stephanier.1765 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 My DIL is quarantined with my 16 mo granddaughter and the two of them are going a bit stir crazy. Have you found anything that helps? Something crafty? Great toy? I'd like to order something off Amazon as a surprise for them but I don't know what to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 I don’t have a toddler, but many of my friends with young children seem to be buying water tables right now. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Following. My brother has 4 girls: ages 5, 3, 2, 2. They've been posting lots of "dance party" videos on FB. (I don't envy him at all right now, lol.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Strip them down to a diaper and do something really really really messy in the bathtub. Shaving cream, washable finger paints, etc 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Messy and water play now that the weather is getting better. Lots of dance parties we have a speaker with lights LO loves. Giant cardboard box and being allowed to fill and empty it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted April 17, 2020 Author Share Posted April 17, 2020 40 minutes ago, Momto6inIN said: Strip them down to a diaper and do something really really really messy in the bathtub. Shaving cream, washable finger paints, etc She loves the tub (don't they all at this age LOL) so I am definitely passing on this suggestion. Thank you! And thank you everyone of all the great ideas! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Let's see.... they watch Cocomelon and Badanamu on youtube, as well as anything the other members of the family watch. The boy loves Trucks and Tractors, and therefore tolerates The Minimal Mom when I watch her (the creators of those YouTube channels are married). If you can gift YouTube without commercials that would be awesome. We read their favorite books 9 million times a day. Mommy tries to rotate in a few they don't know well every week. We have morning AND afternoon "quiet time" even though only one sleeps in the morning and the other sleeps in the afternoon. They can have toys and books in their beds but they must stay there quietly for an hour. We find reasons to tickle them a lot. We turn on What a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong) radio on Pandora and dance. They "help" mommy by pretending to fold laundry but actually dumping it all over the floor They take extra baths They have sensory play in the food they don't eat, and in the mud in the backyard. I try to be more relaxed about this than usual. We rotate in toys they haven't seen in a while and learn new games They look out the windows on our street and watch for trucks They go outside to watch the garbage and recycling trucks They "help" by making a mess while I make cookies They graffitti our patio with sidewalk chalk they kick around a soccer ball in the back yard (with parents and siblings) They color, but have found drawing on old appliance instruction manuals from the recycle bin to be far more entertaining than coloring books They think Play Doh is gross. Mommy hasn't let them near finger paints yet, but maybe bathtub soap paint is an option to send. Or other new bath toys. We watch stuff from Disney's streaming app when I'm exhausted. We dig out DVD's when the internet is too slow to stream something and have Daddy work at the same time. Sometimes we go for walks, but one is fussy about cold so it generally has to either be no wind or above 50 for that to work. And I don't take them out when the weather is really nice because ALL of our neighbors are out when that happens. We practice petting the dog nicely. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jentrovert Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 I don't have toddlers now, but if I did I would definitely do a water table. I got so much mileage out of water. Another fun thing we did: I cleaned the tub really well, mixed up a lot of chocolate pudding, and let them paint themselves and the walls. It doesn't have to be a ton, though, they can have a lot of fun with just one batch. Water beads are great, too, a tub (or water table, bucket, etc) filled with those would be fun. Amazon has them reasonably priced. One winter I bought one of those small outdoor toddler slides and it stayed in the living room. Dd loved that. Another winter we had one of the roller coasters in the hallway. Both of these were really good investments that were used outdoors for years after the initial indoor period. Like this, except it wasn't that expensive: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0193MPPQO/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_HbKMEb7TVJV0Y 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 4 hours ago, Tasha said: I don’t have a toddler, but many of my friends with young children seem to be buying water tables right now. I was just coming here to post this. It you buy the right one it can also be used for kinetic sand, play-doh, slime, etc. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 Semi permanent forts and cardboard mazes. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabercro Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 Ooh! That's me! Quarantined with a 27 month old. Let me think about what she was into last summer (18ish months)... Yes to water table. We also have a little splash pad thing like this that attaches to the hose. Or toys in the bathtub. Playdoh, rice bin, kinetic sand, playfoam. Qwik Stix tempera paint sticks and a heavyweight sketch book. Stickers. So many stickers. Badanamu, Rachel Coleman anything (Baby Signing Time, Signing Time, Rachel and the Treeschoolers), Little Bear, Daniel Tiger. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 (edited) Bin full of beans with measuring cups and spoons (animals and vehicles optional) Lots of plastic animals and some cardboard blocks or other blocks to make them houses Books, books, books Play kitchen Curious Buddies DVD's. So wonderful. Edited April 18, 2020 by MercyA 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 Wow, you all have given me so many fantastic ideas. I'm definitely doing the water table and then I'm going to reread your ideas and check out what Amazon has for some of the smaller things. Thank you so much! It's been really tough for me to be away from her so doing what I can from a distance helps me feel close. That and Facetime. Thank goodness for Facetime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 Finger painting with pudding. Make ice pops together in the morning and have as an afternoon treat. Blanket forts and add some Christmas lights. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theelfqueen Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 If I had small children at home right now, I'd get a small indoor trampoline. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 If she has a spot to do this, make homemade puffy sidewalk chalk paint or sidewalk chalk paint. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 Lego Duplos kindly paid for by my parents. They were a lifesaver when my kids were 2 under 2. We had the Thomas tank engine sets and the Bob the Builder sets. Playdoh though I didn’t like the smell of the commercial ones, and didn’t like the texture of the homemade ones. Homemade play dough link https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/playdough-recipe Sandbox. The turtle one was a hot favorite https://www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-Turtle-Round-Sandbox/dp/B013AO9LWU Water table. Something like this https://www.amazon.com/Step2-Tropical-Rainforest-Colorful-Accessory/dp/B07QTVX8T2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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