Small spray bottle outside on the deck. Water the flowers! The table! Your toes! Unlimited possibilities and it takes at least some time to empty the bottle. Ha!
Paint with water! Go to the dollar store and get all kinds of different paint brushes, including the big brushes you’d use to paint the walls and bowls of water and let the kids paint the ground and the patio furniture.
Not an activity, but those kids knives took me back to Christmas 2019 when my then-2yo daughter asked the NYC Macy's Santa for a knife with the most serious face ever. She wanted to help in the kitchen but was super shy, so when he asked what she wanted, she just replied "a knife." Those were the exact ones she got and has loved ever since. It'll forever be one of my favorite memories.
Have the kids make/use tickets! Can be for anything- snacks, "buying" toys and books, even going up or down the stairs haha. (And for an ultimate hack, can say they need to use a ticket if they want to talk to you.... helps for 15 or 20 minutes when you need to get something done without interruption.)
As a former early childhood teacher, I want to second Molly's suggestion to let kiddos be bored. This is so, so important for development, and as adults, we struggle mightily with it. In an age where we can just whip out our phone and be entertained no matter where we are, we've lost some of our ability to just be bored and thus miss out on the creativity that comes out of that. Sure, you might experience a little more chaos, a little more destruction, but that's what the outdoors are for. Send 'em outside to be bored. Or if you're feeling up for it, throw caution to the wind, and let them be bored wherever. The school I worked at had about an hour and a half of outdoor recess for elementary students every day. At the beginning of the year, inevitably, there would be students who were not used to figuring out what to do without any adult guidance for even five minutes. They were used to mom or dad scheduling their time and telling them what to do for most of it. They complained and tried to "hang out" with the teachers, asking for suggestions for what to do. And ya know, we didn't give suggestions. I would say, "This is your time to be a kid and do whatever you'd like out here as long as it's safe for you and others." And then we'd ignore them (by that I mean not engage with them but of course keep an eye out as kids played—though not hovering over them). Kids need to explore and get dirty and be bored. Adults just have to let them do it (within the boundaries that you set for your family). :) Welcome to my Ted Talk, haha!
100% endorse boredom. My only add on is we scene change when they start fighting (go outside, go inside, go to your room, come to the living room…)
Also we lean heavily into chores as a time killer. The kids do soooo many chores (no list, just what needs to be done) because the laundry doesn’t sort itself. Work before fun but then the fun has few rules.
Yes! Scene changes are great. That made me think of other environment changes too. Like if you have a lot of open play materials (blocks and building stuff, dolls, anything for imaginative play), changing those out and limiting the number of options is counterintuitive but helpful. Too much choice can = overload. And changing items out (maybe in small bins or baskets or however you store them) can be a game-changer. I’m a big fan of having kids spend time, maybe up to an hour depending on their age (and not toddlers or younger of course), on their own. Maybe that’s in their room alone or if they share a room, one kid is in the room and another is in another space where they can play or rest. This is great for kids who no longer nap. Call it quiet time or whatever works best. But you set the boundary: for x amount of time, they stay in their room and play quietly, read, rest, etc. this is time for them. It’ll take time to build up to them not coming out and trying to find you if you’ve never done anything like this but it’s so good to have some alone time without a screen to distract. Love this convo. It’s bringing so many ideas to mind! ☺️
My two year old is obsessed with putting lotion on people?? Yes I know it’s bizarre. But I give her a small tube of lotion and read my book while she lotions my legs. It’s the weirdest thing ever and also I love sitting down
Ramp. That's the whole game. Use a piece of cardboard to set up a ramp and watch them figure out all the different things that roll down it. I sit and read and periodically say "Ohhhh, that was a good one!" A+
Huge sheet of paper or a big Amazon box and washable kids paint in the backyard. Audiobook or TonieBox for extra credit! Hose them off when they’re done!
I like to give my 2.5 yo boxes that packages have come in and give her stickers, crayons, and markers to decorate it. For whatever reason, a box is way more appealing than plain old paper!
My 10-year-old loves a job. Lately, she's been into organizing cabinets and closets in the house, which 1) takes time, 2) allows her to nose around and be curious about stuff she didn't know we had or hasn't seen in awhile, and 3) find stuff that might keep her occupied once she's done. Everyone wins :)
I mix cornstarch, cocoa powder and water to create “mud” for my toddler. She rescues her dinosaurs from the mud and cleans them off in a bowl of water.
Small spray bottle outside on the deck. Water the flowers! The table! Your toes! Unlimited possibilities and it takes at least some time to empty the bottle. Ha!
Yes! My kids like playing “clean the playset” with spray bottles and rags 😂
Paint with water! Go to the dollar store and get all kinds of different paint brushes, including the big brushes you’d use to paint the walls and bowls of water and let the kids paint the ground and the patio furniture.
my toddlers are obsessed with spray bottles. so easy and cheap and fun and they do a pretty good job of watering my plants in the process too lol
I came here to say this. Something about spray bottles 😂😂 my 2.5 year old is obsessed
the way a spray bottle saved me in the toddler years!!!
Yes! My toddler is obsessed with his bottle!
Popsicle baths in early afternoon before dinner! Calms everyone down and we aren’t rushing through bath time to get to bed
We like to use fly-swatters to pop regular bubbles!
