Anyone a SAHM to one toddler? How do you keep him/her amused and entertained all day?

[suiledonn]

Hi, I am a SAHM to my 18 month old dd. Lately I have been finding it hard to keep her amused for the whole day. She used to have loads of energy for doing her own thing and would run around for ages just chatting to herself and playing with different toys. Then last month she was quite ill for a few days so I resorted to letting her watch tv as she didn't have much energy and now she wants the tv on all the time and screams and points at it. I can distract her for a while but she always goes back to the tv and I end up letting her watch far too much sometimes just for a bit of peace.
We do drawing and painting, dancing, etc and she plays by herself a bit. We go to toddler group once a week and usually into town two morning a week. We live in the country and go out everyday for a walk and she plays in the garden but the weather is definitely getting colder so we will be inside more and I am running out of ideas.
Any help welcomed. TIA

my toddler goes to a toddler group every day. i would go crazy otherwise! also, i do 50/50 with my DP who takes him out in the afternoons. i guess it is one of the advantages to living in the city, there is a lot of free toddler groups in the area. on the days when my toddler only gets 1 outing he gets really grumpy being stuck indoors all day.
if there aren't more groups to go to, could you hook up with the parents from the toddler group; or at least one or two; and create a new group? an informal one, where you shift where the group happens? so at your house one week, the friend's the next? also, as they get older you could just drop your child off to give you a bit of free time?
im pretty countryside orientated myself, despite living in the city, and we have wellies and winter snowsuits ready for this year. as they say, there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing!
is there a swimming pool nearby? or some hotels have private gyms with small pools, if there is one near you you could become a member? and have you posted this on your local mumsnet site?

When my ds was that age, I would try to get out every day to something, to use up a morning or afternoon. Then the rest of the day I could spend with him playing etc, or go to the park, or maybe have a friend over with their dc. The sort of things we did were swimming lesson, music club, tumbletots, and stuff like going to shops. Even going to Tesco used to keep him amused, so long as I chatted about evrything as I chose it from the shelves, and we would go and have a cup of tea in the cafe afterwards to draw the experience out a bit!

I did find the holidays (when a lot of these activities didn't run) a bit hard going though.

we kill loads of extra time without going out by having ds 'help'+++ with whatever i'm doing. all takes 4 times longer, but he loves it.

I bought some large flat floor cushions in a sale when my DD was your DD's age and my DD has used them endlessly for jumping and rolling on, practising somersaults etc.

A small table and chair (Ikea), an easel, paper and lots and lots of stickers - I got a huge Dorling Kindersley pack with lots of animals for about 10 euros - which my daughter quickly learnt to peel off and stick on. This is excellent for fine motor skill development and for learning to name animals. And some large washable crayons for scribbling, the kind that are designed to be held properly.

Those Dorling Kindersley vocabulary books are good from around 18 months too. Get a whole set straight out or you'll get bored.

Maisy DVDs (and books that tie-in) are better than TV IMO.

Cooking is a great way to pass a little time indoors. Easy things that your dd can 'help' with - muffins are great because you don't have to mix the batter all that thoroughly. Pizzas from scratch are also good. We got ds1 a wee rolling pin from the ELC and he gets his own bit of the dough to roll out (same if we make biscuits).

DS1 also loves brushes, so we got him a little dustpan and brush from Mothercare (about 4 quid, and came with a long-handled brush too), and this morning we spent about an hour brushing (my house is very dusty at the moment...). I had the big brush, ds1 had his broom and ds2 (9 months) banged the other brush on the floor. I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to sit down with a copy of Grazia and a cuppa while they do all the cleaning.

And I agree about the 'no such thing as bad weather' thing mentioned above. Their mood instantly improves when we get outside, and ds1 adores puddles so rain no object, if you can bear it!

smiling at midnightexpress' grazia plans

So glad for the OP! I'm about to quit job and was wondering how on earth I'll keep DS (16mths) amused by myself all day in a tiny flat. These ideas are so much help...

Do you have a local library - ours runs regular storytime sessions but we go everyweek anyway to read books there and bring some home for bedtimes. My DS also adores going anywhere by bus;it's a pretty cheap outing as he is free.

and ds loves to 'type': change font size to 72 in Word and away he goes.

If space is short, you could do what a friend of mine did and paint one of the walls in your kitchen with "blackboard" paint. And then your child can draw on the blackboard with chalk while you are cooking etc.

Oh I've seen the blackboard paint thing done and I long to do it but, Anna, space in our flat is indeed short - we don't have a kitchen exactly, more of a kitchenette with space for 2 cupboards, a tiny 'drinks' fridge, oven, washing machine and no wall space left over. London, you see. Also, we don't own it, so can't paint it. But I'd love to do it, one day when our ship comes in (sigh).

Ha I am wondering what i did all day every day before DS started nursery a couple of mornings a week! Much the same as others have said though, he has a music thing once a week (they sing and dance and play instruments), a swimming lesson, softplay, we go to the swings / park when it is dry (was bitterly cold today though). We have recently moved so not found toddler groups but heard of one nearby from a mum at the swings today and it is only £1 entry and sounds great. My DS also goes stir crazy when in the house all day, so even if we just walk into town and he has a play in Early Learning Centre etc it helps keep him happy!

Am with you on the tv thing. When I was first pregnant this time, I was exhausted and relied on tv too much. It meant DS started demanding it and he was watching much too much after a while. Thankfully we went on hols for two weeks where there was nothing on and he got used to being without it, and now watches a lot less, but I think once I give birth he will be watching it a lot more!

