How to entertain toddler as SAHM?

[Cos100]

Hi guys! I recently lost my job (it was part time, 15 hours a week) so I now find myself being a full time SAHM. I'm not complaining, I like being at home with her (most of the time 😂) and I do get help from family if I need a couple of hours to myself some days. My partner takes over in the evening and feeds her tea, does bath time/or bed time, so i get some chill time. However, what I'm struggling with it keeping her entertained for hours at a time. I don't want to rely too much on the TV and at the moment it feels like I might be giving her too much screen time but it's only because she only plays with her toys for a short amount of time really before she starts getting bored. It's not that easy to take her along with me doing chores as she would just pick stuff up/chuck things out of cupboards etc, you know the drill. Any SAHM's have any tips or activities they can suggest? Even toys you recommend that might keep her occupied for even 20 minutes?

What age do you mean by toddler?

Not a SAHM, but have two days a week at home with my toddler. How old is yours? Under 2, there was nothing really that kept her occupied for more than 5 minutes but from 2 onwards, she's played at bit longer with things like Duplo and Magnatiles. A toddler tower for the kitchen is great as they can 'help' cook and as a bonus DD will try all sorts of veg raw when I'm cutting it that she won't usually touch! But mostly, I make sure I get out each day. We do a paid dance class one day, otherwise just free outings like park, library, duck pond, trips to the post office to post vinted parcels, etc. We had a whole day home on Monday during Storm Floris and I nearly lost my mind! So get outside is the biggest tip.

well, she needs to be out and about, and looking at the world, parks, shops, bus rides, museums, art galleries, libraries, toddler groups, swimming etc. Something every day. And at home, just do your chores at half speed and do them together - joint entertainment and house work. Get a craft box together, and do baking, playdough, water play, etc.

Getting out of the house is essential. I never spent the day at home unless one of us was poorly. The mid part of the day 10-3 we were always out. There are loads of free things you can do: playground, walk in local nature reserve, beach, walk around town, do the weekly food shop (not free but you have to do it anyway), library (rhyme time or other class), free museums, etc. Pack a picnic lunch. If you have a play cafe near you, these are great too. I’d do the indoor activities on the bad weather days and outdoor ones when it wasn’t raining. Do you have friends who are off? Just an hour meeting someone does break the day up.

When dd was a toddler I remember getting a large bit of paper and writing down the 7(????) areas of the Early Years curriculum. And then under that putting down all the activities I could think of that were part of the that part of the curriculum. For example feeding the ducks at our local pond was understanding the world and also physical as we had to walk there. Going to soft play was physical, social and something else that I have forgotten.

As time went on each of my lists got longer and longer as I stole ideas from friends etc.

I would have an aim of doing something from each list each day. As I like goals I can tick off. It made me feel that I was achieving something. Was usually about 3 or 4 activities a day as many activities covered more than one area.

When DD was little, I had one cupboard in the kitchen that was 'hers', full of things she could get out, such as Tupperware, baking trays, wooden spoons, mixing bowls. Pulling all that out, banging it together, doing some 'mixing' and hiding in the cupboard kept her happy for ages while I was cooking or cleaning.

She also needs to get bored. If you worried about her being bored and provide a screen when that happens you are just wiring her brain to receive excitment ALL the time. Do you have outside space? Just filling a paddling pool with water and letting her play with jugs in it, or adding food colouring kept mine entertained for some time.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far! Should have mentioned she's 17 months (turning 18 months in a couple of weeks).
I think I definitely need to get out with her more. The thing is she wakes up around 6 and I try to avoid taking her out around times when she's more likely to nap because then it feels kind of pointless. So I'd either take her out very early or maybe after lunch, or I suppose we could eat out some days. I may have to experiment.
It's given me some good for thought!

When DS was a toddler we were out all the time until at least 3pm - I couldn’t stand being cooped up at home and as an active toddler I think he liked being out and about. He would easily nap in the buggy which was a big help.

We would have set playgroups that we attended each week (one was a forest school type place), Rhyme Time at the library weekly (plus DS picked new books each week), did the rounds of all the local parks including short train rides to surrounding areas for a change of scenery with a friend and her toddler (plus little kids usually like the train) and we would take a picnic or go to a cafe, swimming, soft play etc. Meet up with other parents at the park/home (or though I hated the latter as the house looked like a tornado has gone through it afterwards).

