Things to do with a 2.5-year-old

[BabCNesbitt]

SAHM to 2.5-year-old DD, and I'm feeling terrible because I'm being a crap mum to her. She has playgroup for an hour two mornings a week, and we go to library storytime one other morning, but the rest of the time, I'm stuck for ideas of things to do. We cycle to the swingpark occasionally, but there's very little else within reach for us to do here (I don't drive, and we don't know many other people here).

I was a bit depressed for a while and let her watch TV shows on YouTube for hours on end, and it's become a habit that I'm finding hard to break. I've offered to read with her or cut out shapes and glue them with her, and she does have toys (Duplo, wooden train set, puzzles, play kitchen, that sort of thing), but after a few minutes she always wants to go back to watching TV, and I always default to that because it's easier than fighting and (I'm horrible for saying this) I find sitting down and playing with her desperately boring, and I find it hard to get up enough enthusiasm even to go for a walk around the block. I know I can't keep on letting her glaze over in front of Peppa Pig, so what do other people do to keep their 2-year-olds entertained?

Washing up the Tupperware. Bowl on floor, waterproof all in ones on (outside ones!), bubbles in the bowl and let her go! Mop the floor afterwards and you're on your way with the cleaning too :)

Painting. Messy and needs a bath afterwards, but that kills another half hour ...

Play doh

Jigsaws

Bead threading (chunky beads and shoelaces)

Bake and decorate fairy cakes (small batches so can do again in a few days!)

Decorate digestive biscuits if can't be bothered to bake

Sand pit in garden

The tv habit is a hard one to break. I would plan a few days of activities like above so you know exactly what you're moving on to next, just to get out of the habit. Stop charging the iPad/laptop too, so you can show DC that it doesn't work

Take her for a walk, or buy a cheap ball and head for the nearest patch of green if you don't have a garden. I have a DS the same age, and often walk him (or push in buggy if he's tired) and we talk about what we can see - there's a red bus, there's a blue car, how many steps are here, let's count as we go down, we point out flowers we can name in people's front gardens. If it's raining, wellies and a rain coat and go for a puddle walk!

The toys my two year old dd plays with most at the moment are Happyland sets - have you got any of this stuff? She will play independently with it for up to an hour at a time. It is pricey but you can get it cheaper secondhand on eBay.
She also loves stickers and craft - Poundland do some good craft sets. But that is something she needs one of us to do with her.
I second the idea to get out as much as you can - it will help pass the time, be good for your dd, and may help lift your mood too. Are you town-based or rural?
Finally, if you feel you may be depressed as you mention, look after yourself and please do talk to someone.

Obstical course in the garden, sticking, cutting drawing, the park, collecting flowers and sticking them into a picture, pasta pictures or jewelry, making all your birthday cards as tgey crop up, dusting, painting the house/shed (bucket of water and a brush)

Thanks for the suggestions! I like the idea of showing her that the laptop doesn't work, although she has been known to hit it in a rage in the past when it hasn't switched on when she wanted it to... dear lord, have I created a monster?

I should walk with her to the park more - it's about half an hour away at toddler speed. (We're in a town in the US, but where we live there's nothing but houses in all directions.) And I should go to the dollar store too, and pick up stickers and paints and the things you mentioned. She just seems to have lost interest in doing anything other than watching TV at the moment - if I ask her if she wants to do anything else, she says no, then has a fit if I persist!

Being miles from any child-friendly amenities and no transport is tough! Do you have a garden? Another thing my dd loves at the moment is watering plants/the ground with a watering can - I fill up her paddling pool so she can keep re-filling the can herself, otherwise it's a pain. I also got her some little spades, and she will amuse herself for quite a while just digging in the dirt!

We do have a garden, but haven't used it much - now that the weather's better, I suppose I should persuade/drag her kicking out into the sunshine!

So if she's only interested in TV link it, does she have a fav character, can you do something just like tgey did ?

I have a 2.8 year old DS and a 1 year old DD. On days it's difficult to come up with ideas for things they might want to do, I consciously make myself do something instead, even if it's just a bit of cleaning or cooking. DS invariably wants to know what I'm up to and then 'take over'. So things like cleaning the windows with a vinegar and water spray, washing up, making his own sandwiches (with my supervision obviously ..) Favourites this week have been making 'tea' with teabags, milk, sugar and cold water, and making a 'curry' by mucking about with all the herbs and spices in a big bowl with some water, spoons etc.

Definitely find my mood rubs off on them - if I can fake being enthusiastic about doing something it seems to lift them too, so they are less inclined to zone out on the sofa.

If you are finding things boring and can't summon up any enthusiasm, do you think there is a possibility you could still be depressed.

You sound really quite down. Do you have someone to talk to?

Could you plan out one activity per day for the next 3 days you have together? Say baking one day, paddling pool another and painting the third. There are some more activity suggestions here. Start small and don't overwhelm yourself.

How is the public transport? Is it easy to get to a big park, swimming pool, library etc?

Don't be too hard on yourself either, it's not your fault that you had depression and nobody would choose to have it.

Do you get much time for yourself? What do you do whilst she is in playgroup?