Ice cubes in the bathtub are fun too!
Not an activity, but those kids knives took me back to Christmas 2019 when my then-2yo daughter asked the NYC Macy's Santa for a knife with the most serious face ever. She wanted to help in the kitchen but was super shy, so when he asked what she wanted, she just replied "a knife." Those were the exact ones she got and has loved ever since. It'll forever be one of my favorite memories.
this made me truly lol! kids are the best.
Have the kids make/use tickets! Can be for anything- snacks, "buying" toys and books, even going up or down the stairs haha. (And for an ultimate hack, can say they need to use a ticket if they want to talk to you.... helps for 15 or 20 minutes when you need to get something done without interruption.)
ok this is the most incredible parenting hack maybe ever!
As a former early childhood teacher, I want to second Molly's suggestion to let kiddos be bored. This is so, so important for development, and as adults, we struggle mightily with it. In an age where we can just whip out our phone and be entertained no matter where we are, we've lost some of our ability to just be bored and thus miss out on the creativity that comes out of that. Sure, you might experience a little more chaos, a little more destruction, but that's what the outdoors are for. Send 'em outside to be bored. Or if you're feeling up for it, throw caution to the wind, and let them be bored wherever. The school I worked at had about an hour and a half of outdoor recess for elementary students every day. At the beginning of the year, inevitably, there would be students who were not used to figuring out what to do without any adult guidance for even five minutes. They were used to mom or dad scheduling their time and telling them what to do for most of it. They complained and tried to "hang out" with the teachers, asking for suggestions for what to do. And ya know, we didn't give suggestions. I would say, "This is your time to be a kid and do whatever you'd like out here as long as it's safe for you and others." And then we'd ignore them (by that I mean not engage with them but of course keep an eye out as kids played—though not hovering over them). Kids need to explore and get dirty and be bored. Adults just have to let them do it (within the boundaries that you set for your family). :) Welcome to my Ted Talk, haha!
100% endorse boredom. My only add on is we scene change when they start fighting (go outside, go inside, go to your room, come to the living room…)
Also we lean heavily into chores as a time killer. The kids do soooo many chores (no list, just what needs to be done) because the laundry doesn’t sort itself. Work before fun but then the fun has few rules.
Yes! Scene changes are great. That made me think of other environment changes too. Like if you have a lot of open play materials (blocks and building stuff, dolls, anything for imaginative play), changing those out and limiting the number of options is counterintuitive but helpful. Too much choice can = overload. And changing items out (maybe in small bins or baskets or however you store them) can be a game-changer. I’m a big fan of having kids spend time, maybe up to an hour depending on their age (and not toddlers or younger of course), on their own. Maybe that’s in their room alone or if they share a room, one kid is in the room and another is in another space where they can play or rest. This is great for kids who no longer nap. Call it quiet time or whatever works best. But you set the boundary: for x amount of time, they stay in their room and play quietly, read, rest, etc. this is time for them. It’ll take time to build up to them not coming out and trying to find you if you’ve never done anything like this but it’s so good to have some alone time without a screen to distract. Love this convo. It’s bringing so many ideas to mind! ☺️
Painters tape on the ground to create roads, towns, anything you want! Doesn't leave a mark and comes off easily.
Painter’s tape is also great for when your kid goes through their band-aid phase. Great play bandaids for them or their toys!
Also a hole puncher! Safer for little fingers than scissors but just as satisfying.
Uncooked oatmeal in a bin with random scoops and spoons. A less messy sandbox!
Omg yes we do this too!
My two year old is obsessed with putting lotion on people?? Yes I know it’s bizarre. But I give her a small tube of lotion and read my book while she lotions my legs. It’s the weirdest thing ever and also I love sitting down
Oh I need to remember this. Brilliant!!!!
I have a two year old obsessed with lotion too!
Ramp. That's the whole game. Use a piece of cardboard to set up a ramp and watch them figure out all the different things that roll down it. I sit and read and periodically say "Ohhhh, that was a good one!" A+
Huge sheet of paper or a big Amazon box and washable kids paint in the backyard. Audiobook or TonieBox for extra credit! Hose them off when they’re done!
I always forget how epic a big empty box can be!
And if you don’t have an empty box, one of those cardboard play houses can be painted over a series of sunny days
I like to give my 2.5 yo boxes that packages have come in and give her stickers, crayons, and markers to decorate it. For whatever reason, a box is way more appealing than plain old paper!
Yes! I would save any large cardboard box big enough for my son to sit in. He would color all over them and turn into a race car or rocket ship.
Freezing random toys in ice and letting them figure out how to get it out 🧊🧊
My 10-year-old loves a job. Lately, she's been into organizing cabinets and closets in the house, which 1) takes time, 2) allows her to nose around and be curious about stuff she didn't know we had or hasn't seen in awhile, and 3) find stuff that might keep her occupied once she's done. Everyone wins :)
Painters tape + cardboard box = so many different creations!
Elizabeth, you won this giveaway!!! I'll DM you for your address :)
"worm" sounds like so much fun...my kids would love it!
It really is hilarious to watch and keeps them entertaining for a WHILE!
I mix cornstarch, cocoa powder and water to create “mud” for my toddler. She rescues her dinosaurs from the mud and cleans them off in a bowl of water.