off things and saying 'no'.
He has NEVER played well with anything, just flits about getting bored. As he gets older and more agile, I'm ending up putting him in his playpen too often and don't really want to do that. (He doesn't mind it but I'm sure he'll get fed up there soon).

I recognise his need to climb and let off steam and take him to the park twice a day but it's the house that's the problem. I also allocate time to him when I've fed her - offering to read a a story etc but he generally runs off to poke at something else!

Surely there must be SOMETHING out there that captures the imagination of these boys. Here's what he does like (that I consider to be acceptably safe): Fisher Price moneybox pig, ELC mailbox to post letters in, his trike+ CozyCoupe car but can't propel himself forwards so doesn't really use them and sometimes he will play with bottles and lids and pots and bowls but only if he's penned in!
I was thinking about a mini Henry hoover as he likes our hoover but I think he'd suss it wasn't the real deal and start pulling ours out.
I'd welcome any ideas as I'm at my WITS END.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

ragged · 04/05/2012 19:47

Babyproofing, Toddler groups, public heath & forests, & playgrounds. Many hours per day I spent in those places. Thank Gawd some kind of summer, even if it's a British summer, is coming.

Original poster

CravingSunshine · 04/05/2012 19:55

Ragged, you know what the annoying thing about playgroups is? I go to our local one and it's fantastic but as soon as I'm feeding the baby he gets all clingy and annoyed and doesn't really go off and explore. Oh the irony of having all that space and freedom to make a mess.

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mercibucket · 04/05/2012 20:04

The nice uninterrupted feed thing is a bit of a pfb or 'older kids at school' thing.- maybe don't expect that to happen and things will go better. Read to him while feeding her, so he gets a cuddle time as well for example. God, I used to bf while pushing ds1 on the swing - must have been mad :-)
Can the house be better babyproofed?

mercibucket · 04/05/2012 20:04

Original poster

CravingSunshine · 04/05/2012 20:07

mercibucket we thought we had proofed it but the sky's the limit with this boy. He's standing on chairs and jumping off, or reaching onto shelves to pull things down, standing on the (spinning) office chair and grabbing the Mac mouse. Some of it's plain annoying because it's all the tidying up and I don't want him jumping all over furniture anyway. Maybe there's no magic activity that will engage him. Tried the story thing but he doesn't sit still for more than 3 seconds.

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IKilledIgglePiggle · 04/05/2012 20:48

I know this sounds awful but your DC2 will not get the same babyhood as DC2 especially when they are so close together.

I have very few memories of number 2 simply because I had an active toddler to tend to.

At 18 mo he is learning at a rapid rate and he needs you to guide him, the baby just needs feeding and changing.......can you not get your cuddle and long feeds when toddler is in bed.

IKilledIgglePiggle · 04/05/2012 20:49

As DC1 that should read.

crazy88 · 04/05/2012 20:54

IKilledIgglePiggle is right I'm afraid. You just don't get to sit and feed and cuddle with subsequent babies. Not without a lot of CBeebies anyway

jkklpu · 04/05/2012 21:05

Do you have a sling you can bf in? If not, get one and make sure you get to the park every day to exercise your ds and it gives you lots more flexibility on other activities. Your baby will still feel close to you.

Original poster

CravingSunshine · 04/05/2012 21:44

You're all absolutely right: should have no rosy notions about calm feeds. DS is at a critical stage and does need guidance. It struck me today - I'm doing a 72hr stint solo with DH away on business- that my overriding emotion is GUILT: that I'm not spending enough time with either and that they're getting a half-baked experience of life. But that's a 14m age gap for you! My own fault

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NeedToSleepZZZ · 05/05/2012 21:18

Oh lordy, [cravingsunshine], you deserve a medal! I cannot imagine having a newborn with ds around and he's 15 months. He is also very active (climbing being a particular favourite) and loves the ELC postbox thing so thought I'd let you know some other things that keep him still for more than a minute.
If you have an iPad then there are sone great apps for toddlers, toca boca does some good ones that are also educational.
Piling all the cushions from the sofas onto the floor and fashioning a mountain with hidden toys underneath for him to climb and rescue the toys.
Other than that, DVDs and the park when the weather is okay.
Good luck!

Original poster

CravingSunshine · 06/05/2012 12:36

NeedToSleepZZZ (so do I!) I love the cushion idea. One of my bug bears is kids climbing on furniture and it's really hard to get him off when I've got the bottle in my other baby's mouth. We go to the park rain or shine and I bought him a Regatta wet suit thingy on Amazon so his clothes stay completely dry. That's a real winner. Like the Apps idea too, cheers!