Are you taking any exercise and eating well? Both of these things might help you with how you are feeling

Are there any other mums that you know? Could you invite one over for lunch?

DS likes to do what I do so he polishes the furniture, washes plastic dishes in a bowl, hoovers with his toy henry and even helps clean the bathroom following me round with a babywipe. No idea why he likes it so much but since he does I just find mini things of my jobs to do another good one is pasta in a pot with a spoon while I cook or clothes pegs are chips he's making we also have a shopping trolly he brings to the shops which kills some time :) I get bored playing too.

If you have anyone you can go with soft play is great (i know so many would disagree) DS goes off with his friends all around 2.5 they run around crazy for hours and then he will play quietly when he gets home since he's got all the crazy out!

Sorry, I didn't see the other replies to this! Thanks for all the suggestions. JJJ, the public transport is pretty non-existent, so I go everywhere by bike. Certain things like the library I can bike to, but other things like soft play are too far to manage there and back in the morning - they're all out in strip malls that require a car to get there. She now has some stickers that she's been enjoying playing with, and she's also had fun scooping up chickpeas and moving them into bowls, so that's a start.

Best news is that DH now has a job back in the UK, so hopefully we'll be back living somewhere more accessible later in the year!

I'm on medication for PND and also really struggle to summon up the enthusiasm to DO things. It's very easy to default to postman pat! On days off together we often have a bath together in the morning, that kills half an hour and is quite good fun. Then by the time breakfast is done it's getting on for 9am. Then I always make ourselves go out somewhere, even if it's just for a walk to the petrol station to get a pint of milk, when I was maternity leave I created many spurious errands! I rotate toys as well, so when he has a nap, I'll put a whole load of things away and get different toys out for him to occupy him. He loves being outside in the fresh air and I think it's good for him so I put toys outside as well.

Avoid asking her if she wants to do something. Just announce that you are doing it. Once you've given her chance to say no, you've got to overcome that and are immediately on a negative. So, turn off the telly, clap your hands (with fake enthusiasm if necessary) and say "Right! Now we are going to go for a walk/water the plants/build a tower out of megablocks or whatever. Then just start doing it, and give her choices about details to distract her from objecting - "Now, are you going to wear your red shoes or your yellow wellies?" etc.

If you live in a very residential area, there must be other mums with small children around. Find them, befriend them, even if it feels uncomfortable at first. Find out what they do and where they go.

On days when I'm alone with DD and feeling a bit bored I tend to just go for a walk with no purpose. At toddler speed that's a good half an hour or forty five minutes killed easily.

Stickers are one thing that really distracts her for quite a while, especially if I find another book or picture for her to stick them on. Pretend cooking with dried pasta standing on a chair at the hob is pretty fun at the moment, or with playdoh.

I find planning and breaking the day up in my head helps me a lot. So tomorrow we have a day alone, so we will go to her sports class in the morning (finishes at 10 so doesn't help too much!) then come home, do some housework she can 'help' me with, then lunch, a bit of telly, nap time, then in the afternoon we'll go to the shop and either the park or walk home. Then it's nearly dinner time etc. I find having an idea of something specific, preferably out of the house even for just half an hour, morning and afternoon helps. Remember, toddlers are quite like dogs and fresh air does them the power of good!

Re the telly it is hard, we have occasionally slipped into bad habits and it's been a bit harder now she has proper favourites and can ask for them. We have found putting limits she understands has made a big improvement. Telly can be your friend and if you're alone with your little one all day then the reality is that yes, sometimes you do just want them to settle down quietly for a while. We encourage the twenty minute films like The Gruffalo because it's not too long, then even if she watches three a day it's only an hour's worth of telly. So maybe explain to her that yes, you know she would like to watch that show but she can't right now - but maybe after you've gone to the shop/park, or once you've made and eaten dinner, she can have a limited amount?

What about a bug hunt? If you go for a walk and look for (something you can bear to look at) bugs or birds or butterflies. If the weather is ok, just meander along and let her set the pace and search as you go.

You can make pasta or bean pictures (DS still has a sub flower he made in preschool with beans stuck in the middle stuck on his bedroom wall, he's neatly 10)

Another art project, best in the garden, is to mix some liquid paint with washing up liquid (not sure what it is called in the US but for washing pans/dishes) and blowing into it with a straw then putting paper onto the bubbles.

Long piece of paper on the patio, paint in a tray and step into it and have footprint pictures?

Babcnesbit, I think you've had some brilliant suggestions here. If you have Facebook, take a look at the artful parent, teaching 2 and 3 year olds and also the imagination tree (they also have a fab website).
I also wanted to say I completely sympathise. DD just turned 3 and I must say it's getting easier to interact. She is not so forceful and stubborn and actually plays a bit better now, I think attending nursery 3 days a week has helped massively with this as she's learning to interact socially. Although at the moment she is like a broken record with her talking (repeat, repeat, repeat..."isn't it mummy?" Repeat repeat repeat "isn't it mummy?") sometimes I just want to scream YES! OK! WHATEVER! Now let me have some head space! (Mean mummy) but she does.not.stop.talking!
Anyway it can be horrible feeling isolated but glad you have your light at the end of the tunnel with DH's job. Hang in there. It's not easy