how to keep an almost 4 year old entertained?

Question

i have a 2 month old and it is hard splitting my time between the 2 of them. of course my 2 month old gets most of the attention because of brestfeeding diapers and calming her down if she is fussy. my son almst 4 will not play by himself . he will only play when some one is playing with him. and when i can't he just wants to watch t.v.. i'm not to crazy about t.v, for him in the first place but he watches a total of 5 hours a day. spaced out of course. i feel terribale...

Answer 1

You shouldn't have to feel the need to "entertain" your child. Children need "alone" time to develop imaginations and such.
Give him some crayons and paper, (supervised of course) sit him down next to you and have him draw a picture of you holding the baby, or of his bedroom, things like that.

It does get better, I promise. But at 4 he really should be willing and able to play by himself.

Answer 2

There's no question that it's a big change for him now that you have a new baby. And it's a big change for you as well. He certainly needs to learn to be able to play by himself. One thing is for sure, it is NOT your job to keep him entertained. Unfortunately watching as much as 5 hours a day of TV on a regular basis is probably adding to his boredom and making him irritable and less able to entertain himself. Can you be in the same room with him and talk with him or kind of play with him while you are still paying attention to the younger one? Can he help you by helping with the baby and giving himself something to do at the same time? Does he go to school at all or to any kind of program where he is with other kids? Can you switch off for playdates with another family and get your kids together that way to play and have some alone time with the baby? Can you get someone to help with the baby for even an hour or two once a week so you can tell the older one that it's some special time for just the two of you? I'm sure he's missing all the alone time he used to have with you. I would also really try to limit the tv time to when you really need it because it's doing more harm than good as well as teaching bad habits! I KNOW it's not easy and I hope I'm not sounding unsupportive because I've certainly been there and done that. Good luck!

Answer 3

Sometimes you need to do things to be able to survive.
A thought though, it wouldn't hurt your little one to sit in a swing or by himself while you take that 10-20 minutes or so to play a game with your oldest son. Or read him a book.

There is room on mommy's lap for more than one...even though it takes some practice juggling... and so even if the little one is cranky and you are sitting there let you son crawl up next to you and help with the baby.

I also understand that at age 4 for a boy helping with baby only entertains for so long. So start integrating him other ways, let him help you make lunch or something along those lines.

Also if he is happy to sit and watch T.V. do something educational with the T.V. There are movies that you could get from the local library that are very educational like School House Rock and Sesamie Street. These may seem like entertainment but they are very educational and you would be surprised what they pick up. There are even some really good educational shows on nick jr.

Don't feel bad at your son having to learn to entertain himself or watching a little extra t.v. while you learn how to function with another one. I think all mothers go through that at one point or another, every child is a big adjustment so take heart, you aren't the only one who feels the way you do!
Good luck and congratulations on your baby!

Answer 4

Try non toxic play paint with a large pain brush and let him create. Use eiter a plastic drop cloth or a plastic table cloth and finger paint or regular non toxic kid paint and a variety of brushes along with poster board or construction paper. When the weather is warmer my son sits at a table outside and paints small rocks to add color to the garden. Bubbles are a lot of fun as well as chalk art. Winter makes it a bit more difficult but I try storybook adventure type games. Try playschool,etc Play dough can capture the entertainment of some of the young minds. Let him build forts by providing boxes, blankets and pillows. Hope this helps some.

Answer 5

I have a three and a half year old and really know where you are coming from in terms of television. I find that the first step is to simply set limits on the amount of TV watched and turn it off.

If there is no TV, then he will be forced to look at other alternatives (and other people have provided ideas already so I won't relist them). If he wants you to play with him, try "delaying him"...as in "I'll be there in a minute" and get him to wait it out a bit. This will help him in the long run to learn how to self-entertain.

The other thing that I have found that has helped is to get her involved in what I am doing to "help me". If I am making lunch, she helps; if I am making the beds, she helps and so on.

Also, try finding him some friends to play with. He could be lonely and just in need of someone his own age.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Answer 6

Some hospitals won't allow certain age groups in the operating room. But even if its still allowed, I don't think that most 4 yr olds can grasp the horror of having their mothers belly cut open and seeing your insides on the outside. I was in when my wife had her c-section, and I as an adult still have bad thoughts about that one. Children at that age can't see the beauty in a birth while all of that is happening anyway.

Answer 7

A couple of suggestions:

1. Take him to a playground from time to time. You can still take the baby where she can either nap in a stroller, be feed, etc. while he runs around on the play ground.

2. Video games. In addition of PC games (like "Car's" designed for ages 4+), there are things like the VSmile gaming console made specifically for younger kids. If you substituted some of that TV time with Video Game time, he would at least be learning some hand-eye coordination. Of course there are some educational games out there too.

3. What about toys that allow him to explore construction creativity. I'm talking about things like Duplo blocks (super-sized legos), kids kenex, etc. We've got a bunch of GeoTrax stuff (Fisher-Price train sets). Our son was able to start building his own layouts sometime around that age 3 to 4 transition.

4. All sorts of crafts have been mentioned. By age 4, he sould be able to start cutting things out (VERY crudely of course). You can get him some plunt tip sissors and encourage him to cut things out of old magazines.

Answer 8

Coloring books, crayons, toy people, toy cars (maybe he needs you to show him what to do at first, and then after awhile he'll start playing on his own) ,puzzles, if you aren't too worried about a big mess get out some arts and crafts types of things and clue and let him glue stuff up, mudpies or sandbox in the backyard, turn on music and let him dance around (once again, you may need to show him for him to pick it up), you can also sing with him while you are taking care of his sister,

Answer 9

Put things like play-doh, crayons, puzzles, cars, paints into a special suitcase or bag with his name on it. When you have to feed, change or bathe your other little one give him this bag and say its " *** time" (I dont know his name) and let him amuse himself. I did this for my girls with success. But dont forget to spend time with your 4 year old as well. For a while he was the centre of attention and now he isnt. Its a lot to get used to.

Answer 10

Will he do crafts, i mean you guys could sit on the floor or at a tabl;e and if you just sorta help him do it he may not feel as left out. also what if you had some certin toys he only gets to play with when you breast feed? it may keep him calm enough you to feed.