SAHMs - How do you keep toddlers entertained?

vtkgirl77 · January 2012

I have to admit that sometimes during the winter, I have trouble being at home all day on Saturday and Sunday with the kids. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spending time with them but sometimes I'm at a loss of how to keep them (and especially my toddler) entertained while being indoors all day. I have a problem with getting cabin fever in the winter in general because I don't like being cooped up indoors (however, also don't like being outside when it's freezing out). DH has been sick this weekend so I'm sort of on my own. I took them to the zoo yesterday but today is so cold again so we are stuck inside.

For example, this morning, my toddler played a bit on her own while I took care of the baby. When I put the baby down for her morning nap, we made beaded necklaces. After that, we played with play-doh for at least an hour. Once she was done with that, she looked at me and said "what do we do next?". I really didn't have any ideas. I did let her watch a little TV and then decided that we should go to McDonalds just to get out of the house. I have lots of different stuff in the house to "do" like books, puzzles, crafts, crayons, etc. but I guess I'm just not really good at engaging with her for hours on end. I sort of feel like I get ::hating to admit this:: bored.

Anyway, I'm just wondering if SAHMs have any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, etc. for how you handle being at home all day with kids during the winter. I feel like I sort of suck at this part of being a mom.

kafunder · January 2012

Not a SAHM, but I can relate to that a bit, even though my LO's are younger. What about going to the play areas at the local malls? DH and I have been hitting up one the past few weekends. We went to Potomac Mills today, and the LOs loved the play area. We had lunch after in the food court, although they have picnic tables by the play area, so next time, we'll eat on the cheap and just bring our own lunch.

WinesNotWhines · January 2012

Also not a SAHM, but getting out of the house is essential for us, or everyone gets bored. Even just running errands is better than nothing. We go to the playground or just let kiddo run around in the backyard if the weather is decent. We've also gone to the museums several times this winter. We went to the Natural History Museum and American Indian Museum today. We've also hit up Air and Space at Dulles, which has a big open area with lots of room for kids to run around. I realize going out with two kids is harder than one, so this may only be an option when DH can go with you. Even when I was on maternity leave, I had to get out of the house every day or I went bonkers.

LMH1209 · January 2012

Before DD was born, I was out somewhere with DS most mornings -- story time at the library, music class, playgroup, Gymboree, a museum, the zoo, etc. Now, he still goes to playgroup twice a week, and we do a music class one day. There are more days now, though, that I wimp out of trying to get both of them out of the house. On those days, DS spends a lot of time playing with his Thomas tracks and engines, doing puzzles, and playing with Play-Doh, and we usually end up watching more TV than I'd like to admit -- some combination of Dinasour Train, Curious George, and Thomas.

kastle · January 2012

We get out of the house at least once during the day. This could be to run errands, go to lunch, go to the library, go for a walk (I've got the cover for the stroller so he stays warm, i just have to bundle up), etc.

For inside things, I blow bubbles (inside, on ugly carpet I don't care about), color, play elaborate pretend games (like, I'll bring out cutting boards, pots, cooking utensils & we'll pretend to cook for his stuffed animals), play the "helping mommy" game (like "help" fold laundry), play with cardboard boxes (we always have a few around & we'll color on them & turn them into stoves or houses or whatever)...

Ultimately (and this probably makes me a lazy mom), I just try to take Sprout's lead on what he wants to do & try not to plan too much stuff for him. I want him to be able to entertain himself and not rely on me to thing up things. Maybe next time she says "what's next?" you could ask her if she has any ideas...this doesn't all need to be on you!

since your daughter is a little older, could she help you bake? Especially something easy like cookies that is mostly scoop measuring, stirring & then dropping spoonfuls on a baking sheet. After cookies are cooked & cooled, you could have a little tea party. Another idea is just changing the scene. Sprout gets bored playing in our living room, but go into his room or our room or even the (unfinished) basement to play is more fun. Sometimes we play dress up. If you don't mind going into DC, the museums are really great (we just took Sprout to Natural History & he LOVED it. Like a zoo where the animals don't move! LOL). A few times I've also done "indoor bowling" which is putting some of our (plastic) water bottles in formation as pins & rolling a ball to knock them down. Unfortunately this usually incites destructive tendencies in Sprout.

bh2720 · January 2012

Like many of the pp, I minimize how much time is just spent at home (of course, this will be more difficult when #2 gets here). But when we are stuck at home, we do a LOT of reading, tons of puzzles and (I know this won't be a surprise) he spends a lot of time putting on concerts and "playing" his instruments. Also, he got some pretend power tools and a tool belt for xmas so we do "construction". For pretty much all these games (except reading) we start off playing together and then I will often leave the room to go get my phone or start dinner or something like that and then he can entertain himself for about 20ish minutes (I've been working hard on getting him to entertain himself more).

