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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

Wet weather: boys bouncing off walls, what to do?

19 replies

badmamma · 02/11/2002 19:38

What do you do with two boys aged six and four when the weather is too foul to go out but their energy is uncontainable? Done swimming, cinema... And please mums of girls don' t suggest threading beads and other quiet activities because they are both testosterone on a stick. All advice gratefully accepted.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

kkgirl · 02/11/2002 19:49

Scream!!!

I know exactly how you feel, we have had my parents over and the boys have been at each other all day, it has been awful.
I tried to get them interested in games, like Buckaroo, Jenga etc. but all they wanted to do was fight.
I seriously think that even if it is wet tomorrow, I'll raincoat them up and take them out for a bracing walk.

My sympathies. Have the same problem.

Ghosty · 02/11/2002 19:50

How about making a camp? With furniture and cushions and stuff?

Hide and Seek? A treasure hunt around the house with clues etc ...

Making a train track or road track with strips of paper and other bits and bobs ... making bridges etc so that they can drive their cars/trains all over the place?

Do you have an indoor play area near you? You know the type of place that has those huge climbing frames and bouncy castles? That's what I do on a rainy day ...

Of course there are videos but that maybe too quiet for them ...

HTH ...

Original poster

badmamma · 02/11/2002 19:58

thank you both. kkgirl, i totally agree, am going to ensure swim followed by yomp tomorrow. boys are like large dogs, only content after exercise. a whole day of them locked in and i can see how men make wars. they just seem to enjoy wrecking stuff, seems part of their nature. makes me depressed as often they can be v sweet and kind.

OP posts:

kkgirl · 02/11/2002 20:02

Badmamma

If it's any consolation I don't think that they mean it and I don't think that they can help it.
Hopefully they have gone to bed now, and you can have a rest and recover.
You never know tomorrow might be a lot better, some sunny spells are forecast so maybe you can let them run around a bit outside to calm them down.

Original poster

badmamma · 02/11/2002 20:06

I know but, although obviously adore DSs, don't you sometimes envy mothers with girls? I watch friends daughters play for hours quietly and imaginatively. Or they take them to art galleries and they look at things rather than racing round like idiots. Today i m sick of noise and shouting and constantly pulling them off each other.

OP posts:

kkgirl · 02/11/2002 20:14

Don't envy mothers with girls, even though mine can be good as gold she can't also be a pain, but I suppose not as bad as the boys.
I know what you mean about the noise and the fighting, I have now got a terrible headache and feel sick

ScummyMummy · 02/11/2002 20:21

More sympathy from another boisterous 2 boy owner, badmamma. Are you in London, by any chance? Some of the museums aren't too bad for wet days and will tolerate the racing round like idiots factor. They're free now too. The Science & National History museums are our godsend but have also been hearing great things about the SE London museums recently- especially the Horniman and a fantastic little one called the Livesey Museum for Children, off the Old Kent Road, if you're anywhere near. They have a website here , if anyone's interested. Not sure that they are open Sundays though. Hope you have a better day tomorrow, anyway!

SofiaAmes · 02/11/2002 21:42

Took all the kids to Snakes and Ladders in Syon Park today. It was brilliant. The 8 and 9 year old raced around on the various climbing etc. things and the 2 year old raced around the toddler area with dh trying to teach him to drive as badly as dh does and I sat and read while the 5 week old slept and ate. I would highly recommend it. And there is lots of free parking.
Earlier in the day, dh took them to our new house and burned shrubbery in the garden (who knows how they managed to get a fire lit in this rain, but at least there was no worry about it spreading).

gillymac · 02/11/2002 21:54

Girls aren't always better than boys. My two could never play quietly and imaginatively, well not for more than about ten minutes anyway, and as for fighting....At 15 and 11 they still fight, and I mean kicking, punching, biting fights all the time.
As for suggestions for what boys can do on a rainy day, my ds(aged 5) loves painting, glueing, playing with subutteo, indoor football with a tennis ball (but that drives me mad), computer games on cbeebies. However if all else fails and the weather isn't too bad, I wrap him up, put his rain jacket on him and let him play out in the back garden anyway.

SueDonim · 03/11/2002 05:34

Hopefully, peace reigns in your house now, Badmamma, but if Sunday turns out bad, how about dressing them in old clothes and wellies, then just go out and splash in as many puddles as you can find and kick about in the autumn leaves? If you have a garden, they could make mud pies, too.

Another idea I read about, in an old book written in Victorian times, was to pretend your living room/house was a mountain range and 'climb' up and down the furniture as though you were mountaineering. This depends on how precious your home is, of course!! Another idea I've read of (I think on mumsnet) is to give the children a packet of sticking plasters each and let them use them all up. If you are bored as well, how about redecorating a room - the boys could help strip off wallpaper!! Best wishes.

