Activities for a 2 yr old

[knat]

My dd is 2.3 and i struggle to know what activities t do with her. We go to a creepy crawlies class once a week (bit like tumble tots) but she gets a bit bored with that on a weekly basis. We did go t Jo Jingles which i enjoyed and i think she did to some extent but overall she wasnt that bothered. The only M& T group i've been to wasn't very good 0 not much space etc - ok when they're not mobile. At home we do drawing and colouring and general play also some painting and baking. Any ideas - what do you take your children to. Despite many efforts don't have any "friends" with children nor have i met any other mums at the M & T Group - bit "clicky" there really. i really would like to build her social skills up a bit more before she starts preschool in September so it's not too much of a shock to her system

It is hard when you dont have friends with children the same age. I find that at the min as I have older children and little ones, all my friends have older children, so I am working on making a new circle of friends. Not easy though.

Hiya Knat. How about trying some other M + T groups? I HATED mine at first (and I mean really hated because i thought it was competitive and cliquey) but now have about 6 of us who all meet up at least once a week and get on really well with. It took a while but I got to know them all gradually. Swimming classes? Park/playground after school? Day to day stuff like shopping etc is interacting with people...

How abut asking your hv about anything else going on nearby?

I can't think of anything else I do with my 2yo dd.

Do you think she's shy or confident? SHe might well be totally up to speed on social skills and enjoy the mix you have already.

Thanks Aunty Mandy - it's not easy! Hi Hayls - hope you're ok. I have thought of seeing where the other local M & T Groups are and giving them a go - not only was it the cliquey bit of the other one i went to but also the fact that dd didn't get much from it as there wasn't much room there for them to play - unless you wanted to play with sit and ride toys - which she's nt that bothered with! We do go to park/playground etc but not consistent group of people who seem to go. I think she's a mix of shy and confident depending on her mood - if we take her to anyone else's house she just gets on with playing etc - very rarely will she just cling to me or dh. She is just taking an interest in other children though and she'll go up to them and touch them and that! I think they wonder what on earth she's doing!!!. At the mo we're potty training (it's a v slow process!!!) so once this is better we will look to other m & t groups i think.

Good luck Knat, I'm sure she'll be fine. It doesn't sound as if she has any problems- tbh, dd often goes to play at someone's house and prefers to play on her own and other times chases other kids begging them to play with her . Even if she takes a while I'm sure she'll adjust to preschool.

Failing that, you know now that I'm only an hour away!!

I'll leave you to your potty training now (running away screaming with fear)

I hated our Mums and Tots at first too! Everyone seemed to know each other. But now I quite enjoy it!
Just getting around to ring the mums and plan a meet outside of the group!

thanks. Hayls i didn't realise you were only an hour away? Where abouts are u then?

Jo Jingles is the sort of thing you have to go to every week for a while. Then one day you will see her spontaneously do something from the class and realise that her "not bothered" look belied the fact that she took it in. Give it another go.

Hi knat,
I'm in a similar position with ds, although he's a few months older. I'm going to try the free story sessions at the library and also a group called Messy Monsters (arts and crafts apparently). He does Tumble Tots, but there's not a great deal of interaction with the other children.
Really I just want to get him used to other kids, because although he's very busy and active with me and dp, and his grandparents, most activities are focused completely on him and his enjoyment. I'm consciously trying to take him to more child-orientated places like softplays etc before September so he realises that the other kids are going to interrupt his play, knock down towers etc!!

thanks toothyboy. i agree it's getting them used to having other kids around who are going to steal their toys etc. Samea s you that all activities are centred on her enjoyment -a lthough obviously there are certain activites that she has to do with me that are not her enjoyment ie shopping!!!! how do yuo find tumble tots - the creepy crawlies we go to is a cheap versin of that but i find not much equipment etc there's balls and hoops a slide and abouncy castle and not much besides.

