Amusing toddler while waiting for older child in class

[Mummabear04]

DD is 5years old and not long started school. She has made a lovely little friendship with another child but they spend all their time together in school. Her bf goes to after school club so is forced to play with other children and so I signed DD up for a class after school that I know another little girl in her class attends. She loves it and is getting a lot out if it - great!

So the tricky part of this is I need to stay in the building and wait for her to finish her 1h long class and this means keeping my 2.5 year old DS amused. There are tables and chairs in the lobby so usually I take snacks but I don't want to fill him up before dinner (the class ends at 4.45 then we get home not long after 5pm). I bought him some tiny dinosaur toys the first week we went and this kept him amused. The second week I took some colouring in which he loved but then he got very tired (he also didn't nap that day, he's in the midst of dropping his nap) and started having tantrums and I spent 30 mins fighting fires so he didn't explode. I have bought some cheap £1 dinosaur toys on vinted that I initially intended to save to bring out on the plane on our summer holiday later in the year but now I'm thinking it might be a good idea to give him them when DD has her class. I'm a bit reluctant to just give him endless streams of toys. Ideally I would only give him them when DD has her class but I know he will absolutely love them and have a tantrum if I take them away until the following week. The OP just let their younger kids watch TV on their phones but I would rather not do that. Any suggestions?

I used to take a variety in similar circumstances!
Drawing/colouring/stickers
Books
small cars/trucks
small selection of lego

depends on the set up, but a small foam ball or similar
Is there space immediately outside the venue where he could play on a scooter or similar?

Letting him watch your phone for an hour every now & then (if he kicks off) won't do any harm.

Do you have to stay in the building? Going to the nearest playground or coffee shop for a juice and cake (depending on the weather) would be fine but sitting quietly on a chair in the lobby for an hour is a tall ask for a tired 2.5 and I don’t think it’s realistic, unless you resort to episodes of TV shows on your phone/the ipad. Honestly, I’d be bored senseless if I didn’t have my phone or a book, and a 2.5YO can’t read and has less impulse control. Go elsewhere, ditch the class (I’m all for facilitating hobbies but not if they’re a total PITA for the rest of the family) or relent on the screen.

We managed to facilitate these situations in the dim and distant past, before screens existed!
You make it special time for the child not in the class! Interact with them rather than leaving them to amuse themselves whilst stuck to your own screen!

God I don't envy you, I have to do the same with my 4yo and that's tough enough.

Definitely drop and go if you can - even an "urgent trip to Tesco" will fill the time much easier than staying.

I'd take some of his smaller, quieter toys and put them aside and then take one out each week. If it's something different every week and something he doesn't see all the time at home it'll hold his attention much better.

(I say I would do that. In reality I'd never be so prepared and would bring the current favourite and then be annoyed when it didn't work, spending the hour becoming increasingly stressed and shrill.)

A container with toys that only appears at the class. It is not seen at home. Drawing, stickers, paint with water, story book.

A healthy snack that is not so different from dinner .. such as .. vegetable fritter or muffin, red pepper strips, carrot sticks, wholemeal Marmite sandwich, boiled egg, piece of cheese.

A music tape for dancing and singing.

Can you go outside and play on the playground or kick a ball?

You want the younger child to also expel energy and have a challenging hour so that he is not cranky and needing exercise right on dinner time. I like the idea that you will not give him a phone and that you will top up his one to one quality time with you.

Some books to read to him?

I don’t envy you OP - 1.5 - 2.5 is a difficult age to keep distracted and have little concentration.

I used to take a massive bag of toys for the three kids I used to drag everywhere for one child’s after school clubs. We used to do jigsaw puzzles together, read books, play games (such as Buckaroo, Connect 4, Dominoes, build Domino runs and structures, and Snap), colouring books and pens. Of course, emergency snacks (not too filling). I must have looked funny dragging this huge bag of stuff.

Sometimes it worked, sometimes they were tired and no amount of toys would help the tantrums. Bad days would need a trip to the nearby park, or (even worse) a calm down in the car.

It might be worth looking for a friend who has a child in the class to alternate drop offs and pick ups. They are priceless if you can find one.

Good luck OP.

Play with the other dc who are waiting?

Teach him to count and to read.

It might be worth looking for a friend who has a child in the class to alternate drop offs and pick ups. They are priceless if you can find one.

This is also a great idea! If DD’s best friend is in the class maybe her parents would be up for this. Or if the class does require parents to wait on site then perhaps suggest you take turns and do alternate weeks.

Is there a playground nearby? If not, a walk round the block looking at bugs, squirrels, cars, trees etc will kill some time. Or a trip to the shop.

I'm guessing he isn't in nursery. If he was you could praps pick him up on the way home

Take his scooter and go for a scoot round the block,
Bring some books to read with him or sticker books,
Yoto player and headphones,
Lite Brite Touch toy,
Mini box of Lego

Bring colouring/Lego/his existing dinosaurs toys and if he gets tired or antsy, let him have your phone. He's had a long day of concentrating and stimulation and 30 minutes of passive entertainment via cartoons is ok.

I have an assortment of travel/waiting quietly toys that we rotate through – normal colouring, magic water colouring, sticker books (both the usual ones and puzzle ones), small jigsaws, a busy book, a couple types of modelling putty, picture books, small animals/vehicles, small card games. My youngest has been willing to play a memory game as a matching game from about 2.5, or dobble as a slow and collaborative effort.

I'm not strict about them being for travel/waiting only, but they're kept out of sight and it seems to be mostly out of sight, out of mind.

We also play a game creatively called 'Can you?' – Can you turn around and touch your toes? Can you point at something red? Can you name three animals? And so on. Infinitely adjustable, and they seem to like it.

And yes, phone as back up!