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brightonbleach · 06/05/2012 14:27

a friends little 'un likes a little tent they were given, living room or garden works just as well! its their own space with books inside and very exciting. mine likes a duvet on the floor to crawl under!! Theres a Noaks Ark game which is simply a noah's boat (cardboard) with a 'letterbox' slot on the top with a load of cards with animals on to post in - when they're older its 'find the pairs' to post in, mine is 2.5 and he likes to name each animal and then post it inside, still not interested in pairing them up. then he tips the whole thing out and starts again! its quite fun and means that at the zoo last week he could name flamingos, pengiuns and so on and its one of the few toys he will sit still to do, well, that and crayoning. I can't remember where I got it, maybe try Ebay? Orchard Toys Two By Two it says on the box here. :)

Original poster

CravingSunshine · 06/05/2012 14:33

brightonbleach that's a lovely idea. My friend has a pink indoor tent thingy and I was thinking about it. I guess it's yet more paraphnalia in a tiny house but if it works!

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brightonbleach · 06/05/2012 14:41

exactly! you can always borrow something and hand it back when that gets boring - we borrowed a pop-up crawl-through tunnel (when we lived in brighton there was a toy library you could lend things from, was fab) and it took up half the flat it seemed but he did love it... for 2 months then it was dull and I gave it back :) hurrah

WorrisomeHeart · 06/05/2012 19:09

I second the pop up tent idea, my 18mth old DS sounds exactly like yours in terms of energy and lack of concentration and he LOVES his tent. He's constantly in there, he takes his stuffed toys in and plays in there. The one slight glitch is that currently he wants me in there with him as well which may not work quite so well!! It does take up room but it gets folded down in the evenings and slides under the couch. We got ours from Argos but I like the IKEA circus version too.

Original poster

CravingSunshine · 06/05/2012 19:10

Thank you! I've just reserved a tent and tunnel at Argos. Pick up tomorrow. Funny he wants you in there as well WorrisomeHeart, there just ain't no pleasing some people, is there!

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WorrisomeHeart · 06/05/2012 19:31

I know, bless him. He drags me in and then scampers out to get his Igglepiggle doll and then we all have to pretend to be sleeping. . He also loves jumping on the sides of the tent when I'm inside - I'm not such a fan of that game!

Rhubarbgarden · 07/05/2012 08:50

If you've got space (maybe when the tent's not up!) you could try a toddler trampoline. We've got a little Galt one and when dd is full of beans she goes on there and bounces like fury. She got it for Christmas and is not remotely bored of it yet. It's been a huge hit.

Also try reducing the number of toys around. Put half away in a cupboard for a few weeks then swap over. It keeps the novelty value. Also I've noticed that amongst dd's little friends, the ones with the most toys are the ones who get bored the quickest as it encourages a shorter attention span.

seeker · 07/05/2012 08:59

" but I have a 4 month-old to feed and find it impossible to give her the nice, uninterrupted feed she deserves"

This may be controversial, but I don't think your 4 month old will care about the "nice uninterrupted feed"! I think second babies are programmed to fit in. Even more controversially, I think the reason second babies are often "easier" is that they don't get the 24 hour undivided attention that first ones do!

fuckwittery · 07/05/2012 09:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

CravingSunshine · 07/05/2012 18:39

Thanks for all the excellent replies, everyone. Definitely need to put some toys away to get novelty value back. I also need to invest in a new pair of jeans as I keep getting holes in my knees from all the tidying up!

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menopausemum · 07/05/2012 20:11

When my first was 15 months old I had twins. No - I have no perfect solutions for quiet, calm feeds but the best thing I found was to have a special box/treasure basket which was only allowed out when the twins were being fed. This made it verys special. We used to have things like lots of boxes/purses with things inside to discover, all in the basket. You could have selections of keys/broken clocks etc depending on what you think would work. The main point is that it is only out for a fairly short period, otherwise it doesn't work at all. Try www.earlyyearsplanning.co.uk for ideas for themed treasure baskets.

Original poster

CravingSunshine · 08/05/2012 12:58

menopausemum love that idea. DS absolutely loves little boxes and things he can hold in his hands. Thank you and good woman for still being alive after 3 under 3. Wow!

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HappyJoyful · 08/05/2012 14:48

I don't know if it's any help but if you are looking for toys .. have you seen the Fisher Price little people - garages, houses, farms ?
My live wire of a 16mo old will spent a wee while playing with her house, she also has the ELC letterbox being the only other thing I can get her to sit still with. Oh and Russian Dolls - we have a habitat penguin set and they are again something that she seems interested in.. I know I've also read somewhere on here that amused a similar age child.
Stickers ? She'll spend ages sticking things on paper.

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