16 month old hard to entertain

[Givemegoldensun]

My 16 month old baby girl has quite a few toys although nothing excessive. She gets bored of her toys quite quickly and prefers to explore the house/ watch tv/play with her dad and me. I understand this is probably a normal developmental stage but we both work and I am about to have another baby in January so really need a way to entertain her a little more when on maternity leave (she already goes to nursery three days a week and does baby classes like tumble tots). She is just very active and interested in the world which is fantastic but I want to be able to make sure she is safe and engaged when I am finding my feet with two under two. Any suggestions for toys/Christmas presents that might help? Thank you :)

A play kitchen and garden toys like a water table, pots and pans to fill, etc. To be completely honest, when you are home with a toddler and a new baby, tv and snacks are much more effective if you really need 20 minutes for a feed than toys. And then lots of walks and trips out. I found entertaining them alone in the house was not easy. But there is no shame in plopping them in front of the tv with some pom bears when you need some downtime.

Very much depends on the child. My eldest LOVED a whiteboard and pens at that age. My twins loved Duplo - played with it every day for more than a year. If recommend trying that - little mess, easily replaceable. When you are watching but hands free then felt tips are a winner but you need to tape the paper down usually. Busy books my boys liked but destroyed relatively quickly by pulling too hard on the tabs etc.

We spent a LOT of time outside - walking gave the stimulation/exercise the older ones needed while baby merrily snoozed in the carrier.

One think I found helped was putting most of the toys away. I'd leave say 6 out then when they napped changed them for a different 6.

Having limited things available to play with seemed to help them to concentrate and the swap gave them a new interest on the toys available.

Pinterest seems to her a good source of activities for all ages and there's some advice about coping with a toddler and a newborn here