Babies and outside time

It seems spring has arrived and I find myself less than thrilled at the moment because suddenly I have the issue of what to do with my three 12-13 month olds during outside time. In the snow, I have one who likes to crawl around in his snowsuit and one who likes to be pulled in a sled (the third sits in the Exersaucer as he doesn't like anything else). Now that the snow is melting and it's a bit warm for snowsuits...how can I keep all these crawlers and new walkers happy outside? Especially since the other kids now want to stay out longer. Anyone found anything that works? I have more exersaucers, but they get bored quickly. I can't wait until everything dries up and they can play on the grass!

I was in your situation last year.
I went for a lot of walks with them in their seats and they enjoyed the fresh air. Great exercise for me too ;)
Rubber boots and a change of clothes for the park! I always asked parents to give me a couple of changes of clothing ...in case we go through the first pair!!

Kanga, I'm in your shoes! I have a 14 month old and a 15 month old and neither are walking yet. I insist that all parents provide me with rainboots and splashpants all year round so that I can let the tiny children crawl around in parks and playgrounds. We spend at least 2 hours outside every morning and if they are just stuck in the stroller they aren't getting any exercise. My two little ones are being very stubborn about being outside and getting used to the texture of the soft dirty ground or something because they are not happy. We didn't even get much snow so they could practice crawling in the snow.

Hi! I also have had to deal with this! All my kids started at 12 months and none were walkers. I got the parents to buy splash pants ($8 at Joe Fresh) and just let them roll and crawl around the back yard! I also put out a large picnic blanket with some small toys where they could just sit and play if they wanted. After a few days hardly anyone stayed on the blanket....too much exploring to be done!

I would use splash pants and mittens and just let them crawl around or put a play pen outside .... When we went camping with our 10 month old we took a large tarp and a heavy blanket like the ones the movers use to protect furniture.... And we put the tarp down first with the blanket over top so it was soft to crawl on and it worked great .... If you could keep them on the blanket with some toys it might work but I would have them dressed in splash pants in case

I ditto the above - proper attire is a must!!

I do the tarp and blanket and also have a large deck which is a bonus as the deck is sadly larger than my playroom - but it allows me to set up some stationary ride on toys and "sit and play" stations like sensory bins or fidget toys and so forth if the grass is too wet I can "close it" and we play on deck so less running free style but I would do adult directed games to get em jumping and moving but on the deck.

I thought of this the other day, if you have the room....

get the puzzle floor mats the jumbo ones and put them out on the grass if need be then surround them in a play-yard! They are outside, free to roam in that area and wont get messy.

It may take just a few min to set up each time - I wouldn't leave the foam mats out there all day.

I like the tarp and blanket idea, although I don't think they will stay there. The all have rain pants at my request...it's the footwear that is a problem. One has snowboots, but will not even attempt to walk in them. The other two are not yet walking and don't have boots or shoes, only slippers. The one who most wants to move around (the one who used to crawl around in his snowsuit) is really small with tiny feet and I think his parents are having a hard time finding anything small enough for his feet. I should start my own line of non-walking baby footwear for crawling in ;)

That's a good idea too Mamma Mia...I may look into this...although it may be expensive to buy one of those play yards...maybe I can find a used on on Kijiji.

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Originally Posted by Mamma_Mia

I thought of this the other day, if you have the room....

get the puzzle floor mats the jumbo ones and put them out on the grass if need be then surround them in a play-yard! They are outside, free to roam in that area and wont get messy.

It may take just a few min to set up each time - I wouldn't leave the foam mats out there all day.

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Hi! I actually have all my concrete patio stones covered with those large multi coloured foam mats and I leave them out all the time!! They get hosed when I wash the playhouse etc and have held up really well!!!!

I use the foam playmats in my playhouse that is outside since there is no floor in it and keeps the kids out of the mud that happens when rain gets in the window and door area but the sun doesn't. We left them out all year and only took them out a couple times so we could pull up the grass that grew between them and the house. They were still fine at the end of the season and we just washed them down and stored them for the second summer. This will be the third one and they seem to be in ok shape still.

I have done playpens outside, a play yard on the patio with a quilt on the bottom of it. Some babies do well in a plastic swimming pool with some toys.

Going outside as soon as the babies wake from morning naps means I can put the older kids out to play - the door is off our kitchen and have the babies in highchairs having snack either just inside the kitchen with the door open or moving the chairs to the patio. With a dish of cheerios they will take awhile to go through them. And the good news is the squirrels do any cleanup necessary.

I would just tell the parents they need proper foot wear ..... I think you can buy rain boots starting at size 4 or just have them buy a cheap pair of running shoes ... They will get wet and muddy but change their socks as soon as they get inside ..... I told all my parents their kids had to have appropriate outdoor wear cause we go out side .... Two of my parents insist on sending their kids with fabric mittens and the kids dig in the mud and sandbox they dip their mittens in the puddles and everyday I send them home in a plastic bag ... Maybe next year they will get the drift

Good to know that the mats fair well outdoors! I was worried....but that now will save me some time! I put 2/3 at the bottom of my slide too, that area always seems to get muddy and they land on their bums :-) so it's cleaner and softer.

