ideas for keeping a troublesome 2 year old occupied please!

[thisisyesterday]

having major "issues" with ds2 at the moment.
he is 2, and he is into EVERYTHING, and i mean everything. nothing is safe. if i left him in an empty room he'd trash it.

the problem is that i have to cook dinner. evenings seem to be my most stressful part of the day. I aim to give them dinner around 5-5.30 otherwise they get even hungrier/crotchety.
but the moment my back is turned ds2 is just being naughty all over the place.

yesterday while i was preparing dinner he climbed on top of the tumble drier, got into my bag, ripped up a card i had for someone, opened the first aid kit and sprinkled it all over the room, ate most of a bag of rice cakes.
I cleared this up, in between burning bits of dinner, sat him in front of a dvd and went back to kitchen.
moments later he comes up to the gate with a melamine plate he has managed to break in half. I take it, ask his older brother to watch him and get back to dinner
he then empties out every single puzzle we own onto the floor, the box i keep all the cards in from when they were all born, and various other things!!!

it;'s just a bloody nightmare. I know I need to move certain things (ie, the cards etc) but toys and things still need to be accessible for ds1 who is generally very sensible and who never did anything like this lol

please don't suggest having ds2 cook with me. he loves it. but by the evening i have very little patience left and i jsut want to get it done. plus, if left even slightly unattended while i, for example, do something with a hot pan or whatever, he will be into the dishwasher, into the cupboards, emptying the fridge etc etc

i am at a loss tbh. i need some ideas of things that might just keep him occupied for 5-10 mins at a time (i can keep checking on him) so that i can just cook the bloody dinner!!!

bump

I sympathise wholeheartedly, I have a similar situation. I find the only practical solution is a straitjacket.

hmmmm i wonder if i could run one up on the sewing machine...

My only advice is (and this is only if you are a SAHM) is to prepare dinner at lunchtime when they are in a better mood. I have DD2 (2.6) and DD3 (12 months) with me full time and it is pretty unrealistic to try to prepare a meal at 4.30pm as it is the witching hour.

Can you give them their hot meal at lunchtime when everyone is less frazzled? Then something light/sandwiches in the evening? Certainly helped me when ds 2 smaller and bf-ing most of the day.

hmmm yes actually, preparing in advance might work.

i might be able to do it while he has his nap in the afternoon.

ds1 is at school and takes a packed lunch, so i tend to do the hot meal in the evenings. but yes, maybe i can organise myseslf better.

why did i not think of that?

I know you said not to suggest cooking with you, and they have recently been ridiculed on here, but DS (and I) loves his funpod. (Just don't pay that much for one!)
He can stand in it, totally contained, while I make dinner and get him to 'help' in a way that doesn't inconvenience me too much- i.e I give him a courgette and a blunt knife, bowl of dry lentils to stir, move him over to the sink to splash about etc. Yesterday he even managed to provide actual help by rolling fish pieces in flour and egg. It did get a bit messy but no worse than the mayhem you are currently dealing with!
We also keep the playdough and cutters on the worktop so that comes out if cooking is too boring.
Other things that occupy him for longer than 20 seconds are a toy garage+cars, farm set, and TV . He is also very into sticking at the moment- a load of pictures cut out of magazines/catalogues and a Pritt Stick go down well.

Sorry if these suggestions are no use- I have a feeling I am raising a more 'peaceful' child so what works for him may not for yours!

thisis - you always have to be one step ahead of the little terrors! My three wouldn't eat a hot meal for lunch but I ALWAYS have to prepare dinner early.

lol do you know, i ripped the piss out of the funpod on here several years ago when they first came out, but you're right it would completely contain him, and he would be where i could see him!

unfortnately (at the moment) my kitchen is too small to even consider one, but hey, builder coming tomorrow to talk extensions sso you never know!!

I quite often do dinner while DS2 naps after lunch. Something like shepherds pie, bolognese or lasagne or fish pie, then you can just stick it in the oven later on and not be stuck in the kitchen.
Does he still have a highchair? could he sit in that for 10 mins and colour in? eat carrot sticks/cucumber sticks/pepper sticks etc as a kind of starter?

Another vote for making dinner at lunchtime.

There are lots of make ahead recipes that you can just bung in the oven to heat through when you want them. I do these about 3 or 4 nights, the others are weekend so DH around or one night a week if want to do pasta/last minute, then out with play doh/washing up bowl with plastic items. Only do this one night and bribe get DS (6) to supervise.

no highchair, he could get out of it so it's safer to have him on an ordinary chair.

today i gave him colouring in at the table but he just left it in order to go and tip lego all over the floor for the baby to eat

maybe i am safer with him in the kitchen doing something? hmm

i am def going to try and do as much prep as possible during his sleep though, that will help a lot

Also when you do some dinner during his nap, do twice as much as you need. Then you've got one for the freezer/to stick in the fridge for a couple of days time! We've just had shephered pie 2 days in a row.. worth the repetition to avoid having to cook today!

how old is DS1? can you give him very, very clear instructions on how he should manage him for 5 minutes?

teach him some distraction techniques etc etc. say if he manages to keep him entertained for the 5 mins you will give him a pack of gogos/matchattax/whatever - its only once a week if you prep the other days ahead.

its amazing how DS1 pulled it out the bag when there was a reward in it for him. he danced for the little one, ffs. not a pleasant sight.

Do you discipline him? 2 is plenty old enough to understand that going in to your bag is wrong / breaking things is wrong etc.