What do you do at weekends- with a toddler ?

NoreenOMS

Hope people don't mind me posting this.. Following on from the other thread, which I really enjoyed reading.. What do people with young children do? We have a 22 month old boy, and sometimes I struggle for ideas of things to do at the weekend...

This weekend had consisted of food shopping, movies, play time at home, a family fun day event at a local golf club, the park, mini train ride at a funfair and swimming.

Especially with autumn on the way.. Looking for ideas? We can't do any messy things at home as we live in a rented apartment..
Thanks in advance for ideas!!

choccielover

Visit country parks and go for walks or bike rides. We joined the national trust which got us free entry into loads of places and we pack a picnic for lunch.

Look online for free/cheap things to do in your area.

Sky have been doing organised bike rides (sky ride) which have been good

choccielover

There are lots of places which do free entry for a year once you have paid in once too

sweaty_betty

The things we've done with our LO over the last year (so from aged almost 2 to nearly 3) are:
- cooking - either making biscuits ( he liked using the shaped cutters) or making pitta bread pizzas (really easy to put together) or similar - don't expect the result to be perfect although will probably be edible
- playdo (not too messy)
- going to the local park, including kicking a football around while there (will warm you up in cold weather!)
- going to any open days / fairs etc that are on - if you've not already, look up "what's on" websites or twitter/facebook pages for your local area
- swimming or tots gymnastics (although there's usually a fee involved here - sometimes children's centres do cheaper activities (if there are any left near you)
- reading books and using toys to act out the stories
- putting on a children's music CD and dancing around - can kill a lot of time and wear them out!
- meet up with friends who have children a similar age
- we go to church on a Sunday - not for everyone I accept, but great for our LO to make friends, play with others and different toys (aside from the God element)
- encouraging them in imaginative play, they're more likely to play on their own if you show them how (in my experience)

My usual rule (at that age) is to do one major activity out of the house each day and then do more low-key activities around this, especially if he's still having a nap during the day, but obviously this depends on the child.

NoreenOMS

Thanks for the ideas. Seen loads about that skyride thing; but our little boy is a bit young at the moment.

We do go to country parks; and its something I am looking forward to doing in the autumn too; having the picnic in the car if needs be!! Looking forward to going to theme parks and things when he is older; but at only 22 months old; still some way to go!!

NoreenOMS

Thanks so much sweety Betty; those ideas are great. I think I putting a bit too much pressure on myself I guess; like you say" one main activity a day" is probably enough. He does love music and dancing; so could encourage a bit if this. He loves books too. Had a look into class type things- music etc; but they tend to be on a Saturday morning and I work every other Saturday morning and my husband was not too keen!

building_with_lego

Where do you live?
Here we can get a resident's card which gives free or heavily reduced entry into local museums and discounts on some further afield. Lots of the museums have children's activities during the holidays at no extra cost.
A Family Railcard can work out cheaper paying for a small child than travelling without the card and not paying for the child, if that makes sense. There are extra deals too, for days/meals out. Details here.

NoreenOMS

Thanks building with Lego- I will check that out. We live in warwickshire. There is a local free magazine called toddle about; and that advertises a free art/ craft class at the local museum on the last Saturday of the month for his age range ; so plan to give that a go this weekend! Would love to take him on a train- he loves playing with trains; so think we might just hop on the train to a couple if towns away soon just for the novelty as he has not been on a train yet; so will have a look at tickets.

Think we might do the same with a bus too; as he is always pointing them out!!

mincepiemonster

Our DD is 22 months. Here are a few things we have done over the past few months:

- Visit local garden centre to look at fish/rabbits for sale and flowers
- Visit farm shops, great fun looking at and naming all the different veg (purple cauliflower was a big hit!)
- National Trusting - they have had a big family friendly drive in recent years and are very welcoming now... Most of the cafes do kiddies meals and ice creams suitable for LOs (10 years or so ago it was all "Organic Lavender and Honeycomb Dairy Ice cream" and Vale of Belvoir cordials!)
- The odd big day out to local attractions, the zoo, heritage railway etc usually with offers from Groupon
- Swimming (rarely, I usually take her in the week as less crowded)
- Smaller freebie days out to local museums
- Cinema afternoon with popcorn, HM cakes, cups of tea on tap
- Baking aforementioned HM cakes!
- Odeon do a Kids Club cinema, it depends on your LO but our DD is starting to be able to sit through 90 mins or so of film - any longer and we leave. At £2.50 though it's not bad (prices have gone up so £2.50 each now, used to be kids go free!)
- Rather than going out for lunch we tend to go out for breakfast as it fits in better with nap-times and cheaper :money:
- Visit local train station or airport to watch planes or trains come and go with a coffee
- Walk across to the next village (1 mile away) and visit the library, charity shops and sweet shop. On hot days substitute sweet shop for the Co-Op and share a box of ice creams!


We also visit my parents quite a lot and do the usual pottering about sort of jobs. We get all our shopping delivered apart from fruit and veg which I pick up in the week - Asda on a Saturday is hell! Obviously we also do smaller trips to local parks, as well as the odd bit of walking. She is up at 6am so there is lots of weekend to fill (I love it though!)

mincepiemonster

sweaty_betty wrote: »

My usual rule (at that age) is to do one major activity out of the house each day and then do more low-key activities around this, especially if he's still having a nap during the day, but obviously this depends on the child.

I agree with this. FWIW I think a bit of time just spent being bored at home doesn't do any harm - DD is already playing well on her own and "reading" without us there as we give her time without stimulation. This is especially important IMO if kids are at nursery or go to a lot of classes / clubs in the week, they need a weekend too!

NoreenOMS

There are some really great great ideas - I am so glad i posted. Can't wait til next weekend now to try some out lol!

Thanks mincepiemonster. They do a kids club thing at our local cinema- we have taken him 2 or 3 times and he has loved it- when you are only spending £2 or so a ticket; you don't mind if you have to leave half way through! But he has been great each time; so much so that we took him to see monsters university for our wedding anniversary on the full price showing!

We haven't really tried any national heritage things, so will look into that. And I love the idea of going to a pet shop or something. He loves animals.

Have never got him involved with cooking; we have a stair gate on the kitchen door; and there is nothing his height to use for him to help. However I know it's something he enjoys at the childminders. Maybe it's time to invest in a little table and a couple if chairs for the kitchen!