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Pre-School and Daycare
How much TV does your LO (3/4) watch? and creative ideas for staying home with LO..
I should start by saying that I really dislike when LO wants to sit infront of the tv. When we are home in the winter, I let it slide a little more than when its warm out... Being 9 months pregnant I am finding that I am usually so tired I can't muster up the energy to play, or I am caving more.
I am HOPING when the baby comes that Ill be more apt to want to get out - however, knowing how tired I was the first time I feel like Ill be using TV as my crutch again. It makes me feel so guilty. Right now she is at school 4 full days a week. In July we start 2 1/2 days and 1 full day while I am home. I want to do creative activities with her besides going to the park etc.
How much TV does your LO watch.. and what type of creative ideas can you offer while I am home with DD and baby?
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Re: How much TV does your LO (3/4) watch? and creative ideas for staying home with LO..
He doesn't watch that much but when I think he's watched enough TV, I'll say "No TV, let's play."
Here are some things that we do
-Activity mat and play-doh
-K'NEX (along the lines of legos but more advanced, it's actually for a 6 yr old)
-Water sprinker in the backyard
-Splash pool in backyard
-Storytime
-Car racing on the kitchen floor
-Washable marker art on the white refriderator door
-Dancing to music
-Hop scotch with the activity mat pieces in the living room
-Pass the ball
-Fire truck's lights in a dark room
-homework "ditto" sheets
-Bubbles
-keyboard playing
For other ideas outside the home:
-Bounce house
-Zoo
-Museums
-Splash Water Fountains
-Water Parks
-Meeting up with mom friends
-Aquarium
THANK YOU!!!
You can find a bunch of activities on toddlertoddler.com. I also have a shelf in the hall closet that has art supplies and projects so I can always pull something out to occupy him while I make dinner or whatever.
I try to look around and use what I see- for instnce there was a watermelon in the fridge so I cut it and ate it making rainbows with the rinds. Ds thought it looked like a telephone so we played a game of telephone (like when we were kids) then I broke mine up and used toothpicks to make a monster out of it.
if there is a diapers.com box in the living room I tell him it is a spaceship and ask which planet he is going to etc. If i have time i might help him or just tell him how to decorate it. He doesnt care if it looks like a spaceship when he is done. A washable marker and a page of stickers to put on an old bpx will keep him happy for some time then add on the game of pirates, or spaceman or whatver he decorated it to look like and you killed an hour
Cut up a cereal box and make characters using scrap construction paper and then we each play a character in a puppet show.
. A sensory table is awesome, you can get a water table if you have space outsi and can also put things like beans or whatever in it and he can scoop, measure, etc.
make cookies
plant and tend to something in the yard. Ds loves it when I ask him to water the flowers or sweep the patio.
a pillow tunnel or fort
HIDE AND SEEK! Bring your smartphone and catch up on the bump while he seeks
Simon sez
Oh! Her newest is talking to Baby Brother, feeling him kick and asking where he is and what's he doing...
You are all so creative.. Thank you for the advice. I went out and purchased some inexpensive arts and crafts things from Walmart today. I am going to take all of your advice and run with it. I am not as nervous anymore - a little more excited now! Thanks
We are big TV watchers in our house. DS will watch somewhere from one to three hours most days. Usually he watches half an hour to an hour in the morning while DD naps so that I can shower and do laundry. Then he usually watches another half an hour to an hour in the afternoon while DD naps as "quite time" so that I can clean up and prep dinner.
My indoor/outdoor home alternatives are reading, Highlights magazines, board or card games, crafts (playdoh, painting, coloring), puzzles, baking, dance party, race cars, hopscotch, sand table, soccer, catch, or kiddie apps on my iTouch. DS also loves playing "Easter Egg Hunt"...I hide a bunch of plastic eggs around the house and he will happily spend a half an hour searching for them.
We are lucky to back on a private park and live in a neighborhood with tons of kids (including neighbors on either side of us with kids DS's age), so now that the weather is nice, we send them all outside to play together.
On a school/work day - DD watches maybe 30-60 minutes of TV; on the weekends - sometimes its an hour, sometimes its 3 or 4 hours depending on what we're doing and the weather.
I'm making peace w/ the TV; one of my friends was totally mellow w/ her kids about TV when they were little (and still is) and her one DD was never really a big TV watcher and still isn't, but she's bright and curious, active, reads a ton for pleasure, etc.; her other DD is a total TV hound and will lay around watching TV for hours - she's also bright and curious, plays outside regularly, loves to dance and sing, reads, etc. She also watches hours of TV in her free time.
www.facebook.com/TryVermontFirst
I love these two beautiful children!
DD, who is 3.5, watches about 30 minutes before she goes to preschool, and then she watches 30-60 minutes 4-5 times per week in the evening. And then on the weekend, I'm fine with a movie on Saturday and/or Sunday.
I am ok with TV (age appropriate of course, no swearing or violence, etc.). My motto is everything in moderation She is a VERY active, social little girl. She runs and plays and reads and draws and socializes and does countless other activities with children most of the week. She does like to relax on the couch with a snack when she gets home, and I am ok with that.
Also, TV can be a lifesaver for a new mom with another baby. Don't beat yourself up about that! I had days when I was on maternity leave and was home with my toddler, too, and we had days where I would pop in those DVD's just so I could rest my eyes when the baby napped. I think when you have a newborn, anything goes for those first few months. It's survival time:)