What do you do all day with your 18 month olds?

Hi everyone! I haven't posted in forever, but I've still been here almost every day reading your posts. I'm home this summer with the babies and need suggestions on how to keep them occupied all day. I hate to admit this, but I feel like I'm using the TV as a babysitter too much...but how do you get anything done without it? We have a pool and plenty of room to run around outside, but it is SOOOO hot! We just can't stay out too long. I load them up and walk around WalMart, but I always end up spending money on things we don't need. LOL. The closest mall is 45 miles away, so I can't do that often. HELP! By the way, hats off to all of you SAHMs! I love being here with them, but it is so hard!

Thanks!
Jessica

 

park park park park park park park (we have one next door)

if that isnt possible, i just let them play with anything and everything while i get things done. then i clean up their mess. OR i keep a close watch on what they are doing, which means i get nothing done, but then the toys only get used one at a time.

or i run around the house doing everything while they nap (never enough time to get it all done)

my brother always says to me "you are a mom, not a house wife." i.e. you are there to be with your kids, not to keep the house clean.

 

Do they show any interest in "reading" yet? We have lots of very basic board books and my 20-month-old likes to "read" his favorites pointing out things in the books to me that he knows how to say (ball, car, dog, etc.) Yours might be a little too young for this, but probably aren't far from doing this if you can encourage it. I (or I guess I should say he) also have (has) the luxury of having two older brothers who he can chase around.

But I'm guilty of using TV as a clutch too although I will say the 20-month-old is much less interested in it than his brothers were (which is good I guess, but harder on me) Sometimes it's the little things around the house that interests Holden the most. An old ready-to-be-discarded toy can be a godsend. Just picking up a broom is fascinating for him. So is making a mess, unfortunately.

Chalk, crayons and bubles are good too and the last two can be done indoors in that hot South Texas heat.

 

I have a similar problem because it's hot and I have to try to save $$ by not using too much gas and going all over creation, so here are some stuff I've tried when very bored...
blocks, legos- Make a game out of it- build things for them they can knock over and play with
crayons- we "doodle" on paper, even if it's just me with girls watching... it gives me a chance to draw letters and shapes and familiarize them with their lables for future teaching
Play doh- you can make your own so easy and they'll love it
Trips to the "Pool"- stick them in the bath and let them go to it...
Bubbles- Make it educational by modeling big/little concepts, many/few, etc.
Make believe- Take a big box and decorate it with fun stuff they can rip off and or put holes in it they can stuff things into. I thought of attaching a play phone on each side and make believing a game of "telephone"
Jungle gym- Take the cushions off all the couches and pile them on the floor, then let them go wild and bounce all over everything
Sorting- Take shapes and model how to sort them by shapes, color, size, etc. Make patterns the kids can see with them... studies have shown even infants recognize and are stimulated by patterns.
Music time- Grab their favorite music and let them bang out the tunes on pots or pans
Books- goes without saying
Swings- how about putting a couple up in your house somewhere
Library- does your library have a kids program? Ours hosts a "lapsit" story time for age 2 and under each week

Overall, I know your burnt from a semester of teaching, but it goes without saying that we're our kids' best teachers. Stimulate their senses and get them active... Some days I sit around going nuts trying to think of what to do next with them, but it's all worth it in the end, even if I'm dead-butt exhausted at the end of the day!

 

Thanks for all of your suggestions! They do love to sit down and read. I love the park, and we do go, but again, it is SOOO hot outside! I haven't tried crayons or play-doh yet. Great ideas! I bet they will love both of those activities! Chuck E. Cheese is fun, too, but it is in the same town as the mall...45 minutes away. I really do try to keep them busy. I was just running out of ideas. Keep those suggestions coming!

Thanks...

 

Mine do pretty well free playing, so I let them do that in the morning after breakfast while I watch the Today show (in the same or adjoining room, yes I am watching my children, and no, I don't watch all 3 hrs, maybe 1 hr Tivo'ed) but this is my time to wake up and drink my coffee. Their favorite activities are dumping the blocks out and putting them back in, "reading" books, throwing stuffed animals around, and the play kitchen. They get to watch one 30 min program in the AM.

After snack (about 9:30), we usually go outside (weather permitting). A good hot day activity is "paint the sidewalk" with water. Sometimes I pull weeds while they are playing. We also just got a sand and water table which they love.

We also do library storytime, were doing Gymboree but stopped for the summer, and just found an indoor play place. I do take them along on errands, sometimes just because I can't think of anything else to do.

 

Thank you for posting this!!!!!