Leaving the grass extra longs helps too because then it folds over and provides some cushioning and less wear and tear so patches don't appear so readily. Can't help under swings where they scruff their feet but helps in areas where they run and roll and use ride on toys - makes it hard to make the toys go but then for my toddlers that works cause they just want to sit there anyways and can't reach the pedals.

Best thing I found for this age group as well was a water table they would spend hours. All you need is a couple inches of water & you can buy plastic water bins at the buck store, set up a few and let them go crazy. The bins make it easier on the few that might want to sit in it! This way it’s too small! LOL

Painting the fence is really a good idea as well. Fill a plastic pail with water & paintbrushes and let them go crazy!

Blankets I find are great as well as play tents! Ikea has a good one for $20.00!

Mine last year were this age and they loved the ride on toys as well as the sandbox.

I hated the sandbox because they always brought sand and put it in the water table and it was just plain messy!

Oh and bubble, bubbles and more bubbles!

How do you keep them from drinking out of the water table? I tried one last summer and had to put it away as they all kept putting their mouths in the water and drinking...yuck! I'll just be glad when we get to summer and everything is dry...then it's no problem as I have lots of slides, climbers, ride-ons and we go to the park all the time as well. It's just spring with it't meting snow, puddles and mud...which are lots of fun for the toddlers, but challenging for crawlers! My most avid outdoor crawler has a new rainsuit today and some new boots that will hopefully stay on his feet. It is challenging to find boots that work for non-walkers as they usually hate them and can't move in them! I have one little guy who will not even try to walk in his boots although he walks well inside.

Seriously you can't stop them just change the water a few times! I used to just go to the park and let thme go in arobies as there hard to take off!

Skysue, what's an arobie?

I guess if it were just my own kids, I wouldn't care if they drank out of it, but it seems like a health hazard to have them all dipping their runny noses and mouths in the same pool of water! I thought maybe I'd try again this year, but now I have a new batch of little ones...nope!

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Originally Posted by kangaroomama

I guess if it were just my own kids, I wouldn't care if they drank out of it, but it seems like a health hazard to have them all dipping their runny noses and mouths in the same pool of water! I thought maybe I'd try again this year, but now I have a new batch of little ones...nope!

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They all share germs anyway when they're young. They're drooling on everything...touchin g something and then another kid puts that thing in their mouth, etc. Seriously, you'll drive yourself crazy if you're always worried about that stuff. We're big outdoor people and my dck are outside at least once a day for a good hour...if we can, we go out twice...once in the a.m. and then again in the p.m.. I have a pretty big deck so there is a large space for them to ride bikes/ride on toys all year around, there's a kitchen to play with, little people, cars and tracks, bubbles, chalk, etc. On my gras there are swings, play house, slides, basketball net, a big bucket of balls, a climbing triangle and in the summer/warmer months the water table comes out. I don't take a pnp outside or use a play yard, they just crawl/sit on the deck and play with toys or go in the baby swings.

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Originally Posted by Alphaghetti

Skysue, what's an arobie?

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Sorry I was in a hurry LOL I meant robeez!

http://www.robeez.com/Robeez-Soft-So...t=2&Lang=EN-US

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Originally Posted by fruitloop

They all share germs anyway when they're young. They're drooling on everything...touchin g something and then another kid puts that thing in their mouth, etc. Seriously, you'll drive yourself crazy if you're always worried about that stuff. We're big outdoor people and my dck are outside at least once a day for a good hour...if we can, we go out twice...once in the a.m. and then again in the p.m.. I have a pretty big deck so there is a large space for them to ride bikes/ride on toys all year around, there's a kitchen to play with, little people, cars and tracks, bubbles, chalk, etc. On my gras there are swings, play house, slides, basketball net, a big bucket of balls, a climbing triangle and in the summer/warmer months the water table comes out. I don't take a pnp outside or use a play yard, they just crawl/sit on the deck and play with toys or go in the baby swings.

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Your place sound seriously FUN!

oh robeez! lol i know those.

Yeah, have to say that a lack of shoes would be a serious tick off for me.
If parents send them in Robeez, that's what we go out in. They make tiny little runners, etc in as small as size 1 for a baby. That excuse just wouldn't fly... LoL

Not all of us have a dry place such as a deck to put babies on though. The ground is too cold and wet for a child even in a splash suit to just be sitting on it right now so they do need to be up out of the water. Without a deck or patio that means a playpen or some other confining space we can properly insulate against the damp.

Robeez actually makes a soft shoe too. I am not a fan of the robeez slippers and much prefer the kids be in a proper shoe. It helps with balance and getting a flat foot so no toe walking. I have watched too many kids wearing slippers that are too small and toes are being scrunched or wearing them too big and then the slipper twists slightly and the child turns their foot slightly to compensate. When professionals said barefoot walking was the best they meant barefoot not slilppers. Either go barefoot or wear shoes but that is just my old fashion opinion, lol. Not to mention a cheap pair of runners is around $5 if you shop around and those slippers cost more than my runners I wear in the house do.