how do you entertain a toddler on an allotment?

[MamaChris]

we finally have an allotment! it needs a lot of work, and ds (21mo) obviously doesn't agree that he should enjoy playing in the mud whilst I dig. but we will need to do a lot of work to get the ground ready by spring so for at least some of that time ds will need to accompany us. does anyone have tried and tested suggestions for entertaining toddlers on allotments (in winter)?

Slap a plough on his back and put chocolate buttons on a string. Dangle in front of child. Walk slowly up and down till your allotment is ready for planting. Then feed him the buttons

In my garden I let my DD who is now three, but have done this for a while - she plays with her own pots, and packets of seeds - watering can, and loves getting FILTHY

we just leave her to it, she loves doing what she wants x

A couple of cars, mud and water - what's not to like it you are nearly two???

BTW Buy the type of wellies that tie at the top unless you like scraping mud out of your sons shoes each time you visit.

Pop up tent.

whomovedmychocolate, OWOFB, my thoughts exactly! ok, so I forgot the cars, but with buckets, tools, plenty of mud, even chickens to watch, he just didn't want to play. At home in the garden, his play centres around a small playhouse, putting things in and out pouring mud on the roof, etc. maybe a pop up tent will be the solution - give him a "place" to centre his activity around. thanks Shells

My DS loved burying small things in his patch of soil. Oh the joy when he discovers them later!!

burying things sounds good - will have to teach him that! (although I do have a nagging voice in the back of my head asking if I really want to have to search the garden for buried treasure like keys and money ).

A container of water, an old paintbrush and let him "paint" the sheds/fences etc

no shed or fence yet - wonder if our neighbours want theirs painted?

tbh none of these would have worked for long when ds was that age. He loved doing all that stuff with mud and water etc but would have been adamant that someone had to do it with him. Especially if the person were in front of him rather than hidden from his view (eg in kitchen but keeping an eye on him)

He would have kept coming over and dragging us to play or more likely wanting to help. The help would have had to involve actually working with the tools we were using not his toy ones.

We might have got a couple of 10-15 min bursts if that of independent playing of any sort and you can't really do much in that time. If we had tried to make him play alone (exactly how do you do that with a toddler?) he'd have just cried a lot which also wouldn't have been conducive to getting any real work done.

We tried the "The painting the fence" game many times with ds at varous intervals between the age of 20months and 4years old but it only really started working as a way to get him to entertain himself when he was about 3 years old. At this age he just would have stopped as soon as the adult started doing something else and followed the adult.

Dh and I would have done a tag day with one working and the other taking ds out/playing with him if we had need to really get a lot of work done.

We got a sandpit from freecycle and voila, children are entertained!

When My Grandad used to take me to his allotment, he would stick me up on top of the shed so I could feed the horses for a couple of hours.
Then he used to take me the pub and feed me smoky bacon crisps and orange squash.
Wow just realised how much I miss the grumpy old sod!