I just went to the library and picked up an activity book for toddlers to give me some ideas.

We have a climber in the back so we play on that alot. I have a small pool in the back but they seem to only really love it when theres only a few inches of water in it. I also bought them a water table that they could (i kid you not ) play with for hours.

I have chalk but mine still eat it

Bubbles
walks
parks
they love to help so anything they can do so I dont have to is great such as tossing their diapers out and helping pick up toys and such.

I dont have an issue with the tv b/c mine pay no attention to it at all. I can maybe get them to sit and watch for 2-5 min but then thats it

They have lots of free play time.

Good Luck!

 

I don't know if it just me but if I take them swimming or to the park by myself I feel completely out of control...one running one way, one the other. Thankfully, DH has off 4 days a week or honestly besides taking walks I probably wouldn't do much. For now, we have a 2ft pool out back which after you set up, get them dressed etc. they stay out there for about a 1/2 hour. The park, I watch one DH the other they do not want to swing etc. just run around the entire park. I take walks, rides in the car if we have a few errands. The TV is a big one for us too...I try to turn it off for awhile everyday and let them scribble on paper, read books (or eat them!) try and play a small activity. That to lasts about a 1/2 hour, put music on...They loove their cartoons though, certain ones I can put on and they will sit for a 1/2 straight, I'm always worried about too much tv but god it makes keeping them occupied so much easier!

 

A few weeks ago I started taking C and C to the YMCA, they have a great hour long singing/dancing/playing gym class for young kids. That is on Tues and Thurs, then we go swimming after. We also do at least 2 walks a day, running thru the grass. On non-gym days, we still go the pool but stay a little longer (makes for great long naps). Other than that, it's pretty much free play time, with a few favorite cartoons sprinkled thru the day.

 

I have got to try the "paint the sidewalk" idea! Cute! I don't feel comfortable hanging out in the backyard because of the pool. We haven't invested in a pool fence yet...I had hoped to have one installed this summer, but our septic tank started failing and having a new one installed became priority. We have plenty of room to run around the front, but it isn't fenced in and it just makes me nervous! Why do they have to run in opposite directions??!! Swimming is fun, but honestly I haven't perfected it by myself yet.

They do ok playing on their own. Sometimes I just feel like I should have a more structured day set up for them. Thanks for all of your suggestions!

 

its sooo hot.. we have a slide with a swing inside too and they love it. i also take them to the spca to look at all the animals because its inside and AC! we go to the childrens museum too. Swimming is too much for me by myself just yet, but our ymca has a splash park with sprayers and stuff and its fenced in.. we go there alot! find a splash park/pad close to you.. you will love it. The houston zoo/hermann park has a splash park and a park that is called toddler land and has a low brick wall around it and everything is super low on the ground! that is the only park i can go to by myself! What part of town are you in?? i'm in houston.

 

I live in Kingsville (about 45 minutes from Corpus). We don't have any water parks or anything like that here. I wish! We do have the beach in Corpus, but I'm not brave enough to go alone. I do sometimes head to Corpus to walk the mall and do the Target thing, but I really need to find stuff to keep us entertained around here.

Jessica

 

We live in S. Florida so I can relate to the heat. Outside stuff is done before 10:30am and then we come in for a snack.
Our faves:
Chalk on the wood fence outside
Stripping down to diapers and fingerpainting under the tree for shade
Walk in the stroller to the park to play which is a mile away
Anything with sand and water

Between snack & lunch is free play time or running errands. They love puzzle boards, the trains on the train table, pushing trucks around, dancing to music... Naps are from noon-2 or 3pm. Then another snack and back outside usually.

They looooove Diego lately, all three of them do, so they get to watch that at 5pm while I make dinner. Then it's dinner, play time, bath & bed at 7pm.

I need to check out what the library has going on for the summer. We also do a music & movement class once a week, go to the beach once a week, go to the fountains to play in the water, have play dates...

Enjoy your summer!

 

We have a pretty set schedule, they play inside and get 30 minutes of TV time until about 8:30, then we go for a 2-mile walk. We just fenced in our back yard (thank goodness) so we play outside after our walk until about 10:30--we, too, love sidewalk chalk, it is all over our fence. Then it is time for a snack and bed by 11:00 or 11:30. They usually sleep a good 2 to 2 and a half hours, then I feed them and play with them and read to them or let them play on their on and they get about 30 minutes of TV time until it gets cool enough to go back outside (usually around 5:00) and we play until supper time. Lots of outdoor time or I would go crazy. Once a week we go to the lake close to our house and walk a trail there and then play in the sand.