Bob - we went to Jo Jingles for about 3 months and she did progress but overall i found she kept asking to go to the door etc and it was hard work keeping her there! Am going to try again once potty training accomplished!

library? ours has group activities for under 5s on quite alot. And if you have an ELC near they tend to have a play morning once a week.

we have a leisure centre near us which has classes every day..have you treid that?

we go to trampolining one day,bouncy castle another.gymnastics etc all v friendly..be brave start conversations..you just have to pretend to be confident even if you aren't.

I know it is hard but it it worth it

good luck..

Knat, we're in Glos and dh assures me it took himn sn hour to get home last Sat!

peppapig - the creepy crawlies class is at a leisure centre but there doesn't seem to be much else on for her age group.

Hayls - i checked on multimap and gloucester is 1hr 20 away. Even so it's a little nearer than it hought - shame now even nearer!!!

Shame, you could have come and seen our gorgeous new sofas

Either dh told porkies or he drove VERY fast

Look out for BIrmingham/ Solihull/ Worcester meet up threads- you could go along to one of those...

Hayls you've got new sofas! I'd love some brown leather ones myself!!!!

Yes will keep eyes open for different things to do with dd - i'm just going to concentrate on potty training for now - you're right to run away in fear!

sounds like you're doing plenty

you could find out if the preschool would let you come along occasionally now (ours does apparently) so you get an idea of who's going to be there and maybe find someone to chat with

swimming is a big one for us as it takes up the whole morning

really worth ringing the changes on what you go to imo - we go to three different pools from time to time as there is different stuff either at them or around them

try local church or mosque or whatever to increase child social life if you fancy it - bound to be people there like me who aren't that religious but like thinking about it, and there'll be kids activities or if not try another one

Are there any decent garden centres near you? We've got some that have a few animals, outdoor and tropical fish, birds etc. Have a wander round looking at the animals and go for a drink in the coffee shop as most have them these days. Some even have swings and stuff.

Knat,
Ds really enjoys Tumble Tots; it sounds a bit more structured than creepy crawlies. They have lots of equipment for climbing, balancing, crawling through etc. The children go round in groups of 4 or 5 to each section and work on it for about 10 minutes, so they learn about waiting their turn and following instructions. They do a bit at the beginning where the leader asks questions and encourages them all to talk, then a couple of songs before they start the activities. Is the creepy crawlies a bit more of a free-for-all?

yes toothyboy it is a free for all - tumble tots sounds quite good i might investigate further! I think dd quite enjoys the freedom of creepy crawlies - although it won't do any harm to learn the discipline and structure that tumble tots seems to have.

We do go to a local garden centre that has birds (v few) and fishwhich she enjoys - just no interaction with other children really.

Its so hard to keep them happy isn't it?
Dd likes going to Pets at Home and looking at the bunnies, walking in the woods (if there are any nearby!) am thinking of introducing play doh although not sure if she will eat it - she is also 3 1/4 - mind you dh has just gone away for 7 weeks - I might go mad here on my own - all the other mums have older kids so finding someone in a similar situation is quite difficult.

You do more than me when I've got ds at home! I take him to a toddler group or tumble tots and a music group on the days he's at home. He does some cooking with us but the rest of the time he gets left to his own devices I'm afraid (apart from when he's involving us in one of his imaginary play games) or we're round at the neighbours houses. Swimming is a good one also children's zoos, acquariums etc I'm in London so have also taken him to the Science Museum which has a bit for 3 -6 year olds (even though he's a bit young he still likes it) and also has lots of things like helicopters/planes etc which 2 year olds like looking at. If he gets really antsy in the afternoons we go to get something from the shops and he walks home holding on to the double buggy - takes ages and he loves it and dd gets to go to sleep in peace...

Wow! You are all so active!
I actually joined the NCT to meet people and find friends for my ds. It may be worth loking into. My branch are really friendly and are usually happy to offer lifts places if they have space in amongst all their baby seats! Today we went to a local sciency type place with another boy the same age as my ds and they had a ball. (His mum was there to!)Way too old for them really, but the pair of them just charged about screaming, they had a great time!