What do you do to occupy younger siblings while older ones are in an class?

[IlanaK]

My 5 year old is doing 3 different classes a week (gymnastics, swimming and drama). My 2 year old is going insane having to hang around and wait for him. I have tried bringing books and toys, but he is not interested. He just keeps saying "let's go" in a really whiney voice!

How do you all do it??

My 5 year old only does swimming, but we get around it by dh staying at home with the 2 year old - sorry, probably not what you wanted to hear!

Do you have to be in the class watching your 5 year old? Is there somewhere outside you could take the 2 year old for a half hour? I know at swimming I could feasibly (once ds1 safely in the water with the teacher) take ds2 round to the park behind the swimming complex if push came to shove and dh wasn't able to look after him.

Swimming lessons are on Saturday mornings so I take each one to their lesson and dh stays at home with the others.

Monday night ds1 has karate - a friend and I take it in turns to take the 2 5yr olds and the one who isn't taking looks after both sets of younger siblings.

Wednesday night is football for ds1 - well, I just don't go to pick him up until 10 mins before the end.

Thursday night ds1 has French - it's only half an hour so I'm picking up ds2 from nursery (at the school) then looking after teh children that have French after ds1 until it's time for their lesson, then ds1 comes out of his lesson and we go home.

I always manage to get round it without having to take them all (ds2 is almost 4, ds3 is just 2).

At karate lots of people take siblings but tbh, they do get in teh way by running onto the mats or by shouting loudly so nobody can hear the instructor.

Swimming is the only one that is not so bad. It is only half an hour so by the time we have dropped ds1 off, we go outside to a small playground for 15 minutes and then go back to pick him up.

However, Gymnastics is 50 minutes and there is no where to go really. Dance/drama is not at the leisure centre. It is in a school building. It is also 50 minutes long and there is a waiting area (cafeteria) but no parks nearby. I don't have to stay in the building, but where could I go? I live in central london so take the bus everywhere. There is not time to go home and come back again so I am stuck.

These are all daytime classes so dh is not home to look after the little one and we can't afford a babysitter.

I am stuck really!