Answer to your question: With great difficulty! I find it hard to keep up with my 2.9 yr old' s boundless energy. We go to a toddler group once a week and he is starting nursery 3 afternoons a week shortly. I tend to get him out in the morning for a walk in the park, but at home it's more tricky as he haas the attention span of a gnat at the moment! We do playdoh, painting, jigsaws, dancing, 'keep fit' etc together, but I do find myself relying too much on the TV when i need a break (guilt emoticon). I'm thinking of adding more social stuff to our routine - another toddler group, Gymboree etc, as I'm not a play leader and run out of ideas! I also crave adult company, don't know about you?!

wow - loving the blackboard paint idea, DD has basically used the entire downstairs of our house as a giant canvas - i quite like to have obscure little alien creatures in multi coloured felt tip as my decor

DD is 2.3 and i do find entertaining her hard work. I too go to a toddler group pretty much every day, its great because each ones is different and there is always something different to do. My DD just loves to "make" which basically is eitehr, painting, cutting and sticking, and general crafty things. Its quite demanding of my time though, which is OK but sometimes it can be a bit much. Dont beat yourself up over the TV thing, if she wants to watch it, let her - i find that i just have the telly on ad lib, DD is not that interested now. I think if it is rationed the novelty doesnt wear off. Play dough is good too, you can make your own, plenty of easy recipes about andi prefer the home made stuff to the manufactured stuff.

If you live in the country you could go and collect leaves, acorns, conkers etc and then bring them home and "make" something with it. 18m might be a little young but she will enjoy "helping". So, thats two activities for the price of one

I love to patrol the charity shops around here (there are loads) and find lots of cheapo toys and books and DD is learning to spot a bargain as well. So that is good for both of us.

Duplo bricks are good too.

The thing i find frustrating is, the short attention span, you can spend ages getting something ready to "make" and then they play for five minutes and want to do something else.

I also rotate the toys, put some away for a bit and when they come out again, its like having new ones all over again

Oh that reminds me, one thing I've been meaning to do for ages is to do a trawl of charity shops for some dressing-up stuff. I guess 18 months is a bit young yet for that sort of thing (maybe girls get into it earlier than boys?) but ds1 just turned 2 and is starting to dress (well, undress mostly) himself and enjoys making carboard crowns and hats with stuff stuck all over them, so I think he might be ready for it soon.

Also, I sometimes watch programmes like Doodledo and Mr Maker on CBeebies to give me inspiration for things to make instead of just hauling out the crayons again.

We do Tumbletots one morning a week, toddler groups 3 mornings, and on the final morning we either do another toddler group, or meet with a group of friends at one of our houses for play and lunch (which takes up half the afternoon too).

In the afternoons we either have playdates with friends at one of our houses, go to the zoo (annual membership makes it good value) or farm (again have annual membership), go swimming, or go to the park. We also live in the countryside, so can do walks, usually to the farm down the road to see the horses in the field. She also spends one afternoon a week with a childminder, where she does some crafty stuff.

I think we'll continue to do most of this even as the weather gets colder, and just hope that it doesn't rain too much!

DD is just 21 months btw.

Thanks everyone for your replies. You have given me some good ideas. I wish there was something like Tumbletots or Gymboree locally but unfortuntely there isn't. No local park either.
I am going to join the local library as I enjoy reading so it would be good for both of us. Other than that I think I am going to have to have a good look at amazon and find some suitable art and craft activities for us to do at home.

cbeebies website is great for interactive games especially when they get a bit older. Lots of craft ideas too. hide and seek and treasure hunts with teddies is good fun. we have marble run from an older child which he loves to help make new towers and watch the marbles. bike rides too, even in the cold.

Def the library. You might even get to flick through a magazine while dd takes all the books off the shelf

Cut lots of 'bits', get some PVA washable glue and do sticking. Might take a while to get the hang (and resist the urge to take over) (my 18mth dd loves stickers too)

Water play! Towel on the floor, different size cups and pots and let her pour...

We have telly on probably too much but not always and if I need a break then yes, it will be on!

Dd likes to roam the house and find random things - eg toilet rolls or cotton buds, and make weird towers and games.

Um, save the plastic milk bottle tops they make good counters - dd has lots of weird games with those too.

Drawing. She has pencils and paper all round the house.

Choose a rainy day to go outside and splash in puddles. My dd had SO MUCH FUN doing this - we live close to a little park so it didn't matter when she fell in a puddle.

Walk to the shops and let her take 4 hours meandering!!

PS about the telly - you just gotta ride the tantrums out. Dd has learnt now that if we say no, we mean it (but often we say yes tbh because she doesn't have it on all the time)

can 18 month olds really help with cooking? would have thought under 2's were too young.

DS (nearly 20 months) and I this morning made fairy cakes: I weigh the ingredients - he tips them in the processor, he presses the buttons, he put the paper cases in the tray, he and I then both made a big mess putting the mixture in, I put them in the oven, he watched them cook. He stood on a stool and did the washing up (some of it anyway!), then I made icing and he spooned it on and stuck bits on. They look crazy but they taste fine and we had fun. We've been doing this sort of cooking for a couple of months - rolling biscuits, muffin pizzas etc etc

weegle how old was he when you started cooking with him?

my dd is 2.8 now and we do different things mostly because I am not that keen on organised classes that run on 'terms'

we go swimming
walk in the park or by the river, it takes ages as she collects sticks stones and looks for creepy crawlers
these days she has binoculars so for my sins I seem to be raising a bird watcher, not to mention train spotter, she loves sitting by the railway bridge or any construction site
we go to drop in activities
do lots of cooking / baking from an early age
drawing / painting glueing
we read books

but things like chores she finds them entertaining as well I just give her a cloth she helps load washing machine etc.

having said that she has always been able to keep herself amused for short periods as long ans there is a bit of interaction

I meant to had some tv and dvd of nursery rhymes etc also have their place