What to do with an 18mo old all day?

Question

So I try to go out for a few hours each day either to a playgroup/play date, the park, swimming, the library or just a walk, but what to do with the rest of the hours in the day? My LG gets bored very easy, I alternate her toys and she will play for a little bit, I play with her but she just wanders off to cupboards and climb on furniture (which I don’t mind but not for hours) and she demands the tv... I feel bad for plonking her in front of the tv for too long. I do play dough and crafts with her although she is still a bjt too young to understand and enjoy that! Any suggestions welcome??

Answer

Write a schedule as if you were her personal daycare. I work from home and keep my son home with me often, so I try to follow a schedule for him.
Morning/wakeup time: 8am, play with a soft musical toy for sensory time and listen to music. Drink some water or milk.
8:30: Open play, leave the room and go explore the house. I turn on cartoons during this time, wash dishes, get breakfast ready. 
9:00: Breakfast
9:30: Outdoor time - Take a walk or go to the park. It’s very hot here so we keep this short.
10am: Letter or number of the day. Sing the ABCs, color or paint a stencil of a number or letter. Repeat it constantly. Show him things with that letter around the house.
10:20: Transition to play doh and hand him some things at the table that he can stick in the play doh 
10:35: Tv comes back on while I clean him up, change his clothes. I hand him a yogurt pouch and start figuring out what lunch will be. He usually plays with the dogs and bugs me while I cook.
11:15: lunch 
11:45 nap
1:45 wakeup, find all the balls around the house and play with those
Afternoons I try to get him out of the house... errands, visiting a nearby duck pond, animal sanctuary, we do a lot of outdoor activities so he gets some fresh air. The goal is to make him hungry just as much as to wear him out since he’s a bad eater.
6pm Bath and winding down, I stream YouTube kids to my tv ... there’s this channel where they play with train toys. I show him his train toys and explain that he can do the same.
He eventually helps me cook dinner.

Answer

Walk around a toy shop is a favourite of mine my little girl loves it haha
Feed the ducks
Soft play centre
Trampoline park 
Play groups 
Pet shop to look at animals/ farm 
Cook with her- muffins (something easy)
We do have iPad time were she watches videos on kid tube plus I have some puzzle and counting apps which she likes 
I limit her to 30 mins in the morning (while I get ready and clear up after breakfast)
And 30 min in the evening while I get dinner ready

Answer

I have a 17 month old and we have had freezing weather and snow for weeks so we are stuck inside. We do stickers (she eats crayons and paint), bubbles, bubble foam in the bath tub, dance party, play with pots and bowls, stack all the figurines on the window sill and we bake pretty often because I need sugar! She likes to lie on a blanket and I pull her around the house, she will also get in a plastic tub and let me push her in that. Some days we do more than others. She's starting her first dance class soon ...

Answer

I work FT but some things we do in the evenings and weekends with my 17 month old: singing & dancing together, coloring books, legos, play kitchen (he cooks and I eat and he makes Dad starve lol), stroller walks, and I let him play in the cabinets with the canned foods and pots/pans. I’ve heard of water painting and want to get some of those, I think kiddo uses a brush of water and a picture is revealed on the page. I also have a bag of those craft fuzzy balls and give him those with a couple bowls and he has a ball putting them in bowls and spilling them over and over. It’s hard to find ways to keep them busy, sometimes makes me want another now lol

Answer

I work FT so I only have my kiddo all day on the weekends and I still have a hard time coming up with stuff to do in those 2 days. It sounds like you’re doing s great job of giving her a variety and getting out of the house is key (for you as much as for her).

Answer

We do art time. Finger painting, markers, crayons and coloring books, glitter glue, etc. It's messy but washable. Super fun!!!!

Answer

Sounds like your doing a good job of keeping LO occupied. Have you considered a MDO program 2 days a week. They offer them from 9-2 and helps create healthy friendships with other little ones.

Answer

Following. I am wondering the same thing but my LO is almost 9 months. 
It sounds like you've got lots of stuff you guys are doing. Way more than us. We sit and play on the mat on our back, tummy, and butt (she doesn't crawl yet). And we eat, and sleep, and sit in the highchair so I can shower and do dishes. That's about it. So I know how you feel. It's awesome you live in a climate where you can actually go outside right now! And in the pool too!? 
🏖☀️
It's ice storming outside my house today 😒

Answer

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