Need help filling ds's day - Help

[lyndsey66]

I have just read in my baby book 'what to expect . . toddler years' that children of my ds age should only watch 30 minutes of tv a day (he is 18 months).
Now, my ds has a very low attention span. I try everything short of acrobatics to keep him occupied.
He wakes up at 7am after giving him breakfast, he plays on his own or I read books to him. This lasts about 1 hours before he is fed up. He is very indepependant and will play on his own to a point, then he gets fed up, so I will play with him - but he tires of this as well.

He has crayons and colouring books which keeps him occupied for about 15 minutes before he is bored.
He goes to Tumble Tots once a week and Goes swimming once a week. Every afternoon I take him out for at least an hour.
But even after all of this I have worked it out and after meal times/naps I have about 4 - 5 hours to kill. The weather is sooooo cold and I do not drive (although I am learning). I find warmer weather ok - it is this winter months that are the hard ones.

PLEASE PLEASE give me some ideas. He is very boistrous and puts everything in his mouth so a lot of arty stuff is out of the question. thanks

To add to this my ds is touchy because his last teeth are coming through. So every 10 minutes is trying to turn the TV on!

Do what pleases you and take your ds with you, is what I'd advise. Visit friends/your mum or get them to visit you. Put him in the buggy and go to the supermarket. Feed him grapes as you do this ( ) and put the telly on if you want. CBeebies is the mother's saviour IMO.

My dd is 21 months; we go out somewhere every morning (toddler group, friends' houses, soft play, swimming etc) then she has lunch and nap and then I have to keep her occupied for a couple of hours till tea time. Then the telly goes on till dh comes home. I find she doesn't sit immobile and stare at the tv for more than about 10 minutes, then she is running round, playing with toys and looking at the tv now and then, so I don't worry about it being on for more than 30 minutes.

Some ideas though -

Rotate his toys (one box downstairs, one box hidden in a cupboard, swap every 2 weeks) - so they are new and interesting.

Put a washing-up bowl with a couple of inches of water on a towel on the kitchen floor with cups, sieve etc to play with (be prepared to mop up and change all his clothes afterwards)

Strip him naked and let him stand in the bath and play with the cold tap and a cup / watering can

DD likes to follow me around while I'm cleaning - has her own brush and duster (is that just a girl thing?)

Playdough - it is ok if it goes in his mouth as long as he doesn't eat the entire tub

chalks and a little blackboard/slate (Woolworths do them)

put lots of pillows / a duvet next to the sofa so he can jump off the sofa onto them

find some more toddler groups to go to

get a little trike or ride-on for him to trundle around the house on

dd likes "dressing up" - I have a bag full of different hats

also likes to be given a bag or potatoes / carrots etc, a saucepan, colander, wooden spoon, a few plastic bowls. Then she 'cooks' and serves meals to her teddies

she likes to type on my computer (open a Word document and set the font size to very big and make it bright red, then make Word full screen)

dancing to nursery rhyme cds (or my music for that matter)

blowing bubbles

if she is very boisterous I chase her round the house for a while

HTH!

My DD is 18.5 months old. I try to do somthing with her every morning.

Monday - JoJingles
Tuesday - Tumble Tots

Wednesday - Toddler group at local church

Thursday - Swimming (your local pool may to a parent & child session when toys are available to play with)

Friday - Toddler group at local community centre.

After lunch she has a nap, then we play with her toys, or draw or even go into the garden with her puschair. We watch bedtime hour on Cbeebies from 6-7 then it is bedtime.

Hope this helps

Oh bo@@ocks to half an hour a day. I agree that TV should be regulated, but in a say - 12 hour day (minus 1.5 hours for nap) I allow up to 1 and a half hours of tv per day (not all at once)which still leaves 9 hours 'tv free' when dd is doing other stuff. Anyway - when dd (19 months)watches tv she is not at all passive, but is usually pointing things out and nameing them...(OK occasionally she goes slack jawed and catatonic! - but then I switch it off instantly)

I know your boy is precisely that, i.e. a boy - but have your thought about buying him a tea set and some toy food? (if you are not worried about it being too girly). My dd has a teddy bears picnic using her tea set and toy food and it keeps her entertained for 30 / 40 minutes.

There is also the 'putting to bed game' - we get 5 or 6 soft toys, and dealing with them one at a time, dress them in a vest, wash their hands and faces (or paws!) with a dry flannel, pretend to brush their teeth, brush their hair (or fur!), sing a lullaby to them, kiss them night night and tuck them up under a blanket.

I made a den for my dd yesterday out of 3 dining room chairs, a few blankets and some pegs. She has played in it for an hour today.

