I have a confession to make, please help.

[ineedsomeinspiration]

I think ds watches too much television. I know there are far greater parenting crimes and we get out and get some reesh air at least once a day but I would really like to reduce his viewing time.
ds is not quite 2 and I know I sound awful but I struggle to entertain him for more than 5-10 minutes at a time. Please can you give me some ideas ss to what to play/ do during the day to stop the tv wallpaper going on. Also what do you do when you've got jobs to do?
thanks in advance.

I know what you mean, and don't worry, everyone resorts to tv sometimes! My dc's quite like jigsaws. They'll sit happily for ages putting a jigsaw together. Or colouring in at the table. That's quite popular at the moment. And it means I can get on with something else.

Yep mine do too. On a poorly day or a tired day or even a cold, rainy, dull day we can watch 2 films in a day! I know that's bad but we do all watch together & talk throughout so it's not a solitary activity.

We never watch TV while we eat though, I think it's important to talk to each other at the table (and to keep the new floor in the living room clean..)

Everyone does it :)

We go through phases. Illnesses and winter tend to lead to more tv viewing in our house too.

You already take him out every day, which is important, IMO.

When I run out of ideas I look at websites like imagination tree theimaginationtree.com

The other day we made snow dough from there, messy but awesome fun. Our diggers and dump trucks got thrown in and he got engrossed for a couple of hours each day for 3 days.

Playdough and loads of tools on a large platic mat is another fave.

Train sets (brio)

Den making and then "campfire cooking"

Baking, or "helping" with your jobs ie emptying your kitchen cupboards while you try and clean the kitchen, or even getting him involved, mine loved helping load and unload the washing machine, put powder in, press the buttons.

Then when you've done all of that you'll be knackered. So have a cuppa, put cbeebies on and mumsnet til teatime

theimaginationtree.com

Me too. I think the best thing to do if you're not a 'play with them loads' type of mum is to set them up with a craft activity that you can encourage from the side lines with minimal engagement so you can get on with other things.

In the kitchen when my DD was this age I would sit her in her high chair and give her two bowls and some flour (the cheapest of the cheap value flory is about 10p per 'play') And she would spend ages and ages sifting it from one bowl to another creating 'snow scenes' and when she got bored I'd up the ante and give her water and figurines. Gave me hours to get on with cooking, ironing etc.

Now she spends ages cutting out and colouring in. Or play dough is good.

I find it best not to worry about mess. Even if she makes a massive mess, if it's in a confined area/hooverbale/wipe clean, then it will use a lot less of your time to let them get on with it and do a quick good natured blitz of tidying when they're done.

Thanks for all the ideas. We do sit at the table for meal times as I think it's important too. I think it's hard as oh is away 4 days a week and I have to fit in dog walks, shopping, cooking, cleaning etc.
I think I will find it a bit easier to occupy him when he's a bit older as at the moment his attention span is very short.
is he too young for play dough or do you think he'd enjoy that?

Play doughs fine, so easy to make to and gloop. Gloop is corn flour and water mixed together and it goes all gloopy. Kids at nursery love it.

Pots and pans on the floor with a wooden spoon my dc used loved that.

Bubbles used to keep them occupied to.

At almost 2 you can make salt dough decorations and decorate with him after.

Anything that they can get their hands dirty doing like finger painting/gloop/play dough is really good for their development.

We have made some salt dough decorations we just need to find the glitter so we can decorate them. I love activities like this but they don't seem to keep his attention for long.
We made biscuits the other week snd he enjoyed cutting thrm out but cried when they went in the oven.
How do you make play dough?

Playdough is 2 cups of flour 2 cups of salt 2 cups of boiling water (you might only need one and a half) splash of oil and food colouring.

I'm trying to think what else dc used to like doing at that for you or what they do in the under 2s room at nursery.

They did use to love painting outside with a bowl of water and a paintbrush, but it's to cold to play outside with water now.

for my just 2 year old dd she sits and plays with ppl houses for ages oooh & puzzles also i get her to help out with tiny jobs no i dont mean housework lol like pick up some toys up and choose new ones she also likes to watch me cook in the kitchen and i give her a bowel & plastic spoon to play with in the kitchen to :)

When my little boy was 2 he loved his megablocks and building stuff (or getting me to build stuff...) and would sit with me for an hour or so while we built up towers and he could put little men (usually firemen) in them, on them, falling down etc. he loves craft stuff now (at 4) but at 2 he was more into making imaginery worlds/stories with firemen, postmen, building stuff etc. Depends what your little boy really likes to do.

My son always (still does) loved making dens from cushions/blankets and he'll pretend he's a pirate/policeman etc.

I never done much housework to be honest when he was that age (or before or now... I'm slovenly!) but I did cook and I found that megablocks were usually enough to buy me 20 minutes of him playing by himself to get stuff done (he'd get bored on his own after that).

However, as pp have said, he also liked helping me with housework tasks, he had a toy hoover and would use that when I hoovered (used to try and get him to use the real one (2 birds one stone) but sadly it was too heavy for him), he loved sweeping and would put washing in and take it out of the machine. Housework might be a chore to us, but to a toddler it's great fun.

If you've got a dog, I presume he's out walking him/her with you several times a day (and probably loves it!) and if he's helping with laundry/cleaning/hoovering, you just need to entertain him while you're prepping meals (and maybe he can help some with that too - washing potatoes, etc).