Another thing that really keeps his attention is just listening to music. We have an iPod player in our living room and I have a few playlists just for him on my iPod and he'll sit on the sofa and listen to music. This actually what he usually does while I'm making dinner.

tomandcourt · January 2012

I would definitely try to get outside. We try to get J out to one of the playgrounds near us every weekend morning to wear him out. Other morning activities include reading, playing with toys, coloring . . . jumping on the bed . . . We go to the farmer's market, J "helps" me make food, and we go out on errands as well. We only recently were able to take him to the grocery store, but quick trips to Target/Trader Joe's are doable.

I think it also helps to have a routine (not necessarily a schedule). So we always do: breakfast, toys at home, outside activities (playground + something else), then home for snack and nap. Afternoon is lunch, indoor activities, and then an errand or visiting with family. I think it's easier for me to deal with potential for boredom (mine, not J's) if I know what's coming next.

Oh and one other thing . . . we do try to rotate toys in and out. So, since he just got a bunch of new stuff for Christmas, we put away a bunch of J's older toys. Then we'll bring some of the older ones out in another month or two and he'll be excited about them all over again.

anna12 · January 2012

I keep a calendar where I write all sorts of local events--programs at the local nature center, library storytime, craft fairs. . . then on down days I have a ready-made list of things going on that we turn to when we need to get out and "do" something. I get the info from our local town listserv, e-mail blasts from our favorite places (nature centers, museums, etc), and parent newspapers like Kidstreet news, etc. It doesn't take a long time, and it is also useful when I need to tell DH just to get out and do something with DD for a few hours.

kastle · January 2012

bh2720:

Another thing that really keeps his attention is just listening to music. We have an iPod player in our living room and I have a few playlists just for him on my iPod and he'll sit on the sofa and listen to music. This actually what he usually does while I'm making dinner.

Oh, I forgot about this! We dance a lot to workout energy. Tango'ing to Beyonce is his favorite.

smacb · January 2012

I'm a SAHM. We try to get out of the house at least once a day, Barnes and Noble and the play area at the mall are good places for days we don't have a playdate or activity. I try not to structure his play too much. We have toys in his room and toys downstairs. He's always likes his train table, puzzles, Little People, toy kitchen, stuffed animals, coloring, Legos. If he's restless, I'll suggest a toy or activity, but I generally let him decide what he wants to play with. He usually assigns me a toy and a role, something like I'm Elmo and Elmo is eating the snack he's cooking in his kitchen.

bh2720 · January 2012

also, I keep forgetting to check this, but I did pin it ages ago:

https://counting-on-me.blogspot.com/2011/05/101-things-to-do-with-your-toddler.html

vtkgirl77 · January 2012

Thanks ladies for all of the suggestions and ideas. I'm glad to hear that I am somewhat normal. I was thinking that something was wrong with me because being at home all day is hard for me (especially in the winter) but it sounds like most people do one outing most days with the kids. I think part of it is that I'm just totally over the cold weather. I want spring to come. Maybe my prayers have been heard though because the next two days are supposed to be warm. Yippee!

I do appreciate the ideas. I keep a list in my phone of kids activities so I will add your ideas to the list. We haven't done the museums at all so that would be a good thing to do if we have some more cold weekends. Also, I haven't spent much time with her at the library but that's another easy thing to do. I also need to use that list from Pinterest and some of your ideas to make a list of indoor at-home activities to do so that when we are forced to be at home, I have some more ideas.

To answer one of the posts, I have started cooking with DD and she absolutely loves it. I was actually planning to make bran muffins with her this weekend only to realize I didn't have one of the ingredients. But cooking is a really good activity because DD likes it and I am actually getting something accomplished.

MrsPhilDunphy · January 2012

Another non-SAHM, but it is super rare for us to be home all day on the weekends. We were home about 90% the weekend we started PTing and I thought we would all go insane. We are constantly going to festivals, wineries, parks, playdates, meals with family etc.

Does DD1 have any interest in airplanes or trains? The College Park Aviation Museum is GREAT for little kids and we haven't tried it yet with C but I think the National Trolley Museum would be a good outing too. Even though I work in a museum downtown, the trek downthere with a toddler is daunting, so we've been looking for smaller, more local ideas.

Also, cardboard boxes. I am not even kidding when I say C can spend hours playing with the boxes I bring home from Costco. And that is with little help from me (I've tried to convince him to color the boxes of make them a car or a space ship, but he insists on doing his own thing. Whatever. Gives me time to drink my coffee.)

vtkgirl77 · January 2012

MrsPhilDunphy:
Another non-SAHM, but it is super rare for us to be home all day on the weekends. We were home about 90% the weekend we started PTing and I thought we would all go insane. We are constantly going to festivals, wineries, parks, playdates, meals with family etc.
Does DD1 have any interest in airplanes or trains? The College Park Aviation Museum is GREAT for little kids and we haven't tried it yet with C but I think the National Trolley Museum would be a good outing too. Even though I work in a museum downtown, the trek down there with a toddler is daunting, so we've been looking for smaller, more local ideas.
Also, cardboard boxes. I am not even kidding when I say C can spend hours playing with the boxes I bring home from Costco. And that is with little help from me (I've tried to convince him to color the boxes of make them a car or a space ship, but he insists on doing his own thing. Whatever. Gives me time to drink my coffee.)

