Activities with babies and toddlers

Cissi

You've already had lots of good suggestions, I just wanted to add, check out your local church halls - there may well be weekly playgroups run there on a voluntary basis (and not necessarily affiliated with the Church). These are great both for babies/toddlers and for Mums to socialise. They usually charge a nominal fee.

suzukibabe

Sure start in my area have a toy library that visit a different playgroup each week, you can borrow the toys for a week or two.
As ofr non expensive toys, DS loved to sit with a wooden spoon and a small pan, cheap but not quiet

jbbonce

thank you all for what sounds like really good advice.

freda

My baby is almost 5 months, and is stupidly easy to entertain! They love looking at, touching, playing and being near you from tiny. For the first couple of months, the only things that really caight her attention were mirrors and a black, red and white picture I drew on a piece of paper (high contrast colours)

From about 3 months, I've taken her to the free 'rhymetime' that the library runs, which she enjoys because she gets to look at other people, she's pretty oblivious of the nursery rhymes! At this age as well she started enjoying bashing at things dangling above her - I hang a rattle over her head and she happily swats it for ages.

Start collecting toys via your local freecycle, and also ask around friends for toys that are festering in people's lofts. Get a list of things you want as presetns, or choose a specific shop to get vouchers for - otherwise you'll risk ending up with a million and one fancy newborn baby grows but nothing particularly useful.

As far as activities, I'd get yourself a sling (https://www.kari-me.com) and get out and about in the fresh air. Even in winter, baby will be snug up against you and love the fresh air. Even just going to the supermarket is as exciting as expensive baby groups, as far as the little one is concerned. I'd second the advice to get a group of mum friends, either through an NCT group or by going to a (cheap) mother and toddler group. https://www.netmums.co.uk (I think thats right) also has a 'meet a mum' board too, which I've not used but sounds like a great idea.

Juicy_Tube

Also check out your local library as they often have mother and toddler groups-and of course, free books!

Our local sure start/ children's centre has lots to offer and I have to say I have paid for nothing over the last 18 months-well worth checking out..

Good luck

JT x

Elle00

Hi JB, bet you're getting excited with three or four months to go!

You've had some really brilliant replies here and you've already thought of plenty of things to do. Babies aren't just interested in ducks and teddies and nursery rhymes though but also in understanding how the world works so there are loads of everyday things you can include them in.

When you do the dishes, have baby in his or her bouncy chair besides you and from a month or two old you can give them a blob of fairy bubbles to play with (so long as they don't eat it!). They can't do much with it at that age but it's good for motor skill development and a nice way to involve them. When you sort the washing, give baby a few items to scrunch and munch on (preferably a blanket or towel lol). When you put your feet up with a magazine or newspaper, tear a page out of ads or whatever and let them scrunch it up and have a go at working out what to do with it. When DS was 6m old I left him on the floor to nip to the loo and came back to find him "reading" the free TV Guide out of the paper lol. He thought he was so clever laying there turning the pages like Mummy does!

I got DS into reading young and believe this has great benefits. You don't need to buy actual baby books for quite some time and even then you can use the library if you have a decent one. My Dad was reading The Times to DS from about 2m old lol. DS and I read a book before bed every night and have done since 3m old plus he now has his own book to "read" after lights out before settling himself to sleep and I think it's a great routine for him to be in.

The activities you think baby can't be involved with until he's a lot older can be started from newborn - you just take the lead while baby is taking in what's going on and developing the skills to get properly involved. If you want to do some gardening and start a "baby patch" then go ahead. Baby will be a few months old come next spring and you can start digging and sewing seeds and let baby play in the dirt besides you while you're at it. Explain what you're doing, give baby grass and flowers etc to examine and feel. You'll be surprised how quickly some babies cotton on to what's going on. Arts & crafts are another activitity you can get cracking with. Take it up yourself by making colourful charts and pictures for the nursery walls. I started doing that as a way to decorate the nursery on the cheap in fact! My DS started scribbling from 9m old because he'd participated in craft activities from such a young age.

Just concentrate on getting your baby involved with life to be honest. When they start to wean - give them a spoon of their own to whack about the place. When they get teeth, let them have their toothbrush after you've done your bit. Just try and remember that the whole world is totally brand new to baby and that everything from the light switch to the fridge is fascinating. Babies are like open books and the more you talk, explain and sing away to them the more interest and excitement they find in everyday activities and chores.

On the going stir-crazy front, if you're planning on living frugally while baby is young then you might want to consider buying your household products from the cheapest (various) stores. You could get your toiletries from Savers on a Monday morning, your fruit and veg from the market on a Wednesday and your groceries from Asda/Tesco on a Friday etc. The reason I'm making this rather obvious suggestion is that it'll not only save you money but also help you to build a routine and get you out of the house and though you've probably thought of this, you might not have realised the double benefit of doing it and setting a routine for yourself. I developed PND from being isolated in a strange place and shut up at home five days out of seven. People always used to say "go for a walk" and I just always felt like screaming "BUT WHERE?! I'M FED UP OF THE DAMN PARK!!!". Going round the market or shops with your baby IS an activitity and probably more educational than feeding the duckies if you think about it. You'll be amazed what you can find education and entertainment in when you've got a totally impressionable little person hanging fascinated on your every word.

Best wishes for the new arrival, I'm sure you'll be a great Mum

MadMonkey

Tumbletots is a total rip off - not only is it expensive per session but you have to pay in advance for a terms worth:eek:

I have 3 under 5 and we are nearing the end of week 2 of the holidays and we have not spent much money at all yet;)

I got the older 2 a magazine last week and got them both activity sticker books today.

We have fed the ducks twice, been to 2 different parks twice, walked into town to buy bits and bobs - i always give them a few items to remember each so they feel involved. We have been to the library twice. We are going swimming tomorrow.

Babies do not need money spending on them - my 9 month olds favourite things to play with are : shoes, remote controls, the cats tail:eek: ! If you join a parenting website they often have buy and sell areas where you can get toys and clothes really cheaply - i buy all the babies clothes from one or Ebay if i can get it cheap enough. I actually felt guilty for having never got him anything new so went and got him a "new" grobag so that he had something that was purchased from a shop !!

Judi101

some of the ideas my DD nursery used with her when she was about 6 months where playing with glitter water, cereal in tins, bashing cereal with duplo bricks (or I'd guess anything) and shredded paper play. On a nice day go to a local park for a picnic. Once little one is a little older if you fancy going to soft play with them for a treat find out if any in your area let you in free if little one isnt walking yet. Most have coffee places and its a great place to meet other mums. Otherwise local family pubs with soft play areas usually work out cheaper during a school day. Our local pub charges £2.50 for as long as you want from 9-3pm on a weekday including 2 cups of coffee.

I would echo what others have said about finding friends with children the same age. I found mine through the post natal group and a local breastfeeding support group run by the midwife but NCT do a lot too and you dont have to be a member. When the little one is very young concentrate instead on building your social circle. It will pay dividends for playdates etc when the little one gets to about 6/9months and moving about.

Good luck. Enjoy. My DD is 18 months now and I have loved the time spent with her.

beebearshouse

Try Netmums.com

http://www.netmums.com/h/f/HOME/home////

Lots of great links and contacts in your local area

misty

Tumbletots is expensive if you are on a tight budget but I wouldn't say it was a rip off. My son got absolutely loads out of it and I thought it was fabulous. They do a video/dvd if you can get one from ebay and do the action songs at home.

The park if you have one handy is always a favourite - although ours has squirells and ducks as well as slides which was better for baby.

Play do has always been a popular choice too