ideas to entertain 2.5 year old

[Babytalkobsession]

Hello,

I'm really struggling with our toddler DS who's 2.5. I'm currently overdue with DS2 so the size of a whale and feeling like I'm neglecting ds1!

Today we've played duplo a bit and watched nursery rhymes on the iPad. We then went out to a little ice cream farm place with sand pit / climbing frame (DH did the playing!). Now home , he's already playing up / restless.

Every day is like this. He needs constant entertaining & doesn't really play much independently.

He has a trampoline & sandpit in the garden but has a short attention span for both.

Toy wise he's got lots of cars, some Toot Toot, Duplo, playdough (although that's never worth the effort of getting it out as it only occupies him for a few mins). We're not great with crafty / creative activities but he's at nursery 3-4 days a week so gets lots of that there. He loves puzzles so we do lots of them through the day. He has larger ride on things too for kitchen / garden.

What activities do you do? Or toys / games do you recommend? At his age is it reasonable to expect him to play independently? I'm really worried how I'll manage once baby arrives. I just don't think I'm any good at playing!!

Any ideas really appreciated! Thanks

Baking! I've always baked lots with mine and the best thing (especially when pregnant) is that you get too eat cake after.

That sounds fine op I feel the same with dd often too.
We do a lot of colouring/painting and playdo too.
I have different boxes of toys so swap them around so it seems like new stuff to play with.
Play dates whenever possible :)

I would give him a nap/ quiet time to play for an hour after lunch so you both get time to relax and rest a bit. He can either nap alone, with you, or you both get into bed together and he can look at books/ use megasketcher drawing/ similar whilst you doze

I think it's fine to expect them to play alone also. Do something with him, then let him play alone, then repeat

Sorry and yes he will start to play more independently I would expect dd is 3 now and if I'm bf newborn and can't join in she finds something to play with or she'll sit and read a story with me and baby :)

Pisspot what do you bake? I haven't done baking with him - do you have a simple ideas I could google? He does love 'washing up' which I guess is similar hands on / helping mummy stuff.

I just wish he'd go to his toy boxes and play. Feels like it's constantly 'help me mummy / watch me mummy / come play mummy' I feel guilty not wanting too but I'm so huge & tired! He doesn't nap in the day anymore unfortunately but we usually have a chill time watching Peppa / YouTube clips etc.

His gran is brilliant with him, I wish I was a patient as she is. Think I just need to get this baby out & then get back into the swing of maternity leave. I've forgotten what we used to do to pass the time!

Thanks for all your suggestions - roll on the complicated Lego years

Could you start off playing with home for ten minutes, then say to him you are going to dry up/rest now/fold clothes and leave him to it? This works really well with my 2.5 year old. If he won't stay with perhaps tell him you'll be back to play in ten minutes? Toys we have include play kitchen, play dough, duplo, playmobil, lego, puzzles and dolls. My 2.5 year old happily keeps herself occupied for over half an hour (but then I've always left her to her own devices). For example I leave her playing with Duplo whilst I have a twenty minute shower and she's still in the same place when I get out. But that's taken a while to get to that stage, it really helps if I start off playing with her as then she gets more engaged with the toys.

Baking wise, these aren't all 'baking' but easy to do:

• chicken or fish goujons. Cut fish or chicken into strips. One three small plates/ bowls add flour on one, egg, and breadcrumbs. Then let him dip each piece into flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Bake like fish-fingers or fry in pan. Dinner sorted. It doesn't matter if they dipper extra or less on any

Baking is fab!

• flapjacks
• cup cakes (make sure you have a variety of toppings for decorating - better yet go shopping together to choose them)
• biscuits (get shaped cutters eg ginger bread men, stars) with squeazy icing and toppings to decorate

• any cake at all really! Bananas are good for squishing. Chocolate is always popular...
• chocolate cornflake cakes
• bread rolls (make hedgehogs by snipping with scissors)

It's surprising how much they can do at that age:

• spoon in dry ingredients until you say stop (show them the scales, although they won't understand the numbers yet, or count the spoonfuls together)
• if you break an egg into a glass, they enjoy tipping it in
• stirring (although you will need to ask for a go at some point to get it properly mixed..)
• if they are brave they can hold the electric whisk
• squishing bananas with a fork
• pouring liquids from a small measuring jug
• trying to use a rolling pin (again, you'll need to adk for a go)
• did I mention decorating...?

My 2yo has a tiny attention span and I can never get him to stay interested long enough to bake cakes/biscuits from scratch so I sometimes buy a kit and then he can pretty much do by himself, I just need to prompt him about which bit comes next.

I bought a big book of stickers very cheaply and sometimesee give him a sheet from it along with some coloured paper and let him stick them on. A tip I got from mn is to peel the backing off the page of stickers so it's easier for kids to peel the stickers off themselves.

Something else he likes to do is make 'collages' from pictures ripped out of magazines, scrunched up tissue paper, pompoms, etc. I just sit him at the kitchen table with the craft stuff and a little squeezy tube of pva and let him get on with it. Although this only works if you have the sort of dc who enjoys crafts more than squirting glue everywhere! I get him to tidy up too which kills some time. I make him taking the play doh out of the box and putting it back again part of the 'game' too so it's less hassle for me.

If he likes washing up could you fill up a big bowl of water and get him to 'wash' his cars, etc? Or give him bath toys or toys from the sand pit to play with in the water?

And yy to encouraging him to play independently. My ds can play for between 30-45 mins on his own if he's really interested in something but we have had to work up to that. It does make it much easier when you're busy feeding the baby if they can go off and do their own thing for a bit.