What happened to my kids?! I can't keep them entertained anymore! HELP!

I feel like in the past week or so my boys have changed drastically. It was like the day they turned 18 months. They aren't sweet little boys that play well. They are now agressive, whiny, and get bored with everything so easily! Oh, and they understand the word no... they just laugh at it!

I already thought the second year was the hardest, but now I am starting to think there is a special stage between 18 months and 2 years that is even harder!

Can you ladies help me get over this hump?! I don't know how to keep them occupied! And it doesn't help that I have a 7 week old baby. I recently tossed the baby toys (all they do is throw them) and got some new stuff. I cleaned up the patio (we are in an apartment) and got a sand/water table off of craigslist. I did the water a few times, but now it is getting too cold. I am going to get some sand, but honestly am kind of dreading it. There are other toys out there to play with, but they get bored with those very easily. I got a blow up pool and some balls to make a homemade ball pit. They played in it for all of 5 minutes, then dumped all 200 balls out and started throwing them all over the house. I had DH retrieve them all last night and just put them away until they are older. I tried the crayola beginners and they ate them. When I take them on the patio to play, they play for about 5 minutes, then focus on messing with the screen. I keep rotating things, playing with them, etc... and it works for a little while, and then they get bored, and/or cranky, and/or just plain bad!! They are in this weird stage where they don't get the toddler toys and activities. I don't know if any of you have seen this with your LO's, but it is like they don't "get" what the toy is for. They just want to bang it, throw it, or eat it. This makes it very hard to find things to do with them.

I know this is probably a phase, and I need to work through it. And, honestly, I would rather just get out of the house to kill time, but I am intimidated by getting out on my own with them and the baby. I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas for keeping them entertained. Am I missing something, or is this just the way it is going to have to be for a while?

 

18 months was rough for us. They do change around then and are more aware of their surroundings. Mine were aggressive at 18 months, but I found out they were teething with their last few teeth (the dreaded 2nd molars!) What we do is rotate toys. We put the ones they aren't playing with at the moment in the garage, then bring them back out in a week or two. It's like brand new toys to them! Try regular crayons with paper taped to a table. We give the girls two each and let them color until they are finished, but they MUST stay at their table with the crayons. Also, we bought newer, more age appropriate books. Water table for the patio is fun for them as well with stacking cups as they like to dump water from one cup to the other. Playground time is fun for a bit as well!

Bouncy balls that we purchased at Walmart for $1 each are a big hit in our house. They sit and bounce on them and we play catch right in the house (of course there is nothing breakable around.) We play near and far with the balls as well. I say if you spend a few minutes here and there with them, reading or whatever, that they will play by themselves a bit better. It is just a phase and I can honestly say that at 20 months it has been a complete 180 for us. Good luck!

 

Our oldest son is almost 7 and I have found that every year we struggle with the halves (1.5, 2.5, etc.). I read somewhere that kids actually have an up and down cycle each year and the last half of the year is the down cycle. So, you may be experiencing that right now.

Not much advice that you haven't tried, but a small tip for the sand option. Beans work really well in a sandbox and doesn't get tracked in. It's obviously a bit more expensive, but the lack of mess makes it soooo worth it. They can still dig in beans, fill buckets, drive trucks around.

Good luck!
Laura

 

Thank you both for the replies. I had a few questions.

Are you saying regular crayons are better than the beginners? I am just worried about them eating them. And any tips on how you do the playground. My guys are still running everywhere.

I like the bean idea, but I was wondering if I should be concerned with them eating the beans. They still try to eat everything. Of course I would watch them, but I can just see them sneaking a bean in!

 

I feel your pain. Mine are 19 months old yesterday.

Mostly it's my ds that has had a huge personality shift. He's mean, he hits his sister, steals things from her, throws toys, whacks on us, throws temper tantrums and gets into more trouble! What happened to my laid back little monkey man?! :headbang: I know it's just a phase, and I just keep trying distraction because he totally doesn't get time outs yet.

