Does this scenario sound familiar to you? It's 3:30 in the afternoon. Your two-year-old has just woken up from her nap, but it'll be at least a couple of hours before your partner is home from work. You've officially entered that long, dark teatime of the soul knows as the Post-Nap-Pre-Dinner Stretch. What to do, what to do. Fortunately, Instructables contributor Steve Gerber has drawn on several years of experience as a childcare provider to come up with a list of 24 things to do when time hangs just a little bit heavy on your hands...
How To: Amuse Toddlers
Says Gerber in the introduction to his How to Amuse Toddlers Instructable, "Some of the activities may be ideas you've never tried and others may be things you do regularly with your own child. Whatever the case I hope that other childcare providers and parents will find inspiration in this Instructable to challenge their babies with creative new experiences."
Some of the activities on the list -- such as cooking and playing dress-up -- weren't new to us, but Gerber provides some handy tips on how to do them differently or better.
Our favorite new-to-us suggestions are number 4 ("Buy different colors of low-tack painter's tape and then tear or cut pieces to a manageable size and stick them halfway to a table edge for easy access"), number 6 ("Hide toy animals amongst the plants and bushes in your yard (or potted plants inside) then help your toddler go around and find them"), and number 18 ("Make your own set of fridge magnets featuring the faces of friends, family and pets that your toddler will recognize").
So this begs the question: What the heck do you do with your toddler all day?
Comments (8)
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my rainy day activities include transfer games with a pound of dried beans, and building a fort and reading books. also, food coloring , water, and the bathtub can waste away a good hour.
all promote motor skills, problem solving, and sensory experiences.
view babymomma's profile
Two afternoon activities at our house - 80's dance parties and throwing a blanket over the coffee table to make a cave.
view swig's profile
Spend as much time at fully pimped playgrounds as humanly possible. If not possible, re-create the outdoor experience inside as much as humanly possible or find an indoor play area or drop-in center (Bay Area Discovery Museum, Studio Grow, etc.) and play.
view stickyricemama's profile
Chik-fil-A!
view AKB2003's profile
It pains me that you use the word partner. Why so PC?
view cvq's profile
Totally weird... I just tripped onto that instructable site about amusing toddlers last night.
view jenzoe's profile
It pains me that you use the word partner. Why so PC?
Give it a rest, cvq. Non-traditional families are quite normal in my area and in many parts of the country; it's nothing PC to call your partner a "partner," and if the text came across too PC for you, just put "heterosexual spouse" in there for yourself. My husband is also my partner, so I'm not exactly going to be offended by some website calling him my "partner."
view stickyricemama's profile
cardboard boxes are my friends. just made a "bat cave" out a wardrobe box. my three year old loved helping me paint the box black. hours of superhero fun!
view rahphotomama's profile