Thanks for the local museum ideas. Yes, part of the reason I haven't gone to the downtown museums is my own fear about how to navigate that trip (do we ride the metro? if we drive, where do we park? how long will this take and are we going to miss a nap, etc.) DD loves trains and planes so that would be good for her.

I haven't done much with boxes either but that's a good idea too.

Artslvr · January 2012

Getting out of the house for at least 1.5 or 2 hours in the mornings on Saturdays and Sundays is essential. Not because we get bored, but we live in a fairly small house (well, small for a family of five) so we drive each other completly CRAZY if we're all cooped up together. The magic witching hour in my house is 8:30 am. The kids wake up around 6 or 6:30 and by 8:30 we've watched enough TV, done arts and crafts, made up games, etc and the kids just start getting on each others' nerves (and mine) if we don't get out and do something.

You got great ideas above, I just wanted to add that we take them on all our errands - Giant, BJ's, Home Depot, whatever. Because really any outing is better than none.

And the indoor play areas a Landmark and Fair Oaks malls have been our stomping grounds, particularly this winter - this winter kind of blows because it's all the cold but none of the fun snow! I'd so much rather be sledding!

WinesNotWhines · January 2012

I want to add something else: If your DD seems happy, but you're the one getting bored, I think it's perfectly ok to engage kids in an activity and then let them take over while you stay minimally involved. This probably depends on your kid's personality, but with mine, he's often fine playing on his own as long as I'm in the same room and I'm sort-of involved with what he's doing. By sort-of involved, I mean I'll roll a ball or push one of his cars when he gives it to me, but most of my attention may be on a book (that I'm reading for me, not him), sending an email on my phone, meal planning, etc.

kafunder · January 2012

Artslvr:

Getting out of the house for at least 1.5 or 2 hours in the mornings on Saturdays and Sundays is essential. Not because we get bored, but we live in a fairly small house (well, small for a family of five) so we drive each other completly CRAZY if we're all cooped up together. The magic witching hour in my house is 8:30 am. The kids wake up around 6 or 6:30 and by 8:30 we've watched enough TV, done arts and crafts, made up games, etc and the kids just start getting on each others' nerves (and mine) if we don't get out and do something.

We're just like this too. They get super cranky around 9am if we don't have something to do. We started swimming lessons a few weeks ago on Saturday AMs and it has saved us.

ch ch ch chia · January 2012

Last night, I gave DD my old garlic press, and showed her how to make spaghetti and meatballs with it. She was entertained for like 2 hours, and made like 3 pots of
"pa-sketti" LOL.

I then showed her how to use her rolling pin and cookie cutters to make play dough cookies. That was another solid 30 minutes of entertaining herself.

(That's not really helpful... but, she does entertain herself for a LOOOONG time with playdough... )

bh2720 · January 2012

vtkendra:

Thanks for the local museum ideas. Yes, part of the reason I haven't gone to the downtown museums is my own fear about how to navigate that trip (do we ride the metro? if we drive, where do we park? how long will this take and are we going to miss a nap, etc.) DD loves trains and planes so that would be good for her.
I haven't done much with boxes either but that's a good idea too.

just chiming in to say that going downtown to the museums really isn't that big of a deal. after you do it once you'll be scratching your head about why you were worried about it.

before I was this gianormously pregnant, Warner and I went to a museum at least once a week, now I'm not as ambitious with all that walking. granted, going on a weekday morning means it's a little less crowded than a weekend morning, but still fun. Our favorite museums are the National Building Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Air & Space Museum (I really wanted him to love the NGA, but it just didn't happen...YET! lol)

I almost always drive because taking the metro basically makes our 15 minute drive an hour long trek and I'd rather save time. I do try to make sure I'm getting to the museum as soon as the doors open, so I build in time to do a few trips around the block to look for parking. honestly, I've never had a problem finding a spot. most of the parking is 2 hours, which is perfect...there is no way we're going to be at the museum longer than that!

When it's museum day, I plan to leave the house around 9:30 and we are usually in the museum by just a few minutes after 10. We'll spend an hour to and an hour and a half walking around looking at the exhibits. And then we either eat at/near the museum or we just go home and eat lunch, then nap time. It usually works out well because all that walking/playing in the museum tires him out and he takes a good nap.

Want a personalized experience?

SAHMs - How do you keep toddlers entertained?

Re: SAHMs - How do you keep toddlers entertained?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards