How to keep 2 year old entertained all day

[Karma1387]

Just looking for some useful ideas and suggestions. Sorry for the long post.

Prior to getting pregnant with DC2 I never let my DC1 watch tv besides the occasional Miss rachel when he first woke up. Unfortunately when I got pregnant between sickness, pain and exhaustion we basically live off the TV currently.

DC2 is due in a few weeks and I would really like to try to cut back down on the TV. He loves watching a film but I don't want to continue with all day having it on.

Thankfully he goes to nursery 3 days a week so he gets a break then and we try to go to my dads once a week but it does mean hes having at least 3 days with an insane amount of TV.

But I find it very hard to know what to do for 10 hours a day with him. Hes not big enough to go around soft play yet on his own and we don't have a lot of groups etc around us that aren't pricey (and honestly I hate them). Hes extremely energetic and its become very noticeable that his behaviour is getting bad when we are just spending whole days inside.

So any suggestions on how to keep a very energetic 2 year old entertained (whilst having a newborn) would be greatly appreciated.

Do you play with him when the telly isn’t on?

Duplo was the only thing that kept my DC occupied at that age. Apart from that, they always needed interaction.
I would read books while breastfeeding.

My priority was getting out of the house as much as possible, so as soon as the baby was fed, we'd go for a walk after breakfast and again in the afternoon after the toddler had napped. It was quite stressful during the first months but I'd remind myself that being cooped up inside is even worse!

Have you thought of breaking up the day with some structure on the days you’re at home? Eg Monday morning walk to park and play on swings, lunch, afternoon do play doh with DS.
Tuesday morning, maybe a toddler group before lunch then painting or colouring in the afternoon.

I used to use the telly for that hour before dinner when I needed to cook a meal, which meant it had some power as it hadn’t been on all day.

I try and play even when the TV is on or off. Unfortunately he isn't massively into just playing. Throwing everything out and making a huge mess he loves and running around and roughhousing he could do forever. I can sometimes get him to play with me for a little bit but never very long.

Whilst I have been pregnant I haven't been able to run around with him or roughouse. And obviously once the baby is here I'm not going to be able to do it as much as we used to as between taking care of the baby and the fact we will have to be more careful with a baby around we will have to limit the running and bits as there isn't enough space.

Don’t be too hard on yourself about the telly
maybe it can be on a bit.
what about play cafes - usually a space you can have a coffee and there’s some toys in the corner for kids to play with. You’re not trekking around the soft play with them then. Or places with soft play areas for babies, usually more open plan and easier for you

playdough and arts and crafts, getting out the house when you can even just to the garden if you have one or a walk around the block. Long baths with lots of toys, bath crayons and nice lights, supermarket and have him help you by scanning everything and putting in the trolly,
reading, some independent play, playing together, listening and dancing to music, having visitors, church playgroups (normally much cheaper!) have him help you make dinner, or to do other housework

I agree with the pp, structure. I always had a plan for the week, a class in the morning (look for a cheap parent run playgroup) or a play date with another family, park or walks or museums in the afternoon.

We did lots of projects, eg go for a walk and pick up leaves, look up the names of the trees when you get home, then paint them/make a collage etc etc (over a couple of days)

Reading, baking, blocks, trains, making music, crafts, gardening there’s lots you can do. Get a sling for the baby.

A bit of TV from time to time really isn’t the worst thing in the world.

That sounds tough when he’s a bundle of energy. As other PPs have said, being outside daily can really help both your DS and you. He’s gets to run off some steam and it will help to leave the house when baby is here. If the telly is just in in the background all day and he’s not watching it, then it can be off rather than on.

Where did you walk? My toddler doesn't seem to like the local park and has hit the age where he doesn't like to just walk in the pram but equally can only walk very short distances on foot. Did you drive to more exciting places?

If we take him to the zoo or something hes happy to be out for ages. Just going to the park and hes bored in 15 minutes! Obviously we cant constantly go to zoos both financially and they are all a long drive away!

I can't wait until hes old enough to run around a soft play.

What’s available locally for you @Karma1387? Do you live in a town or city? Have you looked at what’s on at your nearest Family Hub?

I would love to find some structure for our days! I may just have to take him to the local park even if we are only there 15 mins or so.

I have been trying to introduce arts and craft bits at home and play doh. Playdough he ripped apart and then he asks to put it all in the bin 🙈 and drawing he just seems to get bored so so quick but I will 100% keep trying with the drawing!

Our family hub is rubbish. They only have 1 activity on in the week for walkers and its a day hes at nursery.

We have groups and stuff around but they are so pricey and truthfully I can't stand them. They are so awkward and he either sticks to me or hes a tornado I have to constantly grab and pull away. But perhaps we need to give them another try. If he knows it means getting out the house perhaps he will behave.

The weekends are the harder one as obviously there isn't any activities on. Although I am looking at toddler football for him.

We walked to the local parks, around a bit of woodland or countryside walk, to the shops. Potentially a short drive/bus/train ride first, but the bus and train are part of the adventure at this age. Does he have a balance bike or scooter? They're good for extending the distance you can go and making it more fun for him.

Set up an indoor obstacle course for him, nothing complicated, under this chair, over these cushions, in and out of these marks made with masking tape. Hallways are good for this. We did skittles in the hallway as well, using a big outdoor ball at first – lots of running up and down the hallway to fetch the ball and reset the skittles (or 'skittles', ours were made of cardboard).

Toddler trampoline – we have the Galt one, which notionally goes flat to store, although it would be minorly annoying to unscrew the handle every day. It does say 3+, but we got it for DD1 at not quite 2.5 because it was winter and I was heavily pregnant. DD2 was quite a lot younger than that when she started using it.

