Any creative parents? I need your help!?

Question

I just had my second child so I'm kind of a stay-at-home mom, for a while. My oldest is 3 and he's out of daycare until I go back to work. I feel horrible because I can't come up with any indoor activities for us to do so all he does is watch t.v. I know this isn't healthy at all. Please! Any suggestions? Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

If you turn off the TV throw some building blocks on the floor and some of his favorite animal toys or cars and trucks he will invent his own games to play. Kids have great imaginations they just have to be allowed to use them. This morning my son had gotten his play mat, blocks, and dinosaurs out and made a "dinosaur museum" that he was very proud of. You can also have art time my son loves playdoh and drawing it you give him a glue stick and some scraps of paper, fabric, string, whatever he will create some beautiful masterpieces for you. I know it can be hard sometimes but just remember they are in a great stage of imagination so let him use it. Enjoy.

Answer 2

I know you already got a lot of really good answers, but thought I would go ahead and give you my two cents worth. Here are a few things my 3 year old & I do during the days we are stuck inside. Colored days or sometimes just hours. He picks a color say red, then he has to hunt for a certain number of toys that are mostly red, then he makes up a game or story about all the items of the same color. "indoor bowling/target practice" we dig out about 25 or more lil critters or people..ie:lightweight McDonalds type happy meal toys, playmobil people, the little rescue hero guys and their animals we set them in rows standing with about 3" of space around each of them.We then take turns either rolling those .50 cent bouncy balls at them or use the playmobil cannons and try shooting them down. The more figures up put up and the farther away you put your child back from them, the longer the game lasts. Who ever ends up with the most knocked down and in their pile wins. My son will play this for over an hour, he thinks it's hysterical, especially when unsing the cannon. He also loves to "read" me his story books, which leaves you, hands free. Another activity I use especially if I am on the phone, I give him a catalog, a ballpoint pin (which are usually off limits to him, makes this soo much of a treat.) and give him a list of things to find in the catalog and circle them, and if more time is needed, I have him hunt the house to find things similar to what he circled. Last and the best: Summertime fun, too hot to go out side, I'll fill the bathtub with toys not normally there at bathtime, put water in the tub and whoo hoo! He has his own indoor swimming pool, it may not be the most comfortable place for me to kill time on the bathroom floor, but I can fold laundry, do bills, or whatever and he is having a blast. Hope something here helps you!

Answer 3

Coloring is a nice, quiet activity, especially for when you are nursing or the new baby is sleeping. Playdough is messy, so I've stayed away from it, but you can try it if you don't mind the mess. My kids love trying on different pairs of shoes.

Do you have a porch? If you're in an apartment and have a porch, then just make sure there's nothing out on the porch that he can climb up on. Put plants on a table so he can't reach them. Then let him take some big toys out there; no little ones, or he might throw them off the porch. If you're in a house with a porch, have the same preparation, with one change; put a gate across the porch. My husband and I put up a rectangle piece of painted plywood on self-closing hinges and a latch. Be sure to put the latch on the bottom of the outside so your son can't reach it. And don't worry about latching it all the time; just when your son is out there playing. The rest of the time, it can swing free and gently close on its own.

Answer 4

I'm a wanna-be mom and art teacher. Here are some art activities I can think of for you to try:

1. Get a large roll of paper and cover his bedroom wall or the kitchen table. Allow him to color all over with crayons.
2. Allow him to use his hand to build something. There are building blocks available, or train building sets, that are appropriate for his age. He can set them up, play, take them apart, and try all kinds of new things with the pieces.
3. Make together or buy a costume. It's amazing how kids will be creative and occupy their time when "in disguise",
4. Coloring books and crayons. Be sure to reward him by displaying his work and congradulating him on using his time wonderfully. This will encourage him to keep with it.
5. There's a store near me called "toys that teach". I don't know if it's a national chain, but I wonder if there's a toystore near you that would have some good toys for his age that will allow him to play by himself.
6. If tv just works best, at least buy educational dvds like baby Einstein, or sing-a-long type dvds that will keep him active and get him doing something.

