Bored shitless with toddler

[cleopatrathegreat]

Just that basically. I go out to various groups during the week, meet up with friends regularly etc but most of the time when I am stuck at home with my 2 year old DD I am just so bored. I try and play with her, and sing songs etc but I just run out of ideas after awhile. She is also super independent at the moment so doesn't let me join her with certain activities such as colouring in. She gets very upset if I use her crayons etc. Most of the time I just end up doing housework or surfing the net and leave her to it, mostly she is quite happy with this. I'd love it we could do something fun together that we both enjoy. I''m starting to feel a bit guilty about the whole thing.

Does anyone have any tips/advice/words of wisdom? I think the main point of this thread is to vent.

I wish I had wisdom/advice or tips but I don't!
Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in feeling like that, i'm in the same boat!

Gosh you don't need to entertain her all the time! Sounds like you get out and about enough already. It's important that you get quality mning time you know.

You should make yourselves useful. Write the your Christmas cards like me [thigrin] joke! true

Where's my hat?

[thigrin]

You are going to get a lot of envy on this thread I think!!

If she's super independent that's fine! Could you do things side-by-side rather than together? She could draw a picture and you write a letter or do some personal admin. Or you could write to granny or someone and her picture goes in.

Play doh is fun and if you want to get involved you can make 'birthday cakes' with real candles, light them and sing and let her blow them out.

Baking, if you enjoy it? You don't have to make anything amazing but buns with sprinkles on are easyish and fun.

Everyting is learning at this point and it sounds like she's v secure, so I wouldn't worry about it personally!!

blimey I love it when my toddler plays on his own - I read books on the sofa while he plays with trains!

re. having fun the two of you - what about putting effort into one special day out each week when you head out in the morning and do a whole day together, a museum or outing with friends? I am in London so there are plenty of things like that - ie. big museums with kids areas, city farms, trip to the southbank - are you in a city?

Oh it's an l not an i

No tips, I'm the same! I do housework too and get DD involved, go for mind-numbing walks around the block etc. The other day I sat down next to her and watched her draw, being all interactive and chatty, and looked at the clock and... 3 minutes had passed.

I watched a lot of BBC4 documentaries or MN while she's playing in the living room Too boring to attract her attention, but I can still chip in if she wants some attention. We'll sing some songs or play together for 5 minutes and then I'll go back to watching a programme for another tweny mins and she's happy.

More seriously, I think it is a common problem at this age - they are too young to be happy with you completely away from them in another room for long, but they're also not yet into playing with you.

She'll let you know if she's bored or unhappy, remember that!

Oh yeah, I feel your pain. Except 2yo DS expects me to constantly hold one of his toys and sporadically feeds me lines for it to say. Woe betide me if I put it down for ten seconds to pick up a magazine etc, even if he's seemingly engrossed in something else.

This morning grandma and grandad took DS for a lovely long walk, I took him to tescos and then after his nap we went to soft play and to look at the fish in the aquarium shop. We came home for tea and now he is happily running around after his toys and half watching peter rabbit, and I still feel guilty that I'm not interacting with him more... I think having toddlers is quite boring some of the time, at least that's what I tell myself!

What I tend to do is take her to a few groups during the weekday mornings for a couple hours, or sometimes take her to softplay, go to the zoo, museums, aquarium, walks etc. To be honest I still find these quite boring! When I said she was independent - although she can and does play on her own, she still needs me to be around. She wants me to watch her play or do repetitive actions or conversations. Its like she wants me to sit down bored out of my brain, if I try and read a book or something she gets quite jealous of my attention and starts climbing on top of me etc. I find it all quite frustrating!

Can you take up something like knitting? Very cheap and easy, can be put down when she wants your attention, plus you'll get more of a sense of achievement when you see what you are making rather than surfing the net all the time.
What hobbies do YOU like to do? Can you take her to something that interests you so you get more out of it? My son is only 6mo but once he is old enough he'll be plonked on the back of my bike so we can go out cycling once a week - I enjoyed it before he came along so I want to carry on enjoying it now he is here!

Seems you are doing all the right things. Groups, reading, singing, playing, colouring ..... All bases covered.

As they grow and gain independence ( even at 2) you start wondering what you are supposed to do with the seeming extra time. Don't worry about it, is the most important thing. Then, either just enjoy a little bit of (still mindful) YOU time, or get some if the 2 and a half years backlog of housework done.

I went back to work for this very reason. I couldn't stand being a sahm any longer, my youngest was 1 1/2. Would working be an option for you at present?

I also agree that activities are a bit boring. I am quite looking forward to when we drop the nap (much as I love it in lots of ways!) because I am sick of being so restricted in what we do when. He naps from about 12.30-2pm so it just breaks any day in half and you can't do anything longer than a couple of hours.

I'm glad I'm not the only one! Had to stay in all day as we're having building work done and nearly went crazy. My 2.6yo just wants attention all the time, and her play consists of bossing me about to do the same thing over and over again 'teddy poorly, you the doctor, he got sore tummy, he need medicine. Baby poorly, you the doctor, no mummy not sore head her got sore TUMMY too!' She used to love looking at books and drawing with me but at the moment just wants to play really physical, energetic games (that seem to involve trying out boundary-pushing behaviour), and at 32 weeks pregnant I just want a rest. I soooooo miss the afternoon nap since she dropped it a few months ago (I feel awful for saying that!)

I tell you now, learn to love it, I know you are rolling your eyes and want to tell me to f right off but you will miss them when they are at school, my eldest at secondary school is out the house at 8am and back around 5pm or later because of sport and clubs etc. I sometimes long for those endless crack of dawn days with yet another trip to the ducks/swings/post office/library and endless reruns of Thomas the f ing tank engine (I could recite Percy and the Chocolate Crunch even now!)