help to play

[kitten_uk2]

after a chat with th husband. we decided this week we would not put the tv on for our 3yr old son. and try and play with him more(because we think the tv is causing him to be a brat basically) so anyway i just wondered if any other mums possibly can play with there kids non stop from morning to night. i may sound like a crap mother but i find it difficult to play all day. plus have other jobs to do. any ideas how to get through the day would be greatful. my son dislikes playing alone and he has nursery for 3 hrs aday during the week.

[annie0000]

You can vary what you do throughout the day to ensure that you get stuff done as well.

e.g get him painting at the kitchen table while you tidy up and you just need to keep popping over and making enthusiastic comments. same goes for jigsaws, play do etc. Mix that in with other games and helping with the housework. Hide and seek is a great one for getting yu about the house putting away laundrey etc while you are supposed to be looking for him - just kepp saying - oh is he in the wardrobe? No - in the drawers - No etc. Just keep the excitemnet going while you are going about tidying - get him playing boats in the bath with a bit of bubble bath and you can clean the rest of the bathroom while he is there and then wipe rounfd the bath when he is finished.

Some things will need your total involvment, and others just need some encouragement and enthusiasm for you for how well he is doing.

Also, it might be useful to get a friend round to play to keep him occupied - you will have extra clearing up to do, but it is worth it as it will keep him occupied longer.

Stick some vibrant music on for a dance about and you get exercise as well!

[annie0000]

p.s. kids love to sweep up - give him the dustpan and brush and a reward when he is finished. I am sure that you will see an improvement in his behaviour - the key is to keep talking to him and be excited about what he is doing.

[ethanryan]

hi we syopped my boys watchimg so much tele as we thought they were watching too much. it is hard sometimes to keep them amused all day.could you not take him swimming for an hour, or to the park. we do things like painting, sticking, jigsaws, we make obsticle courses in the garden and all run around them, i know it might sound silly but the kids love it and gives them excercise. it was suggested by nat i think in one of my threads to get the kids to help me. i give them both a cloth and ask them to wipe the cupboard doors and things and they actually like it.

[redcrx]

my son will stop anything to paint, glue and glitter pictures!

He also loves duplo bricks and once he was shown how to make things he now sits for ages happily describing what hes making and how hes doing it.

How about taking him for a walk, it doesnt mean you have to think of an idea and you will both benefit from the fresh air as well as teaching him by pointing things out. He could then draw pictures of what hes seen and done

[natalie_1982]

Hi kitten, I hope this thread helps.... it is the one ethanryan was referring to earlier!
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Family/Parentin g/Question528944.html

I don't think you sound like a crap mother atall - what hours does your son go to nursery for? Could you get him to help you with preparing food for lunch / dinner? What about a sing-a-long or dancing / exercising DVD that you can do together?

My neice was such an active youngster that whatever you did to fill the day was never enough, she just wanted to move onto the next thing. One day I had her from 8am and by 2pm we had been to shop, the park (on her scooter), did some housework, painting, baked cakes and made pizzas and she still said that we hadn't done anything! Like your son, she doesn't like playing alone; but you don't hear a peep from her when she has a friend round and they are playing dressing up or tea parties. I think it would be a good idea, as annie suggests, to get a friend round to play. You never know, their mum might return the favour and you end up with some time off! XX

[meltoadhall]

you cant play with them al the time so he will have to learn that sometimes mummy is busy and he has to amuse himself.

sounds cruel perhaps, but for the time he is at home instead let him help with the housework, make lunch, take him to toddler group / swimming / the park, sitting quietly with a book together
having a story corner with cushions and books worked for my kids, learning to amuse himself is an important skill to learn. Dressing up is usually a thing kids like to do as is drawing, making and building things.

during half term we had a complete tv ban and my 3 played, made things and had a good week, so now they have 1 hour of tv a day and thats it.

[annie0000]

I think it depends on the child - luckily my first son is very good at amusing himself, my second is much harder work - it is fine as long as his brother is there, but he finds it hard to play by himself when his brother is at a friends. That's unless I let him on the playstation!!! Which is rationed. We dont have to ration tv anymore, as they dont even bother to switch it on. They have their own tv in their play room, but it is only ever on when they get their time on playstation or if they have asked for a dvd or video - which is not often.