Life would probably be a lot easier if I had friends to do things with. We don't have museums around us but if I don't mind driving a bit of a way we do have some country parks and national trust walks so they may interest him more than the local park. I just need to put my big girl pants on and drive there!

Wow. Did you really find these things worked at such a young age? I can't imagine getting his attention on things like this. If hes outside he just runs around, would be great if I could get him to focus on things when we are out but I guess this will come with practice and age. Some with things at home but perhaps I need a declutter of toys and introduce for structure to things.

Make up something sensory in a washing up bowl, chuck some plastic figures in, then put the bowl and the toddler in the empty bath. When he's done, lift the bowl out, shower off the thick of it, then fill the bath for more splashy fun and to clean him off.

Sensory options
Corn flower, water & food coloring

Jellybaff (don't make whole bath, just one spoon in a few letters)

Orbeez (order dry one of ebay & soak overnight, generally get a few weeks of play)

Dry serial & angel delight

I'm not sure about play cafes near us. I haven't ever heard of the term but I will have a look.

I'm ashamed to say I don't go shopping in person. I hate shopping so do it all online! I would really like to involve him in cooking/baking once my kitchen is sorted and safe.

Classes can be very expensive but church playgroups are usually only a couple of pounds and include a kid's snack and tea and biscuits for you. We had to try a couple before finding one we both liked!

I have a v similar week to you, although my DC is 3. We walk to our a gymnastics class on Monday morning, via a park if it's dry, home for lunch and then either play at home or back out to park/library for the afternoon. Then Tuesday we do playgroup in the morning and usually either see a friend or grandparents in the afternoon. The rest of the week DC is at nursery and baby and I can relax a bit! A buggy board is great for walking longer distances, you can get some with a seat which might be better if he's younger. At home, Duplo, magnatiles, train track, playdoh and colouring are the big hits. And TV on every day from 4pm!

He has one of those bike things which has the long handle I can push. I will get that back out once the weather improves.

I did buy him an indoor climbing frame for christmas to try and stop him climbing my sofa but he doesn't use it as much as I had hoped.

The toddler trampoline may be a good shout although he can't jump yet.

Oh and a toddler tower for your kitchen. I give them jobs like counting out the sweetcorn one by one and let them pick at veg/grated cheese to occupy them while I cook.

Perhaps it’s worth asking nursery what his day looks like there and kind of mimicking it at home. Ask which activities he likes best there and try some at home. DS won’t be 2 forever and I do think all children benefit from routine, if you can implement it now, it will pay dividends in the future. Start with the two days a week he’s not a nursery then look at weekends. Do you do things as a family at weekends?

I think especially at the moment the challenge has been he naps betweem 12.30-1pm and wakes up around 3-4pm so its dark by the time hes up from his nap and eaten something.

Once the days draw out ai imagine it will be a bit easier as we can at least go for a walk in the evening!

We used to walk to the park (both DC in the pram/buggy) where the toddler would go around in circles on his balance bike. He also enjoyed playing in the sandpit. We didn't do anything complicated like going to the zoo because it was too exhausting for everyone involved, and I wanted to stay close to home.
There is also a very quiet pedestrian street in our area where we'd occasionally spend an hour or two - the toddler would take his toy cars to play with, or a bucket and play with the water from the fountain, or climb up and down the steps in the middle of the street. Simple pleasures!
I also recommend going out with other mums or adults willing to give you a hand.

Soft play, playdough, baking, colouring, reading, don't cut out TV completely being heavily pregnant with a toddler is exhausting just focus on surviving for now.

Does your zoo have an annual membership? We have a ZSL membership which includes both London and Whipsnade, and although we don’t use the latter as much, I found London great as it was easy to get to (for me) and you can go as many times as you want and bring a picnic. Maybe your local zoo has something like that?

Feeding the ducks at the park, museums, etc were good time killers (just getting on a tube or bus too!). Our best buy was one of those kitchen helpers. It folds away so doesn’t get in the way. It was great for helping with cooking, or just filling up the sink and letting them play with bowls in that.

Mine wasn’t keen on drawing or toys at that age either, but the grandparents bought a bean bag and they loved climbing on it, throwing themselves at it, etc.!

We didn’t do any classes or soft play, I found them either boring (classes), or a loud crazy nightmare (soft play)!

My other half works nights and all weekend unfortunately so we don't really get a lot of family time. He has a Wednesday off which he tries really hard to engage with my toddler so I can rest but my toddler isnt keen on me not joining them. He does take him swimming on the Wednesday.

At nursery they mainly free play and a bit of garden time and some arts and crafts and reading by himself which he loves. Ill be honest hes there 7.5 hours but i'm pretty sure between his naps (1-2 hours depending on his mood), snack, lunch and afternoon tea he doesn't have too many hours to fill 🤣

With my 2 year old we both need to be out of the house by 10am latest or we get stir crazy. We dont have a car but have good local public transport.

Usually outside and active (park - playground, collect sticks, scooter, kick a beach ball).
Library rhyme time, church playgroup ( the one we liked best had a big space that he could run around) local leisure centre soft play - is there really not a part for u5s that he could do?

At home - sensory input(get a little step and/or toddler tower so he can safely stand at the sink and play with cups/sieve/slotted spoon/jug

Sawdust or rice bin - again with basic utensils.

Garden - moving soil/water from one pot to another, stirring them together.

Find somewhere with a set of stairs or a reasonable slope that he can ascend a few times to tire himself out.