Just be sure to reward him with your excitement when he spends time doing contructive things.

Good luck and all the best to you and your family.

Answer 5

Check the local library to see if they have a story day. A friend takes her 3 year old there once a week, and someone reads stories to the kids. If they don't have one, can you volunteer to organize one?

Find other kids the same age, and set up a play day at a local park.

Teach him how to press leaves. Collect a dozen or so different kinds of leaves, put them between waxed paper sheets, cover it all with a towel, and iron the towel. You can make a preserved leaf in the waxed paper that he will enjoy. You can sneak in a little bit of learning about different trees this way, too.

Make an art project out of paper mache. Cover a balloon with paper mache, let it dry, and let him pop it with a pin. Then he can paint it or decorate it.

Get a subscription to Highlights magazine for other ideas.

Answer 6

Give him coloring books and blank paper and lots of crayons and markers to draw creative pictrues for his little brother/sister! He is more likely to play with his toys if you turn the TV off for a while. He might put up a fight for a while but if you keep encouraging him to play with his toys he will!! You can also try lincoln logs or playdoh or something like that. If the weather is permitting you can let him "paint" outside on the front porch...I fill up a bucket of "paint" (which is really just a bucket of water) and let my 2 1/2 year old use paint brushes to "paint" the front porch! The water makes the cement (or wood if you have a wood porch) change color and it is SO MUCH LESS messy than real paint!! I also have my 2 1/2 year old help me clean the house, he helps me vacuum (he has his own kids one) and he helps me sweep the kitchen floor (he has his own small kids broom) etc...
You can also get spill-proof bubbles and me and my son have a blast blowing bubbles to each other and popping them! You can do it indoors because the containers are spill-proof!! They work great!

Don't feel bad...sometimes we have to plant our kids in front of the TV to get a few minutes to do what we need to do!

Answer 7

I was the same way, I have a 3 year old an da 19 month old. So I feel you there. But I actually just let my oldest color pictures for her daddy and do things she would have fun with but want to more because she's such a big daddy's girl. And believe it or not she love to help me clean(well what she thinks is cleaning):). I know it is hard just have fun and good luck. Also try those colors that you can color on the refrigerator with there pretty neat and cheap, and VERY easy to clean up.

Answer 8

fill a bucket or container with crayons, markers, playdough, etc and you can make pictures and crafts - kids usually love that kind of thing. My daughter and I read books and tell each other stories too. Sometimes we play music and dance around - it gets us up and moving and away from the tv. I also have "inside toys" that she can play with like blocks or lego (the larger kind for toddlers) and dress up clothes (you can get firefighter, astronaut, construction worker, etc for a boy if you want), piano/music instruments for toddlers, and flashlights - my daughter loves to shine them around the house. You can play flashlight - I spy, instead of guess what the clues are about - flash the light on what you think the person is giving clues on. Have an inside scavenger hunt or treasure hunt. Build a fort with pillows and sheets. There are lots of inside activities you can try - I hope this helps some! Good luck and have fun with your children!

Answer 9

There are lots of games and crafts for that age range. Go to the store and stock up on them! Puzzles, Play Doh, coloring, Legos. Even just sitting on the floor and playing with him with the TV off is good. If you do need some time with him in front of the TV don't feel bad! Just put on his favorite cartoon or an educational video. Just be sure you limit it to an hour or so a day only.

Answer 10

I totally understand what you mean. I stay at home with my 2 year old and 8 month old. I went out and stocked up on puzzles and all kinds of cool Leap Frog learning games. They keep her occupied when I need to take care of the baby, or laundry, or any of the other 1,000 things I do a day! I also let her have a cupboard in my kitchen that I keep all my plastic storage containers. She loves to get them out and play like she's cooking. Another cool idea, I bought a Little Tykes house and drag it into the middle of the living room. (It's the smallest one they make.) She loves playing in there.

Hope I helped. Enjoy your babies. They grow up so fast!