What kind of age appropriate toys did you get? It seems to me that the baby toys are too young, and even some of the toddler toys are boring. My ds has recently discovered trains. Ooooooo boy! My oldest got into trains about this age two and that's allllllll he played with, was thomas trains. So, for christmas, we are getting the trains a wooden train table. We have a ton of wooden track and lots of trains already, which they love to play with. He also likes monster trucks, and tractors. Some of it is ages 3+ but most of the fisher price and little tikes stuff is made solidly enough that i don't worry about little pieces coming off and I buy it anyways.

As for the crayons, buy crayola and they are non toxic, so if they eat some, at the worst they may have colorful poop for awhile! :lol: I also tape the paper to the table, they stay in their booster seats to color, and I use the crayola my first crayons, the big fat round ones. When they (and by they I mean my ds), start eating them, they are done, I take them out and put them back on the floor. They are learning fast that if they wish to color, they can't chew on the crayons. You just have to sit with them and supervise, or better yet, color along, they love "helping" me! I also bought the BIG floor pads of paper (I have plain or mickey mouse), so it's nice and big and they rarely color off the edges of it.

And the beans....I never did beans because i was also concerned about them eating it, we have a sand/water table that is currently just a "sand" table, because....once again....Liam was putting the sand into the water. It was a muddy/mucky mess! :lol: So I dumped the water, filled both sides with sand, gave them some hot wheels cars, some tractors, some shovels.....and let them go! They'll play for an hour with it! They have it everywhere and always need a bath afterwards, but they do love it!

 

I just wanted to add about the crayons...my DD was a notorious crayon eater and loved to peel the paper off of them, my friend told us about Crayola twistables and that helped cut down on the mess. With the playground, I would take them to an enclosed playground (if there is one nearby you)...I think I started doing more solo playground trips around 20 months when they could listen better.

 

We have a firm "crayons aren't for eating, crayons are for drawing" rule. After a few dozen times they got it and no longer try to eat them. Plus, they taste really bad, but are non toxic. The beginners ones never worked well for my girls. They couldn't get a good grip on them even though they're for beginners. We never did the bean thing because I know mine would eat the beans and choke. Ugh. However, we do rice in a small plastic container with a lid so they can shake them around and they seem to enjoy those. Also, we have a drum (age appropriate) that came with other small music toys in it. They love it!

The park is tricky, but if you keep an eye on them just let them run around. Especially if it's enclosed. They tucker themselves out and if gives them a sense of freedom. I was afraid at first too, but now it's a piece of cake. Of course, accidents can happen, but that's all apart of learning for them. We keep them off the slide and stuff because they aren't old enough to go on it, but they're happy just playing in the dirt - for hours if we let them, so we bought them some shovel and pails and they totally ignore the gymnasium stuff.

You might want to research the parks in your area. The parents connect website has a great section that shows you all the parks/toddler parks in your area. We have a park a half a block away that has a splash pad, but we were able to find more parks in the area for their age. That website has been a lifesaver for finding stuff to do on the weekends when I have some help and even has reviews from other parents and tells you which ones are enclosed. Here is the link. Good luck!

 

Just wanted to chime in and say that I have found age 15 months-present (19 months) far harder than the entire first year!

 

I understand how hard it is with the new baby to get out but sounds like they might need it! When Hannah was first born we took the boys to daycare 2x a week and my MIL watched them 1x a week as well...is that an option for you? I'm finding now that I"m back to work things are harder in a sense that I can't just laze around in my pjs everyday but I only work part time so we do try to do things when I'm off.
Do you have a mall play area? We live in the country so there aren't many playgrounds and I wouldn't feel comfortable taking the boys and H anyways but we do have a mall play place and I put them in the double stroller and wear Hannah in a carrier. It works for now I also have my sister who has my niece and nephew who are almost the same age as my kids (nephew is 3wks older than boys and niece is 2.5mos older than H) come with me and between the 2 of us we can manage all 5!
Good luck to you! It will get easier as the new baby settles into a more predictable pattern! :grouphug:

 

I just wanted to tell you that you are not alone! It was as though the minute they turned 18 mos they went crazy!! They are 19 mos today & they are driving me CRAZY!! I have a 3 yo DS & they drive him crazy too - stealing his toys, wrecking his "projects", pulling hair - aaaargh! We have a play room full of age appropriate activities but they would rather climb EVERYTHING, throw things, destroy things & cause havoc than play. I honestly am at the end of my rope! I babysit a 6 month old M-F so I don't like to go out much either + I am in AZ & ots still 105 degrees everyday here.