Hilary · 03/11/2002 09:42

Oh, I'm glad it's not just my two. They are so physical and hate being cooped up all day. I tend to put their wellies on them and take them for a rainy splashy walk, or let them play in the garden in the rain. They don't seem to care so why should I?

Really feel for you, it's not easy, is it? I have been looking after a friend's daughter one afternoon a week and she is a dream compared to my two. She plays pretend games and does art work and my two literally run rings around her. Wouldn't swap them for the world, and in a good mood, they can both be quite creative and they both love books but they are on the go constantly.

Indoor play area is a good idea. Buy yourself a coffee, take a book and let them loose.

Roll on better weather, though, eh?

hmb · 03/11/2002 12:53

I find that puddle jumping is a good one, followed by a cup of hot (warm) chocolate on return. A bit of messy cake making? Or is that too girly? Pity me, I have one of each, a girl that wants to stay indoors and a boy on a short fuse, and a husband a thousand miles away for the next 3 weeks!

Eulalia · 03/11/2002 13:00

Yesterday I made some flapjacks with my 3 year old son. He loves cooking. Loves doing boy things as well though -we could do with an indoor climbing frame.

jac34 · 03/11/2002 13:45

my four yaer old boys, are a nightmare this weather.It's the fighting that gets me down !!!
I have just spent this morning clearing out the playroom, and the amount of totally wrecked, toys was very annoying.They just can't keep something whole for 5 min.I seem to spend time reasembling things, just for them to dismantle again. It realy is, to do with testosterone!!!!

batey · 03/11/2002 14:13

I was told boys get their first big surge of testosterone at around 4 1/2. Certainly seems true of my nephews/friends dss, when their usualy easy going boys turned into whirling dervish's (sp?).

tigermoth · 03/11/2002 18:46

fellow sufferer here!

badmamma,one thing to remember is that even if you've done the same local cinema, swimming, indoor playcentre thing a hundred times, and are sick to your back teeth of it,(by March each year this is how I feel), you can bet your bottom dollar your sons won't be bored. When my son (8) sees a film he likes he would happily go again the next day, and the next....

For a day trip on a rainy day, I've found the seaside is surprisingly good. Splashing about on the beach, big waves to marvel at if it's windy, followed by indoor play in arcades or play centres - pick a really commercialised seaside location - avoid unspoilt and quiet - and you can't far wrong here.

If you're in SE London, I recommend the Isle of Sheppy. About 30 mins past Bluewater.

Also - shopping - strange as it may seem. Let them loose in a big and tolerant toy shop. Ask them to think what toys they'd like for christmas, you are not there to buy big toys now. Then home to write a present list to santa.

Again if you are in London a huge thumbs up for the food halls, Egyptian hall and lifts at Harrods - great free entertainment! near enough to the natural history and science museums to combine with a visit.

Or indoor winter sports centres, with toboggan runs and real snow. Good for spectating - lots of cool snowboarders to watch, and if your sons are old enough (check the age limit beforehand) they can hire a toboggan or ice skates.

Or a large indoor boot fair. An early morning activity, so hopefully they'll be tired by the evening. If you give them a little money each, they can buy some secondhand toys to play with when they get home.

Find out what local schools are holding christmas fetes and fairs in the coming weekends. You don't have to belong to the school to go. Lots of cheap stuff, entertainment and running around possibilities virtually on your doorstep.

HTH

KMG · 03/11/2002 19:10

badmamma - sympathies! But thanks, you made me smile. My two are 3.5 and 5, and we had a wet half term - I know just how you feel! I have given up, and spent a lot of money on good waterproofs for us all, and we just go out anyway. I find if I time their exercise carefully, they don't need a lot to satisfy their needs. (Sounds like dogs, doesn't it?) Now I brace myself and take them out for a brisk walk first thing for half an hour or so, and then they are bearable for most of the day, then we go out again mid-afternoon. I find if we stay home until I can't stand it any longer, the day never sorts itself out - they seem to have gone past the point of no return ...!

KMG · 03/11/2002 19:14

My two do love cooking and baking, and will usually calm down on the promise of that.

Another odd thing I discovered during half term was that my eldest (just 5) when driving be completely barmy with his loopiness, responded really well when I gave him some 'school work' to sit down and do. No, it doesn't make sense to me either, I thought he was going crazy from cabin fever, but it seemed he also needed to exercise his brain cells a bit too. He does settle well to some reading, writing, or number work, (as long as he's had some fresh air - see below).

kkgirl · 03/11/2002 19:28

KMG

SLightly different but my twins have had to start homework this week. Although they have to read at home and learn spellings, they now also have a different topic each week.
Last week they had to do some work on mammals or insects and they both enjoyed making a little book. My dd is very creative always colouring, sticking etc but ds is always charging about, never writes or draws at home.
STrange!!

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