Activity ideas for toddler

[fastandthecurious]

So we are about to be stuck in the house with DS 2 (just turned 2) for another month. I have his puddle suit at the ready for long walks in the shite weather but quite frankly he's a runner a walks with him are rubbish and draining for both of us. Our back garden is teeny and I don't drive so limited to what we can do locally. Any ideas on what we can do at home that will keep him entertained? He gets destructive when he's bored and I'm tearing my hair out already🙄

Get a tuff tray from eBay, I think they’re around £15 full it with all kinds of crapfun things for him to mess with. Or full the bath and wash his cars / trucks / whatever he’s into...
Will he colour or craft? Lots of toddler craft ideas on Pinterest if you have one that sits (my boys don’t)
I have boys 2 & 1 so I feel your pain!

Oh, Aldi & Lidl have little wooden train sets in for around £10-£15 if he’s into trains?

Thanks so much @SendHelp30 trying to stay away from buying new toys but will look at the tuff try as that sounds really good. He likes letters and numbers (can count to 30 and read simple 3 letter words) so have tried to find some activities centred around that but it's tough because lots of them are for much older children with more understanding of instructions! So tough isn't it. I'm just about to go for a walk to the park with him but I know he'll kick off half way home because he wants to walk the opposite way and he's stubborn as a mule! It's a nightmare!

An indoor bouncy castle! Kept my DTs amused for hours and burnt off their crazy energy. Ditto to indoor climbing frame with slide. Duplo, arts and crafts, books, building a den, wooden spoon and pan, ‘helping’ with doing housework. Long bath time works for mine as well.

Maybe get a bag with reins to stop the bolting? Fill it with a couple of toys and a snack and make a big deal of what a big boy he is.

I feel your pain, mine are nearly three! Getting rid of their energy and keeping them amused is exhausting!

I'd get a trampette from gumtree if possible.

The tuff tray is an excellent idea. The local school playground with one of those bouncy balls that light up.

Do you have a balance bike? For about 30 quid on amazon you get a really wide solid plastic one. They are amazing for making your kids tired.

A bowl in the kitchen with cornflour and water mixed together.

You need to join this thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4059672-Trapped-Toddler-Parents-of-Winter-2020-21-Support-Thread-Puddlesuits-at-the-ready

Buy a roll of lining paper (wall paper) from b&q and make a frieze. Stick oak leaves etc to it and let them draw round them with crayons.

Thanks so much everyone. I have reins but he pulls so hard on them and ends up falling/throwing himself on the floor🙈 we have just managed a whole hour long walk with minimal tantrums, I'll keep going with the walks until they're enjoyable! we have a balance bike but it's a bit big for him just yet, he can't touch the floor! Will join that thread thank you!

Look for fiveminutemum on Instagram! Shes great for ideas and uses stuff you already have in the house :)

Tuff tray, got the boys to collect leaves and stones from the garden, added porridge oats and a tray of water. Hoping for hours of dinosaur fun... they are loving it!

Thank you to whoever suggested this!!!!

Finished!

My DD was just 2 at the start of the first lockdown, she got really into balance biking then.

Also if you have a dog, we did a doggy pamper day last week when the weather was terrible. I took her to the pet shop where you can still buy pet toys (we're in Wales so can't buy childrens toys.. they're non-essential...FFS), let my DD pick out a few toys (whilst I bought some other bits, before anyone attacks me), then we went home, bathed the dog, baked dog biscuits and then we brushed the dog. DD loved it, and the dog took it well too!!

DD had a y velo junior, nice little balance bike, smaller than many balance bikes.

Do you have Duplo or similar? Yesterday we were stuck inside because the weather was so bad...so my 3 year old and I made skittles out of Duplo blocks and then did indoor bowling with an apple! Maybe filled 10-15 minutes but was really easy to set up!

Playdoh
Magic sand
Duplo
Cutting and glueing
Colouring / painting
Rice Krispie buns
Indoor obstacle course
Mix different types of pasta and get him to sort them into different tubs

@Cyw2018 thank you! I have a balance bike ready for him, he'll probably be ready for it by Christmas so I just can't really afford to shell out for another at the mo! Yes we have megablocks which he enjoys to an extent! Just been to home bargains and picked up a magnetic letter board for £4. A bargain and he's loving it if anyone else has a DC that's letter and number mad! I'm feeling a bit less doom and gloom after all these suggestions so thank you everyone! No dog but I have a cat and DS and him are very fond of each other (got cat as a kitten when DS was 10 months so they've sort of grown up together😂)

@SendHelp30 right I'm getting a tuff tray. That looks brilliant!! I'll have to do an underwater themed one. DS loves fish and sharks and everything sea related! We are watching our planet and the sea episodes are proving a big hit.

Type winter crafts for toddlers into Pinterest. Loads of sensory play ideas for the tuff trays!
The boys spent an hour with the dinosaur land! I’m so impressed 😂

Mine used to love a disco! Cheap pack of glow sticks from home bargains/£ shop, lights off and dance like loons!!

Or cosmic kids yoga on youtube was and still is a HUGE hit! Xx

Freeze plastic toy dinos/sea creatures in water (Tupperware type containers, or balloons). Use food colouring for blue sea. These are good for the tough tray

Indoor treasure hunt, draw pictures of where to look for the next clue, or you read them aloud.
Find 1 silver thing, 2 blue, 3 green etc etc
Outdoor scavenger hunt - find a feather, pinecone, stone, she'll, yellow flower, twig, etc. Spot a bird, cat, red car, etc.

Play doh.
Painting
(Magic painting books)
Sticking - make Christmas cards?
Baking
Stick YouTube on and get dancing.
Hide and seek
Get him involved in cleaning - dusting, stripping beds , hoovering. Mine love it and it takes AGES.

After you've got the dinosaur/sea creatures filthy outside, they'll need a bath with lots of bubbles
Disco bath- glow sticks in the bath in the dark.

If you have windows that go to the floor and hard floors: butchers paper stuck to the window with sticky tape, some cheap water soluble paints and paint brushes. Have a couple stuck up at once and when one gets full remove it and replace with a fresh piece of paper.
Instead of paints or in addition to: a glue stick and a pile of leaves previously found, or let them have fun cutting coloured paper or old magazines with safe scissors and stick on the bits with the glue stick.
Stamps with ink pads are fun too but need more supervision so as to not stain stuff if directed somewhere other than the paper or if the ink pad is dropped on the floor or sofa

Also, empty plastic bottle , fill with a selection of random crap and glue the lid on (glitter, pompous, feathers , rice etc)

Also, glue/water /glitter/paint sequins for a sensory bottle.