My dd loved mixtures of pasta sugar etc on a tray - hours of fun!!

My son (who's just turned two) is really into 'running'. I can sit on the sofa and suggest he runs to his bedroom (we're in a flat). the runs off and runs back. that lasts a good half an hour! Obviously you could be doing something more constructive than just sitting!

Also have you tried to include him in the jobs you do? I gave mine a cloth the other day as I dusted. the following day he had a meltdown because we couldn't clean the mirror again!

also telly? it's brilliant!!!

kx

I don't know how restricted by the weather and yard space you are, but is a cubby house, swing, trampoline or sandpit an option?

(I'm sitting on the other side of the world so that could be a ridiculous suggestion!)

Agree with Eletheomel and KatyN DD likes 'helping' me do any job - loading the washing machine, folding the washing, cooking/preparing food, hoovering etc.

Also, I was not a 'play with them loads' type Mum, and to be honest up until a few months ago, I think although I was trying, I was probably paying lipservice to it. But then recently I've been actively trying to do more playing, and actually, I am getting better, it's getting more fun, DD is now a bit older (2.9) as well which helps, but please don't give up on the playing, it does get easier. I have had to train myself though, it didn't come naturally to me, but it's worth the effort now. I have got to know her better, and we now spend most of our time giggling and playing together instead of me trying to 'manage' her play.

In terms of what to play, play whatever he wants to. Anything. If he isn't having his own ideas yet, you can make something up, but then as much as possible, try and follow his lead. He's in charge of the playing really. One thing that DD has liked playing for quite some time now is 'Bear Hunt' where we read the book, then pretend we're going on a bear hunt, and do all the actions and noises etc. Another thing is that as soon as she could count, she went mad for hide & seek, even though she doens't do it properly, e.g. if she's hiding she jumps out at you after a few minutes, but she loves it all the same.

Also lots of silly dancing together to music, pretending to dance like an elephant, pretendig to dance like a mouse, etc., you just have to drop your inhibitions and go with the flow. And singing action songs, we do this loads, and loads, we have a song for everything we do I think. Sit next to each other on the floor and sing 'wheels on the bus' as if you're sitting on a bus together.

Like I said, it really didn't come naturally to me at all, but it does now, and it is so worth it.

And after all that, a bit of TV is fine!

D

Assault course round the living room? Cushions on floor they hVe to jump across like stepping stones, splash through lake (blue blanket on floor), throw ball into bucket, jump to wall and back again. Time him.

Den or tent - cheap pop up tent from eBay, stick a single duvet on bottom for cosines and chuck a few toys in. Mine refuse to come out all day!

Make a bus on the stairs. Sit teddies on each step all the way to top. Stick a hat on DC, give him a plate as a steering wheel and he sits at the bottom and drives.

Make a boat with a large box and stick as oar. Sit him in box with teddies, snack for journey and place some sea monsters or pirates around the room for him to shriek about.

Monster under the table. Take your phone, iPad etc under the table. Pretend to be asleep while secretly MNetting! Whenever DC begins to get close leap out shouting "RARRRRR". They will run away shrieking or if they cry moderate it to "I'm the tickle monster, I'm going to get you" and tickle them!

Get them to load the washing machine, dust, sweep, hang clothes on airer etc.

Boxes of stuff also work. So find some random toys, little animals or people, a car plus some random objects like a peg, fir cone and some bottle lids. Sit them down with box and tell them to explore it. Mine usually make up a game even if it's flicking the bottle lids or if it's making the little person jump across the bottle tops to peg mountain etc.

IMO toys aren't that great for keeping DCs amused for long periods at this age. You need ordinary boring seeming stuff - wrapping paper, cushions, blankets and boxes! Hours of fun!

Ooh also a car ramp. Firm favourite here. Cut a long strip of cardboard, slope it off the edge of the sofa, the stairs, whatever and roll cars down. Even better if you put another box at the bottom for cars to roll into or set up some skittles and roll balls down or even do demolitions with little pretend houses (small box with door drawn on) and roll trucks down shouting "smash" or similar.

My son is 18m and if I sit him down with playdough, a biscuit cutter to make shapes in it with and a couple of Tupperware containers for him to split the playdough up and put in the boxes and then take them out again he will sit for a good 30 mins, engrossed

Also colouring with washable felt tips or crayons. That keeps him busy for ages. He also loves stickers but I have to peel them off the backing paper for him so it's more hands on.

He also loves happy land toys do you have any of those?

The ideas here are so good, im tempted to copy and paste them onto word to save them for when DD is bigger

Also Anniemousse that website is AMAZING I'm going to make salt dough handprint tree decorations today yay!

I always found music or audio books fantastic for entertaining DS when he was a toddler and I needed some time to do things. He would have a box of instruments to join in the music and it kept him happy for ages.

Thank you soo much for all the advice and ideas. I shall be super mum (only kidding).
He will love the car ramp idea! Hide snd seek is a recent game he started to love. He's not really that into the duplo/ mega blocks we have at home but does play with them at the childminders.
I think a lot of the problem we have id time. I'm on my own ca lot as dh works away. So its get up, breakfast, wsshed and dressed. Then we're usually out for an hour and half sometimes two with the dog. Back home for lunch, small window for playtime then nap. After his nap I'm usually cooking dinner. If I let him play in the kitchen it usually results in tantrums as he asks for things to eat