Things to do w/18 month old

TheMalleys

The long days of summer are here and I am running out of things to do w/ my 18 mo on the weekends. Usually we swim, play outside in the yard, or go to the park. But that's getting pretty old. She is too young to do things like go to a movie or outdoor concert. So all of the festivle type stuff going on she is too young for. Any ideas?

neverblushed

My best advice on this topic, having gone through toddlerhood with two children is not to over-do it with outings and activities. An 18-month old doesn't know the concept of "boredom" yet because they have so few life experiences that EVERYTHING is new. The littlest things will amaze and impress them.   They love and crave repetition.  Similarly, they are easily overwhelmed by too much new, exciting stimulation.

So, while YOU may be bored and understimulated by the endless cycle of swim, play outside, go to park, repeat -- odds are, this is just right for your child.  Instead of looking for newer, bigger, more exciting things to do, change up the regulars by adding new experiences to the routine.  Buy a new pool toy for the pool, take a picnic to the park, or go in the evening instead of morning, take bubbles or a ride-on car to the park when you go.

In addition to that, here are some great, easy, activities and "outings" that my kids loved when they were young toddlers:

--Petsmart - much better for a kid this age than the zoo.  Zoo before age 2 = waste of time + guaranteed tantrum.  Don't get me wrong; I love the zoo, but it's big, the animals are too distant and hard to see/recognize, and it just doesn't work as well for a one year old as seeing fish and hamsters up close.

--Farmer's Market/Amish Market - seeing interesting veggies and baked good up close is fun for a toddler.

--Post office -- for some reason, my kids LOVED seeing all the little boxes and pictures of stamps.  The loved when I would buy stamps from the machine, and loved peeking to help mail letters and to peek in the slot where the letters go.

--Home Depot - let your child choose a paint sample card, look at the appliances, visit the plants, examine the cool tools.  A Home Depot trip is better for a toddler than a trip to the museum of industry.  Of course, you can combine your toddler outing with your errands, but it's fun to go and let your child choose what to see in the store.

--A walk in a downtown area -- if you live in a suburban neighborhood or rural area, it's fun to drive to the nearest city or town and walk around a more urban neighborhood.  You can look in store windows, see the cool stoplights and street signs, see statues and fountains, maybe look at dogs in a dog park, then wind up at a playground or get an ice cream.

One thing all these have in common is that they don't involve a major journey to get there, have a flexible agenda, don't cost much (or anything) yet all allow your child to see/experience the world and to develop language and vocabulary.  And all of these get you out of the house!

My typical toddler outing routine would be as follows:

leave home, do one Mommy errand, do one toddler fun errand, grab lunch or a snack, head home for nap.

HTH!

brightning

The water table was the best investment I ever made. We bought it last summer when DD was 1. She used it pretty much every single day. Right now we've got sand in it, but today we're switching back to water. Some day this summer I want to make clean mud (toilet paper and Borax) and do that in there.

I offer her different toys to put in it, ice cubes, toys frozen in ice cubes, etc. She likes it so much better than the baby pool (we got rid of that). I wish we'd gotten the one that looks like a sink that has a running faucet. But even still, the Step2 one that we got works just fine.

We have a zoo membership that has also become invaluable. It's so nice to go and spend as much or as little time as we want, have lunch and go home. Sometimes I pack a lunch but lately I've been buying it there.

Every day we do some kind of crafty thing. Playdoh, crayons, markers, sidewalk chalk, stickers, etc. Around 20 mos I started doing things with paint, etc.

 

amygauntt@windstream.net

We do a lot of swimming, in our little pool in the backyard, and big pool with friends (we have many friends with community or personal pools, but I know that may not be an option, but DD loves her little pool just as well!). We go to the library some, they have a children's area. The park.

I'm going to disagree with above poster about the zoo. My 18 month old LOVES the zoo, I guess it depends on your child. We only go for a couple hours, and in the morning (so it's not too hot). I'm sure if we made it an all day thing, she'd get irritated, but I don't think there is ANYTHING we could do for more than a couple hours without her getting irritated!

If I think of more stuff we do, I'll post again. We just go with the flow and find things to do (even if it's just going to WM or Target for an hour). Neither one of us can stand to be in the house for more than 1 full day.

Read2Me

Eva loves the zoo too! ?We go right when it opens at 10 and usually eat lunch there (I pack a picnic because zoo food is pricey) and are home by one. ?We also go to the library about once a week. ?The other day I put a vinyl tablecloth out on the driveway and filled some different sized buckets/tupperware with water and let Eva use different scoops to transfer the water between the buckets. ?She had a blast and ended up dragging her little chair over and sticking her feet in one of the buckets to splash. ?Bubbles are also a big hit. ?We also go to our local farmer's market once a week and she likes seeing all the people. ?Eva also likes to "help" in the garden- she has her own little shovel and rake that she uses to move the dirt and mulch around. ?She also helps water the plants with her own little watering can.

omurray

Definitely a water table (we have the Step 2 one and love it) and a little watering can so that she can water the grass, flowers, etc..  For whatever reason, water keeps toddlers busy for a long while!