https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 14 Jul 2026 01:50:57 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183324 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 21:19:52 +0000 Mrs. Confetti 1183324@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree that keeping young toddlers entertained can be brutal, especially on days that we can't really get out much (like this week - hand foot and mouth has us tethered to our house - ugh). I find that changing rooms helps. I keep a stash of books and toys in our room, his room, living room, etc. </p> <p>We play a lot of "chase" running back and forth down our halls. We play with shoe boxes, stacking them, filling them with shoes, etc. We make piles of books, like block stacks, and read a lot. Like Running Elley, he is my little shadow - he finds things to do wherever I am, or I help him "help" me...which is rarely actually helpful, but cute. </p> <p>Honestly, I will invent errands so we always have somewhere to go - like intentionally forgetting a few grocery items (I try to do most of my shopping without C, late at night after SO is home) so we can go to the store, going to Target to get one item from the dollar bin but cruising the aisles and exploring, etc. We joined the nature museum here - it is much much cheaper than the children's museum and really kid friendly and closer to home and free/really cheap parking. We also have play group 3 times a week, rotating between friends' homes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183305 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 21:01:32 +0000 travelingnanny 1183305@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I take the baby out of the house every single day. We visit Target, libraries, b&amp;n (free story time), children's museum, the mall (has a play place), zoo, aquarium, coffee shop, petting zoos, TJmaxx, etc. Plus there are a ton of parks in our area. Even if we walk around the neighborhood it helps that day go by faster. I'd try story time again. I would try and invest in a pass to a museum, too. They are a bit of money up front but they are so worth it. My sanity is saved by them. Maybe a grandparent would be willing to get one for Christmas :) </p> <p>I would try and meet other moms in the area. Maybe try and see if there is a mom group on meetup.com. I met a group of nannies/ moms and we try and meet up a few times a week, even it is just at one of our homes. </p> <p>At home we put all her books in book cases and organized her toys so that she can see them. Rather than having everything stuffed in a toy box. We set up different areas in the living room, her bedroom, and the TV room. To me it helps to just get up and move to a new room and she loves having new toys to play with. </p> <p>Honestly, I'm not that big on crafts but we do play with play dough (you can make pretty cheap) and finger paint. We do a lot of baking though. I let her watch an episode of TV in the mornings and occasionally I'll let her watch The Lorax. She is obsessed with that movie and it gives me a solid 1.5 to myself. Bubbles are a big hit, too. </p> <p>I would think back on some of your awesome childhood memories and try to do those things with your baby. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183299 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 20:57:47 +0000 tysonja 1183299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>naps!!!</p> <p>haha jk.......</p> <p>same as everyone else said. we just make sure to get out of the house once a day, to the mall, the grocery store, a play group, etc! it helps a lot because driving/getting in and out of the car/etc takes up a lot of time i would otherwise be trying to kill at home :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183297 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 20:56:30 +0000 Running Elley 1183297@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ohhhh also, at the library storytime they had boxes that were shape boxes. Each box was labeled square, rectangle, triangle, circle, oval and inside they had things that were those shapes. E loved them! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183296 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 20:55:32 +0000 Running Elley 1183296@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I thought of some activities!!!</p> <p>I was talking to a mom at the library today and she was saying that she was going to start making a letter of the day box. Like on Monday the box will be an "A" box and you put things from around the house or pictures of things that are part of daily life whose names start with the letter A in the box. You can go through them and let them explore it. That night you put them away and on Tuesday "B" things will be in the box. I'm also thinking about getting felt letters so that they can associate the actual letter with it.</p> <p>You can use empty liter bottles or water bottles and put water in them with a few drops of food coloring or glitter for her to play with. Just make sure the lid is secure.</p> <p>I thought this link had some good ideas too! <a href="http://www.bluebirdkisses.com/kids/montessori/montessori-for-babies-baby-friendly-activities-part-2/" rel="nofollow">http://www.bluebirdkisses.com/kids/montessori/montessori-for-babies-baby-friendly-activities-part-2/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183160 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:26:49 +0000 Bao 1183160@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm trying to look on pinterest for activities but some of them require certain things that I don't have, and don't have the extra money to buy them right now. I'll have to hit up the dollar store sometime to get some things! