Ok, my daughter Marisa just turned 3. We also just moved to a very small apt, one so small we couldn't even bring all her toys (she has like 4 tubs plus a kitchen, we brought 1 tub and will bring the kitchen once i clean it, the rest is in storage).
So now that she doesn't have alot of room to run around or all her toys, she just likes to sit and watch tv. I don't like it. I think its ok for a little while during the day, but this is all she wants to do. She's also misbehaving more, I think due to being bored. It also doesn't help that I am very busy (trying to keep this tiny apt clean, as well as school work bc i'm doing college online, and LOTS of doc appts).
I feel horrible, like I'm not there for her enough. During the time that i'm not doing school work or cooking or cleaning, I want to do projects with her, play with her.... I just have no creativity when it comes to that.
So here's my questions: What can we do together that will hold her attention, and what can she do alone when I'm busy that DOES NOT involve sitting in front of the boob tube??
Can you build a club house for her with boxes or blankets. Maybe coloring, make a tv out of a box and have her make her own tv shows, let her color on empty toilet paper rolls. Sing songs, walk thru the apt and count window, bubbles in the bath tub, let her brush your hair., tell her to bring you something red, then green etc. hide and seek.
I took an inflatable pool and filled it with the balls for a ball pit--and you have your own personal ball pit!! Finger paint a butcher paper, tape to a wall and voila, her own art studio. Pots and pans rock band! Hide and go seek throughout the house and just whistle so she gets an idea of where you are. Go to a pet shop for a free zoo. Sometimes we walk around Home depot to look at the various plants (we live in Florida though). Spice game--take various spices and tell her what it is and let her smell it. Play Doh goes a long way. Throw some music on and dance together.
I made homemade playdoh (I hate the smell of the store kind) and my 4 yr old will play with it for hours on end! give him a roller and some cookie cutters and he is good for a while
Ashley's Husband Made it Home From a Deployment in Iraq - And Then Tragedy Struck
- treehugger823
on Nov. 23, 2009 at 8:15 PM