What sort of place can I take 20mo DS to wear him out in the hooning rain... that isn't soft play?

[EBDTeacher]

DS needs lots of exercise (like a dog ) and we have been going to play in the lovely local woods most days during the long spell of unseasonably good weather. He loves it and spends ages climbing and digging and just pottering about.

Now it is hooning with rain. I'm all for 'puddlesuit and wellies and out you go' but this is actual horizontal rain and I don't have a puddlesuit!

Think I have DS has a few sensory issues and we are both he just seems really overloaded by soft play places. Any suggestions for alternatives?

We have a botanical gardens near us with greenhouses. Great and free. DS wanders round, I follow, we can do colour/shapes etc and usually there are a few grannies he can charm

We are members of Wisley which has an amazing greenhouse to run round in- it's just a bit too far for an everyday exercise stop.

The Discover Centre looks amazing MrsMicawber- just what I had in mind. Seems like a rare gem though! I am in Burnham just on the edge of Slough, sadly can't find anything like that near us, although the Roald Dahl museum will be good in a year or so.

I am a teacher so I have quite a few things up my sleave that we can do at home. It is more the physical activity we are struggling with in this 'orrible weather!

any family-friendly museum or gallery.
they don't get an awful lot of cultcha from them at this age, but they do have lots of big spaces for tramping up and down in. Manchester Museum always knackers dd2 out a treat.

Swimming

We have hot tots at the leisure centre. A couple of bouncy castles but not full on soft play.

Ooh that is a good idea Bronte!

Ikea

yes to museum. Lots of walking and hopefully interactive things to fiddle with (or just glass cases to put smears all over). Norwich Castle was great for DS, a whole huge room of stuffed birds

I often take DS to the library too when he needs a run round

Another fan of museums for the running walking that little people can do in them.

We also play a lot of chase in our house on rainy days as it's about 30 feet from front window to back door, especially if you go round the coffee table a few times. My favourite is "under attack" where mummy makes a big fuss of lying down comfy for a nap and DD stealthily sneaks up on me (flying leap) and I say "help, help, I'm under attack". Games where you lie down and they run are the best.

Swimming?? If you pull him around whilst he kicks it'll knacker him out! Or B and Q???!!!!!!

get a puddlesuit yourself and out you go!
swimming is a good one, really wears them out.

The Lookout at Bracknell (opposite Coral Reef Pool, but usually queueing onto the main road in bad weather to get in) is fun for toddlers - should be doable from Slough?

I am disappointed they werent actual zip-up-the-front grown up puddlesuits Mousy.

DS loves swimming, and yes definitely wears him out. He goes twice a week (lesson and as a family). Quite expensive to go any more often. I've actually been thinking about rejoining our local gym as it would probably pay for itself in saved swimming entry fees.

I definitely have the Lookout on my list littone. Used to live near there and it is great- DS will love the water bit when we get round to going!

It is raining today but TBH I think we're just going to go and play in the Great Outdoors anyway. Is it acceptable to take Zoid's advice and have a nap in the car while DS rolls about in the puddles?

I live in Newbury & but originally from Slough - trying to think of the places I took my boys :)

Try the Living Rainforest in Hermitage near Newbury - www.livingrainforest.org/ about 1hr from Slough. Or Odds Farm Park www.oddsfarm.co.uk/ - they have indoor areas where you can play in between showers! :)

And try these people for puddle suits:

www.muddypuddles.com/boys/collections_1/waterproofs_1/all-in-ones_1 :)

DS does have a puddlesuit Lisa- just me that doesn't!

We were indeed at Odds Farm yesterday. DS played in the sandpits- kids were building a massive canal system to channel the rain water!

I have just decided that I too need a puddle suit so I can sit in puddles if I want to carry ds home when he gets tired without his wellies and waterproofs getting my trousers wet!

Milletts do puddlesuits for 15 quid - a bit cheaper than muddypuddles - mine are going stir crazy so I may just have to say sod it and take them out anyway.

My old boss used to take her DD to their local cathedral! Lots of space to run around in apparently . There have been several times where I've been tempted to try it...

I used to take DD to B&Q, it was very quiet in the day, nice wide aisles, just be careful obviously to stay away from the saw section! She loved looking at the Dulux paint tins as well.

Apparently a friend of a friend takes her toddler to the Barbican to do laps of the corridors.

DS is a bit of a nightmare in B&Q, just wants to carry eveything around and climb the shelving.

EBDTeacher - We went to Mercedes Benz World last week on a wet day. Not great for running around but kept the little ones (4, 3 and 1) occupied a while - then a trip to M&S (cafe and to get some fruit).

Wet days are a pain, running around the woods, or parts of Windsor Great Park are sometimes what we do if it's likely to just be on/off showers.

Train journeys we have also done on wet days - can involve quite a bit of walking around stations, especially big ones like Reading. Reading also has a museum, though not for running around alas.

If you find any indoor running about places, do let me know - I've been hunting for years. There are a few gymnastics clubs around that do toddler sessions but they are not always that cheap and they age limit things - 4yr old I care for is now too old to attend the session.

this better for a puddle suit? sorry, boring colours and expensive

nannnick Phoenix' playgym session is for under 5's. We go there in school holidays. In term time I work until 1pm though so we can't make a session.

The annex of the Natural History Museum at Tring is amazing for running around and free. We'd probably be there every day at the moment if it wasn't an hour away!

Blimey Mouse, that's a hardcore puddlesuit. £300? Wowzers