What do you do with your kiddo?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-22-2004
What do you do with your kiddo?
2
Mon, 08-15-2005 - 4:50pm

I'm just wondering...I have a 15 month old ds, and sometimes, I just can't figure out what to do with him, esp. in the afternoons. Now, my situation might be very different from a lot of yours b/c of a few things: I live in a small town, well, small for me...there are 2 mom day out programs that are beyond full and have waiting lists, and from what I've been told, you won't EVER get in b/c it is so long; I have NO family here; most of my friends that I do have work and they are older women with grown children, so there's that; I'm in a play group, but it's about to drastically change as some are dropping out b/c their kids are now going to school, and there are only 5 of us as it is...most didn't commit to the summer meetings, and I was left alone at the parks many a time. So....with not many people to count on other than myself, I find it difficult to find stuff to take up a whole afternoon sometimes that doesn't cost a lot of money. I can take him to the park, but not sure I want to do that every single day. Once the library is back on school schedule, there will be toddler time where they read to the kids, that's fun. There is the acquatic center, but it's VERY expensive, and to go for only an hour, it's not worth the money. Now that we have a puppy..a WILD puppy in my opinon, we don't really have a way to go even to our own back yard b/c of dog poo ANd b/c he will jump all over us, so even though we have a sandbox and could have got a baby pool, well, the dog basically lives back there until he's more tame and older, so that's sort of off limits, too. UGH!! I feel like I'm a prisoner in my own home sometimes b/c of these limitations...we DO go for walks, but in the morning b/c of the heat of the afternoon...it'll probably get better once it's cooler here, but until then, what to do? What do you do with yours when they are this age?

Thanks in advance, Debbie

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2003
Mon, 08-15-2005 - 5:06pm

Hi Debbie,

during the afternoon, we usually go for walks, color, draw, watch cartoons, do crafts, or play in the yard.

I know the feeling of the wild puppy, believe me, we have a Jack Russell!!! A good idea to look into (if you already havent) is getting the puppy into traing asap. They need to learn right from wrong from the start. The dog should not be having full regin over the yard and trapping you in your house! Having your ds play with the puppy (supervised of course) can also be great fun for both of them. Fill up the baby pool with water and get the dog in there with ds! My dog loves going in the pool with dd. The sooner your pup learns proper social interaction with your child, the better. We bought a little shovel from the dollar store, and every morning, dd & I go out to the yard and scoop poop, not the nicest way to start the morning, but at least the yard is clean for her to run around in.

Good luck to you,

Lesley

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2004
Mon, 08-15-2005 - 8:10pm
Well, my son is 20 months old.
We play and eat breakfast in the morning. Then he naps about 2-3 hours.
After naps he gets lunch and we play some more.
A day here is never the same.
We might be coloring one day, going for walks the next or shopping and running errnads.
I hope you are able to get out more and find something for you both to do.
I know how you feel to live in a small town and have no one around. I have one good friend and my family lives about 1 hour away.





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