Low effort lazy parenting

[Bananasinpyjamas1988]

Am about to have chemo and have a three year old boy. His dad works so won’t be at home lots of the time and don’t get much other help. He hates crafts. Likes being read books. Not great at playing independently. Any idea for low effort activities? Resigned to too much screen time through this period but don’t want it to go completely overboard

Story time family on YouTube read loads of books. Still on line, but maybe worth a look.
Lego/duplo?

I hope your treatment goes well.

Wishing you all the best with your Chemo.

My 2.5y ds loves play doh and we have a big builders tray to keep it fairly contained. You can get loads of tools and shapes for that.

Do you have a Yoto or Tonie box for stories? I hear they are really good and he can choose whichever stories he'd like.

Would he like train tracks or lego? They have lego sets for younger children. My little one loves building things.

Duplo
Marble run

Wishing you all the best with chemo and you make a speedy recovery. 3 is still a hard and demanding age but things like story time on YouTube, my son is a year older but loves marble run, play doh maybe? Do you have a garden, will he play independently in the garden with you watching from the side?

Screen time that takes energy is good - yoga or activity videos.

Once went for a walk with 3yo and FIL. Got to a playing field, FIL says 'I bet you can't run all the way round that' to DD. She does, happy as Larry. 'Amazing! But if course, you can't do it again, you're too tired.' Two jogging laps around a field while we watched, DD home having been exercised while we watched. This kind of trick can work!

Den building - blanket over the back of a chair, let DC take in blankets and toys, eat lunch in there etc. Or one of those kits where you connect sticks to make a den. Or a pop up IKEA play tent.

I think it's less exhausting if you basically plan the week as if you were a teacher, have a list of ideas up your sleeve. Dh could do this for you. So you don't have the stress of thinking of something in the moment.

I'd also be on the lookout for cheap secondhand toys to have a stash of things for a rainy day if you're desperate. Started this in lockdown and still so it as a security blanket! Eg big bundle of stuff for £5, play for a few weeks then sell on again.

If you're nauseous you might also find food prep hard - cd dh prepare packed lunches and snacks for ds so all you have to do is hand it over?

Sorry you're going through this, good luck!

Match the length of show to the TV time. So if you need half an hour set a half hour show for longer a film. My daughter is much worse after half an hour of 7 minute shows than a 30min Julia Donaldson programme.
We set the timer of the TV and once it goes off she finds something to play with

My daughters favourite toy at the moment is her Dr and vet kit. We have the ones from m and s and she treats her soft toys. Might bring in language to describe why you can't do what you normally would do. It has helped my daughter to start talking about the pain she experiences.

You tube singing hands for makaton signed nursery rhymes or my daughter loves the yoga videos

Stick paints can be a relatively mess free form of craft

Good luck with your treatment.

I used to burn off kids energy by giving them ‘missions’ to go on.. I would make thing up depending on whether we in house or out.. they had to complete them ‘together’ or it didn’t count.. things like ‘up and down stairs four times, crawl around the dining table then jump on bed ten times then come back to me’ and repeat.. they loved it

CBeebies magazine subscription.

There’s lots of story podcasts and you can borrow audiobooks from BorrowBox.
Fairly low effort activity is an indoor scavenger hunt. You could just say “can you find 3 blue things” or “find something you put on your head” etc. If you wanted to make it less interactive with you (you might feel too tired) then you could print off various pictures and stick them on a paper and make a few sets which you can just hand to him and ask him to find the things on the pictures.
All the best, there are worse things than screen time.

Magnetic blocks are a big hit over here
DS spends ages making garages for his cars and houses for his figurines

All the best OP x

Treasure hunts can last for hours.
i used to do a lucky dip of small wrapped gifts with something to do inside
water play (in a small bowl) of toys supervised.
drs and nurses
building towers - jengo
making slime etc
teddy bear picnic

Can you organise a rota for friends/family to help op? You will need sone rest. Or a playgroup or church group.

Being a different animal for the day - my kids loved that, low effort - works especially well if you have pet bowls!!

I was in the same position when my DD was 3 OP. It’s so tough! To be honest DD did have a fair amount of screen time & she played some games on the iPad. Also sticker books were handy. I just focused on getting through each day.,Good luck OP!

Sticker books together,like usborne ones.and orchard games.and reading eggs.

Good luck with the chemo. Look after yourself.

I think you've been given some great ideas from posters so far. Carpet picnics and cartoons on the telly worked for me.

Oh musical bumps

You poor thing. Can you start him in nursery? At three he would be fine doing 4 days a week or even full-time.

I was very ill after giving birth to my twins. (Needed an emergency hysterectomy as I haemorrhaged.) DD1 had just turned 2 at the time. A dress up box with a rotating series of adult clothes, hats, gloves and boots you have purchased at charity shops. Not only fun but teaches kids how to do up buttons, zips, put shoes on, etc. You can chat about the clothes and not have to get up. You can put all hats in one day, all shoes, etc, or put in an entire outfit. (Keep the rest away somewhere else.)

Do what you need to do to survive as a family. I'm sorry you're going through this f through this but please don't feel guilty for the parenting choices you make through a really difficult time xx

Yes, preferably one that’s hibernating during winter..!

All the best OP 🌺

Have you got or could you get an indoor trampoline and/or gorilla gym (Amazon)? Good luck xx

Oh OP, sorry to hear this. Hope it goes ok for you.

Tonnes of great suggestions here already. Play doh and duplo are literally the only two things my 3 yo will do independently.

That and “cooking”. A normal cutlery knife and a selection of soft fruits that he can cut to make a fruit salad. Or filling a popping toy with frube yogurt for the freezer

Cosmic yoga on YouTube should be good if he needs some activity that doesn't require leaving the house.

Audible books?

Reusable sticker books were a huge it at that age. We had a selection of the Melissa and Doug books:

Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Books for 3+ Year Olds, Habitats & Nature Sticker Book, Plane Activities For Toddlers, Kids Travel Activity Packs, Childrens Books Age 3-4 Years amzn.eu/d/fGMbcjv

Best of luck with your treatment.

My DD 3 loves here yoto player and cards

Magnatiles (or cheaper amazon type)

Orchard toys games, require some adult participation but can be done at a table or on knee.

Loves to be a kitchen helper like help make breakfast or load washing in machine.

Books/puzzles

Will you be eligible for 30hrs childcare? Best of luck 👍