How do u keep baby busy??

Angie - posted on 01/23/2010

I didn't read all the posts but what works wonders for me is to let baby "help" you. Emily helps me with the laundry by sitting in the basket on the way to fold them...and she will take them out and sometimes the basket becomes her new toy for about 15 min. She helps me "cook" and I give her pots and pans and spoons or whatnot..and she will stir on the floor while I am at the stove. She helps me turn on and off lights, turn on the washer, ect. She is starting to learn doorknobs. We also color, paint, play doh, and we read a lot!! We stack blocks and I will also dump them on her (gently) and she will laugh and put them in again so I can do it again. We have a play group we go to twice a week as well. I also made a demolition course and she will take her rider and knock things down - like paper towels stacked on top, soft blocks, ect. Have fun and hope this helps!

Kristie - posted on 01/23/2010

thank you for the info!

Jenni - posted on 01/23/2010

Books! My daughter is 15 months and she adores her pop up books and touchy feely and fuzzy felt (just a nightmare to get the fuzzy felt book off her!!!!). She also loves playing with my wallet and all the cards so she has her own now.....saves any notes being ripped up!! Oh, and Cbeebies can be a life saver for the music and dancing

Rebecca - posted on 01/22/2010

Books are my 15 month olds favourite things, she sits and looks at them on her own and if I sit down at all she will bring me book after book to read.
She also has free access to the tupperware cupboard and by the end of the day I'm picking it up from all over the house. She has started to use the tupperware in play alot with her teddy bears, pretending to feed them.
We have also started with crayons, she likes to scribble but mostly just takes all the crayons out of the container and then put them back again.
She loves blocks and music and trying to climb on all the furniture, pulling cushions off the couch and learning to jump. It certainly makes for a messy house at the end of the day but I have a happy and worn out little girl that goes to sleep beautifully at 7pm each night.

Tina - posted on 01/21/2010

Haven't read all the replies, but we like to play music together. You can get a cheap kids guitar, little keyboard or xylophone, garage sales are great for these. Make a drum from an old oatmeal container and then i make up songs. My son also likes playing with my older ones toys, the big cars and tractors, also great to find at garage sales, and the play barn with animals. A big bouncy ball keeps him busy too.

Emma - posted on 01/21/2010

kristie, phone the council and ask about sure start they shuld send u sum info n tell u were ur nearest childrens centre is and wot is happening in ur town , i take my little girl on a friday morning n she loves it

Kristie - posted on 01/20/2010

ive never heard of a toy library how would i find out if there is one in my town, my daughter is about to be 15 months and would probably love it!

Erin - posted on 01/20/2010

Thank you for the "cooking" idea! Preparing dinner is the hardest time! My daughter really wants my attention and gets upset and frustrated when I can't give it.

Tina - posted on 01/20/2010

The only thing I can add is that my guy likes Playdoe. You have to keep an eye on him but he does well with it when shown what to do. His favorite things are his rocking horse, children's music CD, books, & Little Einstein Huge Adventure movie. We are starting play group activities next week. I tried the tissue in the ball popper thing and he liked it but it did not keep his interest for long. Sometimes I put a little water in a sauce pan and give him a big spoon so he can 'cook' like mommy and he stays busy while I am preparing supper. I just put a couple towels on the floor under him.

Erin - posted on 01/20/2010

We did the "finger painting" this morning... I just used berry yogurt - it was great! It has color, so it works, but it's safe for her to eat and I just left her in her PJs and it will wash out. My daughter LOVED it! I also gave her some Cheerios with it, and she loved coating the cereal in the yogurt. I could just see her brain working and it was fun. We like to dance to music, too. She loves doing the motions with me for "Wheels on the Bus" or "Itzy Bitzy Spider." Any song with hand motions. We play 'chase' around the island in our kitchen. Taking things out of containers and putting them back in is a big thing right now... any toy in any kind of container. I have one cupboard in the kitchen that is "hers" and has all the tupperware in it. She loves that it is hers to open whenever and she'll pull everything out and throw the lids around. Sometimes she puts them back, sometimes I do - but she has fun with it, so I don't mind. BUBBLES. We bought some bubbles at Gymboree and they stick around extra long. They don't pop right away, so I do them in the kitchen and she loves that. Chasing them and popping them - that is entertainment for an hour!

Melody - posted on 01/19/2010

I am in a small town too....has anyone looking into the local community education? In my town they have ECFC classes. It's a good way for kids to interact and for moms to learn from both a teacher and other moms.