I pray daily for this phase to pass soooooon! As for the park when it cools off I am thinking about the little backpack harnesses...have you thought about trying those? It might help you get them out a bit.

Do you have a YMCA near you? They have free daycare while you "work out" - you can swim or whatever to at least get a break. I told my husband I'm going to join & just hide in the locker room...LOL! Also the mall play area is good because its small & more or less contained. Maybe you can find an MOTC in your area & do some playdates - my kids do well with new kids around distracting them from their usual pastimes of destruction & mayhem. Also, get lots of foam (non injuring) toys for the tub & when they are driving you nuts stick them in the tub for contained, controlled playtime. You can add food coloring to the water to make it look different & interesting too. Mine hit the tub multiple times a day sometimes because they are happy in there There are tub crayons, foam, etc you can get to keep them entertained longer. You can sit in there w/ the new baby (congrats!) in a bouncy seat & turn on some music & at least no one is trying to climb the curtains or burn the house down...some days I will do ANYTHING for 30 min of happiness!!

I wish I had better advice but I wanted you to know its not you - its this rough age. Hang in there mama!!

 

Thank you for all of your replies. Just when I thought it was getting better (after following some of your advice), they are still giving us a run for our money! Oh well... gotta love em'.

I ordered the crayola twistables, and tried those. Thank you for the suggestion. They are perfect... indestructable and they can't really eat them. They did however start throwing them on the floor and screaming after a while, so we moved on to something else. In fact, today was a day of impatience. We moved from activity, to activity and I kept rotating toys, and nothing helped! At one point I turned on the tv, and sat down with a cup of coffee... that seemed to work the best!

I did look up parks. There are a couple gated but they are far away. DH and I decided to take them together. We will probably do that in the next week or so. DH had a good idea I might try on my own. Take them to tennis courts, and close the gate and let them run around. I will bring some toys, and maybe ride-ons.

I accomplished two big things in the past few days that will make things alot easier. I finished cleaning up and baby proofing some other areas of the house, so I can let them run free a little more. And, this is most exciting, we found a Joovy Big Caboose on CL for really cheap, and now it is a little easier for me to take the 3 of them out by myself. This will make the tennis court idea easier as well.

I am glad to know I am not alone (not that I wish this on anyone else ) and just keep reminding myself that this soon will pass (hopefully).

Thanks everyone :heart:

 

I think the tennis court idea is great! Your DH is a smart cookie! :good: Let us know how they enjoy it.

 

We will be 19 months in about a week and we have been experiencing the tantrums, turmoils, etc, as well as the cutest darn moments ever. I love them right now for so many reasons. Especially the brink of talking - love the babbling conversations with an occasional recognizable word and the fact that they can imitate almost everything I do. But I am so exhausted right now...what a confusing age! Hang in there...the pedi said depending on their developmental path they can hit these behavior milestones earlier, hence the "myth" around the terrible twos, when in actuality the behavior can start between 18-24 mos...LOL. Jokes on us. As far as activities, we live around the corner from the Zoo so we go there at least once a week and walk around. We were doing Children's museum but they are too fast for me now to watch them there. We do a playground that is not enclosed but I have a spot where I can kind of corral them. They love the slide. Sometimes we just grab a blanket, walk to a spot in the middle of a large green area (we have a huge park 2 blocks away) and run around and then have a snack. Jude wants to put everything in her mouth so that is a bit exhausting but they happily get into the stroller after they have gotten a workout. Then I will usually continue a stroller walk for some sanity for myself. I am trying my best to get to more playgroups...we are enjoying them more now.