At home we had a sand pit, a sand and water table, Little Tikes slide, a rocking see-saw thingy (all from NCT sales when they used to do them or charity shops), paddling pool and a sprinkler, soft bouncy ball. We were going to get a mud kitchen but the forest school playgroup was good for that. Indoor toys were things like Mega Bloks/Duplo, wooden building blocks, all the usual stuff for kids this age. As a pp said we also had a safe kitchen cupboard full of things for DS to play with which provided lots of entertainment - plastic bowls, wooden spoons, basically all sorts of kitchen items which were safe.

I've never been a SAHM (apart from home on mat leaves x3). But two of my children are older than yours. I remember the short attention spans very well and one of the two wasn't walking at that age which also brought it's own challenges.

I do agree with everyone about getting out and about as much as possible though! I'm lucky though that I live in an area with lots of playgroups and parks etc within walking distance so this wasnt very difficult to do on a budget. We tend to have a routine of groups each week on the same days. Being out the house makes the time pass much quicker.

With an 18 months old if they're on 1 nap a day I'd usually do a morning playgroup, come home, have lunch then put toddler in bed for a nap. Usually stay at home after that and have tea and screen time usually whilst I'm cooking. But sometimes especially if weather was ok we'd pop the park or the shops or for a walk or to visit their nan or something after the nap too.

You do have to get out and about. When DS was waking early, we often used to get the bus into town by about 8 am and be home for naptime by 11! There's no reason you can't go to the park early etc. Baby groups etc need to be worked into routine.

My big thing with chores and toddlers was to accept that I had to do less, in more time. So I could clean the kitchen, sure, but I had to take longer as I got interupted by DS or had to entertain him or whatever, and I probably couldn't then zip upstairs and immediately clean the bathroom.

I also loved meeting up with other parents - at each other's homes, at the park, at a softplay, at a coffee shop. It kept us both occupied and a bit more sane!

You have to get out of the house and live your life. This is her childhood and you should both be enjoying trips to the park, walks in the woods, feeding the ducks, taking a trip to the beach. She’s experiencing everything for the first time. Get her involved in everything. Go have fun- she can nap out and about. Pack a lunch and get out there.

My son is turning 4 and activities he enjoyed at that age, and still now are: walking anywhere, going to the beach (in any season- just wear the right clothes), feeding the ducks, helping me shop for ingredients for baking or making smoothies together when we get home, a walk to the library, day out at a museum, train trip somewhere, any park with a sandpit.

At home at that age he just pottered about in the garden or around the house and “helped” me with things. If I was ever at a loss for something to do I stuck him in the bath with odds and ends from the kitchen cupboard to play with- various pots and jugs and spoons, or we made a den with different lights and torches in it and hid in there to read books.

As others say get out more. You need a list of toddler groups, library song sessions etc and on days with nothing you go to the park or the swimming pool. These activities tire them out and you also don’t get the feeling of being trapped at home. Then at home don’t expect them to play on their own for long at all. You get down on the floor and play too. Screens are for the limited times where something has to be done.

Whem my DC were that age, I remember having to set lots of stuff up for that age & they didn’t have very long attention spans - eg building the train set for them to pull it apart. At one stage, I had a few toys stationed in every room in the house, so whatever I was doing, there was something they could look at. I think they started with jigsaws at that age - 2 piece puzzles, then 3 pieces etc. & other puzzle toys (eg the ones you hit with hammers). The Early Learning Centre had beginner art stuff for that age - drawing, painting & play doh. For groups - think about what you might enjoy & where you might make friends - but also what you can’t do at home. For me that was big outdoor / climbing / slides as we didn’t have much space & I can remember another mother telling me she liked art classes as she didn’t want to do that at home. As said previously, a good place to buy / borrow second hand toys can be really useful as children will play intensely with something at that age for a few weeks, then never look at it again once they are past that stage - early small world stuff (houses, palaces etc) & toy kitchens might be worth looking out for. Having a local walk with stuff to look at is useful (I can remember ages standing looking at trains & chickens & we had a 4 wheel balance bike type that was small enough to carry). Making time to read & sing / listen to nursery rhymes etc is also really important & they will start to look at books by themselves.