My little guy LOVES big block legos. We build and tear down non-stop for about an hour. we have fridge magnets that work on anything metal, not just the fridge. He likes to test them on the dryer/washer too. We play a lot of "chase me". READING, one of the best things to help with language skills. We "wrestle" with blankets, i wrap him up and pretend to lose him, he laughs hysterically. Baby genius movies, can't go wrong, or Nick JR, but only in short spurts when you are at a loss for activities.

i read other suggestions...I am going to have to try the finger painting!

Jonna - posted on 01/19/2010

For the finger painting, I let Lexie do it in her high chair. I take all of her clothes off, leaving her diaper on. Her high chair is easy to wash off. I tape a piece of paper down on her tray and put a few drops of each color in the middle of the paper and let her have at it!!!!!! I can get a load of laundry folded or the dishwasher emptied by the time she is done.... Then it's off to the bath tub!!!!
Enjoy!!!

Stephanie - posted on 01/19/2010

Raelynn and I started going to the community center for a few hours on the weekends, they have an indoor pool and it only cost $2 to swin for up to 4 hours. Also our local mall has a play area in it. We sometimes visit that as well. One thing that has really saved me is that I also joined a gym that has a child care in it. She gets to play with other children and I get some me time. Good Luck

Sherree - posted on 01/19/2010

For the finger painting idea moms, how do you set them up so they don't get it where you don't want it? For instance, if I set on the floor in the kitchen and had her naked or in old clothes, how do I stop her from running into another room and getting the paint on furniture? I don't really want to do this in the bathtub since it would be nice to have an activity she could do where I need to get something done. She already really enjoys her baths and will play happily in the bathtub while I get ready for work. Looking for suggestions.

Jonna - posted on 01/19/2010

Have you tried finger painting???? You can find some homemade finger paint recipes on the internet..... I think alot of them use pudding or something that can be eaten. Lexie loves to finerpaint, color with crayons. We sing the ABC song (she can get to F all by herself) also counting blocks when stacking them teaches them to count. She loves book also. We are lucky to have her big brother (just turned 3) to help keep her busy. They play really well together!

Kelly - posted on 01/19/2010

Everyone has great suggestions! MY 15 month old daughter loves music & dancing, so I take her to a babies music class every week, and play music at home for her while she's playing with toys. I bundle her up and take her for long walks in the stroller on days it's not awful outside. Also, I take her to a local pool that is saltwater & heated to 93 degrees, she & I both love that! Other than that, it does get hard to come up with ideas everyday, but I find playdates are good when you really need to distract your child from the usualy stuff!

Brandiesha - posted on 01/18/2010

Me and my daughter do baby exercises. We jog in place run in circles, kick out our legs, do squats. You'll be in shape and you'll lead your child down a path of healthy living. Then after you can eat a healthy snack and draw eachother. It's fun!

Lori - posted on 01/18/2010

Some things my bubs loves:
--music. Sometimes I'll pop in a CD (we really like Laura Freeman and also the Wombles), and I'll sing along and dance with him. He hums and dances along. Or just make up funny songs and sing to him. We also have an electronic practice piano that we've put on the floor, which he likes to play with, and he has some drumsticks that he likes to use to beat on things (with my supervision, to make sure he doesn't hit something like a window!)
--A push/ride-on choo-choo train toy. Has little levers to pull and a spinny thing with colorful balls in it, and he loves to push it around the room.
--pots or pans, or other safe kitchen items; he clangs the lids and bangs on the pots with a wooden spoon.
--taking things out of one thing and putting them in another. So he likes taking his clean clothes out of a drawer and putting them in the laundry hamper. Fun, fun! (He's also a picker upper - so it's not just girls!
--going outside into the garden. I encourage him to smell the herbs that are growing, like rosemary and thyme, and he enjoys picking flowers and leaves and tearing them up. He's also happy to sit with a small shovel and play in the dirt a bit.
--chasing games, where I follow him, walking or crawling around the house.
--sign language. We've been teaching him signs, and he has recently really started to pick it up, so I will go through the house signing various things. Or I'll just sit with him and ask him to show me signs: Rowan, can you show me "airplane"? Yes! Show me "baby!" etc.
--reading. Particularly when he's starting to get sleepy, he'll bring me a book and sit on my lap to read it together.
--remote controls... ok, so not toys, but he's obsessed with them - anything with buttons. We have a remote control for the ceiling fan/light in his room, and he gets no end of fun from playing with that.

