What mundane things entertain your children?

[Cheeseycheeseycheesecheese]

Ds (almost 2) has spent the past 25 minutes stood, face smooshed against the backdoor giving dh and I a running commentary about the pigeon in the garden.

"Pigeon fence!"
"In corner"
"Oh no pigeon... careful"
"Muuummmmyyyy, pigeon on shed, daddy it's fall"
"Night night Mr pigeon" as it flew away

I've never known a child to be so totally enamoured with the behaviour of a bird before...

So I'm asking what things that you would class as mundane/uninteresting held your children rapt for extended periods of time?

My children will happily spend several hours throwing something into a tree in the garden then knocking it down with a stick. Over and over and over again.
And then again the next day.

when DS1 was about 17m old he loved playing with the tissue box.
he was endlessly entertained by pulling one tissue out after another. he was so content and fascinated I let him.

there must be tons more, but I'm going to bed now

looking at spiderwebs after the rain.

they really are beautiful and I love them so Iwould point one out - then we'd have to stop at every single one and admire it.

Unbuckling and buckling high chair harness, baby bouncer which a toddler can still sit in and car seat in hallway with various degrees of success.

Various children as toddlers I know have done it but I didn't realise they did it for hours repeatedly until I had DD.

Oh my, these are utterly adorable!!

Ds hates balloons, everywhere except at his grandparents... apparently they're acceptable at those 2 houses.

The clicker idea is brilliant!!! Its like a reward system without a physical reward!

On the wine subject, everything in a bottle is milk, everything in a cup is "colour" juice (he decided upon knowing that orange squash is orange in colour, drinks are known as colour not flavour) and in a mug it is tea, doesn't matter how much you correct him, he will tell you he is right and he's pretty much perfected my mum's "don't you argue with me" tone...

There is something about children and cleaning, it seems to fascinate them. On the other end, my best friend convinced her 8 year old son that the vacuum cleaner gives her headaches so now when he's annoyed with her he gets it out... she credits that idea to mumsnet haha

Keep them coming children are crazy cool!!

@marmitegirl01

Mine loved going to IKEA. Like as much as an exciting day trip out. They still love it and are teens. 🤷‍♀️

Mine too

Dd (9) spent this afternoon scraping bark of a log with a paint scraper.

@firstimemamma in case you haven't already got it, the wow toys bin lorry/recycling truck is pretty cool. My boys both loved the little slidy door

DD (age 7) loves going to the supermarket! She doesn't pester me for treats or anything so it's not that, she just genuinely enjoys it

Both DC also love IKEA. We are overseas and don't have one here, but when we're back in the UK an IKEA trip is like a fun day out!

My kids used to love IKEA. Unfortunately we haven't been able to go since the start of lockdown. We are literally going to go the first day of their summer holiday

The door-stop spring. Boinnnnnggggg. Boinnnnngggg. Cat also loves it.

And counting snails and slugs after a downpour.

Tissue / wipes….granddaughter is obsessed with cleaning!

Potion making honestly is hours of fun for my two. Empty margarine tubs/plastic tubs, bit of soil, grass, water and they're done.

They also love 'cleaning' stuff outdoors - old washing up bowl full of water and rags and they'll clean anything, a bike, the wall, etc.

Also, they love painting a brick wall with water and a paintbrush outside

#savemoneyhavefun

😂

@Susannahmoody

Potion making honestly is hours of fun for my two. Empty margarine tubs/plastic tubs, bit of soil, grass, water and they're done.

They also love 'cleaning' stuff outdoors - old washing up bowl full of water and rags and they'll clean anything, a bike, the wall, etc.

Also, they love painting a brick wall with water and a paintbrush outside

#savemoneyhavefun

😂

When my brother (now in his fifties) was little he spent an entire 6 week summer holiday 'washing' the gravel in my grannies garden. He was so small he had to stand on tiptoes on an upturned bucket to dip a colander of gravel in the 4 ft high rain water butt.

4 year old DS loves cars. Sometimes he takes a notion of giving me a v long guided tour of all the parts of the car, usually when we've just got home and I'm desperate to get inside for a wee and a sit down.

Me: DS please come in
DS: wait mummy! This is the brake light, this is red. This is for stopping.
Me: very good DS, clever boy. Fancy a drink inside?
DS: no mummy wait! This is the engine. Let's check the engine. This bit is for water. What is this bit for?

It could go on all day really. He'll probably become a mechanic.

My daughter used to love pulling baby wipes out of the packet one after the other!
Another one for both kids is throwing little stones or sticks in to puddles.

My 2.5yo DS is obsessed with garage doors. He'll stop in the street to watch them open and close. I can't convince him to keep walking until the garage is closed again.

And pretty much any sensory book, especially those with sound. We don't have a TV and a zero screen policy for the kids so that may be why.

Also for the bin lorry cake, I would get a small bin lorry toy as a present and put it directly on top of a plain cake. This was my go to when DS asked for a paw patrol cake, if you can find some other small playmobil/Lego bits and bobs to use as rubbish to strew around it could be really great!

When mine were little they would sit on little chairs and watch the washing machine like it was a TV! My now 9yo can still play with a really simple toy (like two Lego bricks stuck together or one of those Jacob’s Ladder toys) for days on end!

DS (6) loves our retractable tape measure. If he’s ever bored I tell him to get the tape measure and I give him a list of random things in the house to measure. After each one he does ‘the release’. Epic.

Zips- my 2 year old is obsessed- I bought one of those montessori boards with the zip/laces/buttons but she can spend so long zipping, unzipping...its kind of a nightmare when I'm trying to put a jacket on...

My make up case makes a louder zip noise which has her in hysterics.

Oh and ripping (second the kitchen roll), she gets it in the smallest bits and makes a tidy pile looking so pleased with her accomplishments, I'm going to have to replace so many books though, even the board books have been demolished.

Do have to watch that she doesn't eat any bits all the time though, what is it about paper that looks so appetising!!??

My 2 and a half year old is currently opening and closing drawers looking for t shirts that are right in front of him 😂

Looking at the creepy crawlies under rocks. I keep a load of small ones in the allotment for her to turn over.
She also loves pigeons, her favourite cuddly toy is a pigeon!

It's amazing how such simple things can keep a child happy for hours on end!