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183157 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:25:48 +0000 Bao 1183157@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsF: Our weather gets bad here sometimes so I won't be able to go out at all :/ it's a bummer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183151 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:22:29 +0000 MrsF 1183151@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've been trying to hard to get out every day that I'm SAH with M. It makes the day so much better! I'm totally dreading the winter weather making our trips much harder :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183145 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:21:02 +0000 Bao 1183145@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Running Elley: I love taking her out and about to Target or another store, but it's about 15 minutes away so it's not something we can do more than once a week, and sometimes we can't even do it that much. We do go to the library once in a while, but not to the storytime anymore because the kids in there were too wild. I'll try again next year with that. I want to get a Children's Museum pass but again that costs money and then gas to get there, and to pay for parking. I really need some activities for at home to keep her busy. As bad as it sounds I sometimes wish she would watch a show/movie for something to do lol. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183138 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:18:08 +0000 Running Elley 1183138@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Bao: I know :( I totally get bored too. And then I get worried that he's as bored as I am!! Lol. That's really why even if it's not a day that we have a storytime to go to just knowing that it's coming up gives me something to look forward to! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183132 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:16:13 +0000 Bao 1183132@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Running Elley: A is my little shadow too! She follows me everywhere. She will sometimes go off and play on her own, which is great...but then there are certain times of the day where she just needs me to entertain her...and let's face it, I'm bored doing the same thing over and over too! I wish she was at an age where she could do more crafts. We do a few things like finger painting, and sometimes stickers but other than that she doesn't quite get it yet. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183128 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:13:28 +0000 Running Elley 1183128@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A lot of the time he's also just with me "helping" as I do things around the house. He's my little shadow. He follows me to switch the laundry over and he's now figured out how to "help" by putting clean clothes into the hamper when I hand them to him from the dryer. If I'm in the kitchen cleaning up or cooking he'll open the cupboard with the bowls/measuring cups and play in there. If I'm making my bed and cleaning up my room he's in there with me (we have a floor level basket of toys that he usually explores while he's in there). He's happy to just be with me, doing what I'm doing and once he's bored he lets me know! Then we usually go into his toy area and I'll sit and play with him for awhile. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183117 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:10:01 +0000 Bao 1183117@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@TurtleDoves: Hopefully someone can chime in and help us!! I feel like I've tried all the standard things to keep her busy...it's just not working anymore! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183116 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:09:57 +0000 shinymama 1183116@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Sharp objects! Kidding. At 13 months he loves to play with a drawer full of measuring cups and spoons, move tupperware from one plastic bin to another, and stack anything he can get his hands on. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183112 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:09:36 +0000 Running Elley 1183112@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Bao: E has lots of toys too but if I'm not sitting on the floor with him in the room with his toys he won't just stay and play with them for very long. He HAS to be with me and able to see what I'm doing.</p> <p>I try to keep a similar schedule so that it breaks up the day in an expected way for both of us. In the morning after breakfast and DH leaves for work we go on a walk, usually to the playground where we'll stay and play for a few minutes before we walk back. When we get home it's naptime. After nap we eat lunch, clean up around the house and then I try to plan something that he'd find fun to do. We either spend time in the backyard or we color/make cards for the grandparents, play with some sensory objects, blow bubbles, etc. Then we read books before naptime, he takes his nap, wakes up, eats a snack while we read some more books. By then it's time to make dinner and daddy is almost home! That's a typical "at home" day.</p> <p>I do find that it really helps both of us stay entertained if we get out. For a long time we didn't know where to go or what to do. You can only run so many errands, especially when you're on a limited budget!! But now we go to library storytime 1-2 times per week. We also go to a Mother Goose storytime at a local bookstore once a week. Our local mall also has a children's play area so we will go there sometimes and I'll walk the mall with him and then give him time to play. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183100 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:05:09 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 1183100@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Omg you tell ME. This is our current struggle. :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-do-you-keep-your-toddler-entertained#post-1183091 Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:03:17 +0000 Bao 1183091@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO is 14 months old and gets bored very easily. She has a lot of toys, but seems to prefer things that are not toys...but she's now even getting bored with that stuff. </p> <p>How do you keep your toddler entertained all day? I'm thinking of more at home activities as it's not always possible to go out and about. </p>