Toddler activity ideas (worries about her social development:( )

[cactusmama79]

As I'm sure many parents feel, i feel so sad for my 2 year old DD that she will have another 6 weeks minimum of no social interaction with other children :( she thrives off of play dates and bring around people so I feel so bad for her stuck indoors with just me.

Things seemed so much more manageable back with it was spring and summer and this was all new, almost a novelty.

Please share some ideas of fun activities and things you do at home that have worked well for you. I'm going to try and make a list to make me feel less overwhelmed.

As much as I hate it DD loves paint. Potato printing, finger painting, sponge stamps, cotton wool balls on a peg to dip and print. Of you can get hold of it a roll of lining paper and plonk her on with some paints or crayons and let her go wild.

Water play = plonk in the bath for half an hour. Get some mouldable soap or bath Pens from Amazon.

Decorate biscuits. I ice and she puts on the decorations.

Walk. Park. Take a ball to throw kick. Let her roam for a bit.

While on a walk if it's dry collect leaves and glue them onto some paper when you get back.

Help with housework. It takes forever but I get DD to put clothes in the washing machine and press the go button. Then let her take them out (one by one) and put them in the tumble. She'll help 'sort' into piles. She also likes a duster to rub on the walls.

Construction. Duplo, blocks. Build a den with pillows chairs and a sheet for her to play with her toys under.

Sorry there were paragraphs to that

Can’t you take her to a playground where there’s lots of other kids? We spent 3 hours at our local one today and my son played with lots of other kids.

I had 3 under 3 and I bought this book and I would have to say it was the best purchase i've ever made. We didn't do all of the activities in it, but there are some simple yet genius ideas in there, most require only things you'd have already in the house and it kept them amused for ages. My copy is now a tattered mess, it was looked at that much.

www.amazon.co.uk/Toddler-Activities-That-Inspire-Creativity/dp/1440550743/ref=asc_df_1440550743/?hvlocphy=9050378&linkCode=df0&hvptwo&psc=1&psc=1&hvnetw=g&hvadid=310834580283&hvpone&hvlocint&th=1&hvpos&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl&hvqmt&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=pla-565192723821&hvrand=301041876200422644

We did food testing. We bought loads of new foods (cheese and weird fruits etc). Tried them, spoke about them and then said if we liked them or not. My kids loved it.

Thank you for all of these lovely ideas ☺️ yes @OverTheRainbow88 I took her to the park today but the other parents all kept their kids at a distance (it wasn't a very busy park) and we all took turns on the separate play equipment 😕

Nurseries are still open, why not send her for a few mornings a week if you're worried?

Make homemade slime or playdoh- recipes online.

A book called 5 minute mum-will save your sanity

@Ohalrightthen she was supposed to be starting nursery tomorrow, she cannot go as her nursery is only open for key worker parents (I wasn't sure about sending her anyway as I felt guilty for the nursery staff when I'm currently not working due to lockdown)