Other than that, Zerub's ideas are great

Not sure where abouts you are but try here . They may have a site local to you. If so it will give you lots of activities in your area.

How about playgroup? Dd goes 3 or 4 mornings a week with her nanny or me and loves it.

Where do you live?

Do you have a Library near you? My dd2 sounds just like your ds. However, she loves going to the library.

hmc - that's just what I think. DS gets up at 6 and goes to bed at 7 so 13 hours is a long time with only half an hour of TV - for everyone concerned!

When we are in I have Cbeebies on for DD but she is always wandering in and out of the living room anyway or busy playing with other things so does not watch it the whole time it is on.

My DS is a TV addict. He loves Thomas, Tweenies, Noddy, you name it! And will watch them devotedly if I let him. He does get bored with nature programmes though and refuses to watch the news. I find all these children who only glance at the TV amazing - most of the little kids I know around 2yrs are fascinated, as am I. It is an extremely good device for holding attention. I am also wracked with guilt at the recommendations to hold TV watching to half an hour a day as DS begs me for Thomas every day - clearly he is highly subsceptible! Things that distract him include playdoh, washing up, books, music, and piggy backs up and down the stairs. But we also go out a lot eg hanging around the local ELC or bookshop.

Zerub, you are SUPERMUM!

I haven't read the other replies so I am sorry if I am repeating.

I try to look at the day in 2 sessions - morning and afternoon. I try to do an out of the house activity for one session, and then I find that DD is more happy to play on her own for a bit during the other session.

For example:
monday am - dd in creche, I go to the gym, then we go swimming.
MOnday pm - weekly shop.
Tuesday am - JoJingles (music class)
Wednesday -I work, DD to her nans.
Thursday am - swimming or park.
Thursday, housework, shopping.
Friday - I work, dd nursery.

I know that makes me sound like a crap mother, but I fill in the in-between gaps with playing in the house, or football outside etc.

I think you do a lot with your DS. Why don't you stick a video on for him for a bit?

Would agree with the teaset idea, have spent hours with dd giving tea to various stuffed toys! Also put said toys to bed. She likes playing shoe shops at the moment, which involves a couple of pairs of shoes (mine) and a couple of boxes.

She also loves her CBeebies though

I think Zerub has some really good ideas.

We have a Little Tykes house in our conservatory for DD to play with and have a box of toys in there, and a box in her bedroom. I rotate them.

DD's favourite thing at the moment is a £4.99 pushcahir that she pushes around Fimbo in. We go out for walkes, she will follow me around Asda with him etc.

I agree with Aloha. Maybe a playgroup or something once or twice a week but take him along shopping etc, kids love it! Mum2ela's schedule sounds good.

Thanks so much everybody for your advice. I have tried some of your ideas already and Zerub he loved the den idea - this was great, he even moved in his thomas the tank engine.

Am going to try some more of your ideas. aloha - Cbeebies definantly is my saviour! JanHR - thanks for the ideas and that website was helpful, Like a lot of you said I have started to think of the day as two parts.
CountessDracula - I live in Essex. He does go to Tumble Tots once a week and swimming once a week, it is the reat of the time I was worried about. I enquired about Jo Jingles but it was quite a distance from me. I think it will help when I have passed my driving test. I think I am going to have a look nursey for him - even if he does just a morning a week - he would love it.

Handlemecarefully - your message did make me laugh. I agree half an hour is drastic. The last couple of days I have limited his TV viewing - and an hour and a half seems to be ok (he needs hs thomas fix!!)

Keep the ideas coming if any body can add anything. I have taken on board what suggetions everybody has made and find you all very helpful. thanks loads x x

Mum2Ela, you are joking about the being a crap mother aren't you? Please say yes. If you aren't in any way, then you expect WAY too much of yourself. I don't do all that with my ds and I think I'm wonderful, or at least pretty damn good. My week - Monday am - ds at nursery and naps. PM, tv, books, toys, me on phone. Tuesday, ditto, Wedenesday, ditto. Thursday, Tiny gym in AM followed by cafe with friends. Ds sleeps. Maybe friend cmes to visit pm - grandma visits until bedtime. Friday, shops, chores vist friend/go to museum/or Tiny Gym. Ds's godmother comes to visit sometimes. I don't go swimming or do the park or anything because it's cold and dark and I don't like it. In the summer we do swings and stuff much more. I did take ds to the theatre on Thursday and Sat and went to a museum on Thurs last week, but we do a hell of a lot of loafing about at home and it suits us fine. I think pottering is a vastly underrated activity personally