Jenna - posted on 01/18/2010

i havent read all the posts, but what about giving bub a colouring book and pencils or crayons my son loves them, i also get the paint out for him to finger paint gets heaps on him but he sits there for hours, i just put newspaper on the floor or a old rug! i have fun playing with him with it all to! we have made cards for ppl birthdays etc with him painting on them so cute! i have also just brought blocks he loves playing with them heaps

Sherree - posted on 01/18/2010

LOL - about the picking up things being a girl thing. My husband has two boys by another marriage and he always raises his eyebrows to see our daughter picking things up and putting them away. Makes me proud.



Brenda: I am definitely jealous of the places your city provides. We live in a small town with one library and one toy lending library. They both have good hours that they are open, but only the library is open evenings. The toy library is open 1 evening a week. The library only has toddler/baby programs once a week in a morning. So if a person happens to work mornings, then that is out. Still leaves long parts of the day and evening with "no where to go". We have no mall. So in the winter, there is no where to take a stroller and meet other moms. The best we have is Safeway or Walmart. During my daughter's first year, I would often brave the drive to one of them (she hated car rides) just to be able to stroll around somewhere and see other people.

Breann - posted on 01/18/2010

They're definitely not too young for reading - my little guy wants to read for at least an hour or two a day (not all at the same time, in segments)! And it's one of the best things you can do with them in terms of language development. Happy reading!

Kavita - posted on 01/18/2010

wow Sheree that is a long list,thank u so much for your reply.Well,my lil boy hates picking things up,I think it's a girl thing :) Shiven likes to shred kleenex too but I have to do the picking up after he's done!!maybe I should try reading books with him,I always thought he was too young for it...hmm...let's see

Brenda - posted on 01/17/2010

We have a children's museum that I'm starting to take my son to once a week. It has all kinds of learning activities for kids of all ages and there are other kids and parents that you can get together with. There are some shopping malls that have 'mommy and me' activities for kids. The library or book stores also have story time periodically that is fun and teaches them fun little games. I also got him some soft 'indoor' balls for him to learn to toss and kick around the house. His favorite activity is hide n seek and being 'chased' around the house.

Katie - posted on 01/17/2010

have you a leisure centre nr by? Briony has just started swimming lessons & she LOVES it - lovely activities & toys to play with.

Sherree - posted on 01/17/2010

I'm interested in hearing other peoples' suggestions. Everyone can always use more ideas! Some things we've done in the last couple days: I have gotten other moms and toddlers to meet us at the Toy Lending Library on a Saturday morning. I've taken her to church every Sunday lately and she gets to play with different toys in their nursery and see the kids and different people. We got for rides in the sleigh when it's not too cold (-15 is my limit!) We've taken all her stuffed toys out of their basket and lined them up on window ledges - she seemed to enjoy this. Then she hands each one to me and then puts them back. We've also emptied pop cans out of our drink fridge downstairs and then put them back in on the door shelves (she loves this too, crazy). We play with crayons (she doesn't really draw, she just likes putting them in and out of their case). We feed goldfish crackers to her toys and the dog and ourselves. We put gold fish crackers or a little water into her tea set and pour them around. We bought a ball popper (fan that blows air and pops balls up, then they roll down a ramp and do it all over again) and we discovered that putting shredded up pieces of kleenex into it is a lot of fun (makes snow!). We read books - I found she was bored of her board books so I brought out some older kids books (Disney ones with pictures) and she likes books again. We watch Baby Einstein videos. Last night her dad downloaded Beauty and the Beast and we tried her with it (weren't sure if it was above and beyond her) and she really liked the musical numbers. We bang on her Dad's drums. She plays at pushing me down and then pulling me back up (makes her feel empowered I guess - she laughs like crazy). I chase her around the house saying "I'm going to get you". I put things in her pockets and she tries to take them out and put them back in. She likes me to pull her pull-toys around the house and she follows me (she doesn't like to pull them herself). Recently I obtained some of the vintage Fisher Price toys (the house, the school, the farm) and she really enjoys putting the little people into their chairs or cars. I am looking to get some more of it - I really want the clubhouse because there are lots of doors and slides to put the people in. We put little people and balls down Christmas paper cardboard tubes too. Sometimes I let her tear up kleenex and then get her to pick it all up one piece at a time and put it in the garbage. Sometimes I just tell her to go get me things (like go get your shoe, go get Mom a book) to see if she understands and keep her busy.



But ya, I'm running out of ideas too. Can't wait til spring!