Keeping my son occupied during the day

Heather - posted on 01/23/2010

We have a childrens museum just down the street from us, it's great! It's kind of like a science center, but has things for children 1 and up. All of my kids love it. And it keeps them entertained for hours, while they are learning about lights, music, money, or even dancing or putting on plays. It's just great!

Victoria - posted on 01/23/2010

Check out the internet and see if they have any museums or historical site around your area. When my kids were little we use to do day outings like that. We'd pick a theme for the week (dinosours, knights, boats, cars, flying, flowers, bugs to name a few we did), do an outing, find a story book, a movie, a song to learn, a craft and a toy or a game on the subject (not always all of them) and the kids loved telling/showing daddy what we did on our topic each day. It was so fun and some subjects took up more than a week. We always had stuff like flash cards around and of course we loved the library.

Tracy - posted on 01/22/2010

Thank you all for your help and suggestions, I really appreciate it! Can't believe I didn't think of the library, I worked in one for 5 years! Luke loves water so I'm going to try the sink and working on crafts with him.

Linda - posted on 01/21/2010

How about the library? Libraries usually have a childrens area with puzzles, etc. Often they will have story time for toddlers on several days a week. Even sitting on the floor and looking at picture books would be fun. It will get you out and around other children and moms as well.

Chrislyn - posted on 01/21/2010

I live in western Pennsylvania and we face many days during the winter where we cannot go outside because of the cold weather. I found that my daughter became maturely independent with her playtime. Now that she is 3 and a half, she entertains her 12 month old sister. I would supervise from a distance when she was younger (and now) at her playing and only interveined when she wanted to include me. This way I did not become glued to her hip because she would not (or could not) play alone. She formed a nice imagination, loves playing with Mr. Potato Head (we have an extended set), and using the easel / chalk board. She chatters away like there is a whole room full of students. She became an independent child who has matured nicely. I also scheduled playdates with other Moms in my MOPS group. They lasted about an hour or so, but it was nice for her and and me, because I was able to visit with another adult and get to know other moms. Don't get me wrong, I do play with the girls, but I also let them grow on their own and learn to entertain themselves.

Sheelah - posted on 01/20/2010

21 months might be a little young for crafts and I wasn't big into doing crafts with my kids until recently (just because I didn't think of it until recently) but could you do something like glue macaroni to a paper type craft with him? Or make a shaker out of popcorn seeds and paper plates? I'm sure he's have fun decorating the plates! What I find fun with my kids on a rainy day (not every day of course) is making a "bed" (layering every blanket you have) on the living room floor and having a movie afternoon! My kids just LOVE that! If you into cooking with your kids maybe you could bake with him or have him help make some suppers to freeze, although 21 months might be a little young for that, depending on the mom :) Do you have friends with kids you could have over or go visit during the day?

Helen - posted on 01/20/2010

Oh that's a tricky one! Is he old enough yet to be able to stand at the sink on a little step and play with plastic cups in the water? That's always a good one for keeping them entertained. Does he have a ride-on truck that he could ride about the house? And if he likes to play with toys then you can't beat a simple bag of little wooden bricks for building and knocking down towers. I also saw some lovely little playmats with road layouts on for sale on eBay, which he might be old enough to play on with some little cars. Happyland is one make that does them, but there are lots of others. Hope some of that helps!

Helen x