What kind of activities can you do to keep you and your baby entertained through out the day?

Michaela - posted on 02/03/2009

Hi, have you ever heard of an activity called the "treasure basket"? Sit child in the middle of the room with a basket/box full of every day objects, not their toys, ie, wooden spoon, plastic cup, whatever you find around the house which is safe for your child to explore. Sit back and watch them engrossed in the different objects exploring them. The activity is not supposed to be adult lead, rather the adult sits back and watches, or gets on with other things. Theres not mean't to be any verbal interaction either. I've done it with my children when they were younger and its facinating to watch them. 

Kimberly - posted on 02/02/2009

i also spend a ,ot of time with the baby, we recently bought your baby can read and it is fun. we play games amd interact the best we can with her only being 16 months but she like the kids and the music. sometime i can put her in her high chair and get somethings done while she watch the video. it is a great investment and they also learn which is great.

Malerie - posted on 02/02/2009

My kids and I are non stop. My eldest is 4 and he needs to be entertained all day, he wont play by himself at all. We put a cd of nursery rhymes on and dance and sing to that. We bake either cakes, cookies, muffins, fruit bars etc. One thing every day. Then they help me wash up after baking. We have reading time, go for walks to the park, play outside in the back yard, they really love digging in the garden. When my little two sleep my eldest watches a movie so I can have a rest. We play games on the computer, we have a bunch of alphabet, number and shape games. But even if you dont have games then you can go somewhere on the net like the wiggles website has games and colouring in and stuff. We have learning time where my eldest does some writting and I sit with my 2 yr old and use flash cards with colours, numbers, alphabet. We have bath time, they are allowed to play in the bath for about half an hour. We do craft, painting, drawing, making animals etc. We made finger puppets together and now we do little shows together, pretending and when my son thinks of another character he wants then we make another one together. Then we have time just playing with the toys we own together. We dont get to do everything every day as we have two cars so my kids go to other activites we pay for like music class, kindy gym and swimming lessons but my kids are never short of activities at home.

Wendy - posted on 02/02/2009

it is always easier to find things to do, that do not require using a vehicle , in the summer. At least then you can go for a walk, go to the park or just hang out in the backyard. Luckily, we do have two cars and I am able to take my kids out during the day...however, we did purposely try to conceive my second child so that he would be born in the summer because the winter months do seem to drag out when you have a little one at home. My first child was born in October, and it was hard to fill a day when you didn't leave the house. :).

I do remember ,with my daughter ,giving her baths during the day just to fill up an hour. She loves the water and would have  been in there all day if I had let her!!

She also loved watching the Baby Einstein movies. It would keep her occupied while I did laundry or prepared supper.

Good luck.

Kimberly - posted on 02/02/2009

Also, I do let my son rip up magazines but have to watch to make sure he doesn't eat the paper. It's sort of an activity of last resort when he's really rambunctious but the weather is icky or I don't want to go anywhere. He's deliriously happy when ripping paper for some reason. Magazines seem to be the least paper-cut prone paper for some reason... (thin ones like Newsweek or People...) It's good for a kid who is rambunctious, I think. :D

Amber - posted on 02/02/2009

Thank you so much.  My daughter is so rambunctious and likes to get into a lot of things.  Unfortunately my husband and I currently share 1 vehicle and my daughter and I spend the majority of our days in the house.  I'm sure that she would love to tear things up without me always having to tell her "no" all the time!

Kimberly - posted on 02/02/2009

For inside the house stuff, my son LOVES unfolding things when I do laundry, so I'll give him a big pile of towels and washcloths and let him go crazy. He also really likes watching Raffi and other children's music videos on YouTube. Sometimes I put him in the bathtub or sink with his clothes on and let him play in a little water with toys other than his bath toys. (Kitchen stuff mostly.) And he's just now getting into peek-a-boo, so I make pillow and blanket forts in the middle of the living room and we take turns hiding from each other. Have fun!

Wendy - posted on 02/02/2009

I'm not sure where you live, but if it is available, I took both my kids to kindermusik when they were babies. I would also take them to the local pool for family swims. There is also an inside playground near where we live with a baby section. The more you get involved outside the home, the more you get to meet other moms who have children the same age - then you can start setting  up playdates at each others homes.

Anne - posted on 02/02/2009

Go for a walk, go to the park, involve baby in everything you do, like folding clothes washing dishes etc.

I spent a lot of time going to stores in the winter time just to have something to do.    We rarely bought anything but we went to get out of the house.     In the nice weather we walked a lot!     Or just played out side in the yard.    

Now I have a 15 month old and a 4 yr old so they kind of entertain each other.    Or else Im in the middle solving fights.