Bored 2 1/2 year old

[GymMom]

Right now I have a ft 2 1/2 yo boy and 2 pt baby girls. Some days I have 1 baby plus the boy, some days it's 2 babies plus the boy and some days it's just him and me. Trouble is - he is bored. He doesn't stick with one activity or toy for more than a few minutes, even if I sit down and play with him. I have 2 more little guys starting in November, which I hope will help keep him busy, but in the meantime, what do I do with him? Any good activities for this age group I might not have thought of? Or any ways to keep him involved in an activity for a bit longer? By the end of the day, I'm counting down the minutes til mom gets here because there's nothing left he wants to do. Help!

[mimi]

Little boys love racing cars down a slide, building with age appropriate building blocks, sitting on a bouncy horse, covering the table with a large piece of paper and letting him colour all over it, play dough. That's what I can come up with for now. He needs to learn to entertain himself instead of waiting to be entertained. You can ask him to build you a tower with blocks and other small play assignments. Oh yea, musical toys like xylonphone or toy piano, it will drive you crazy, but it will occupy him. Hope this helps.

[GymMom]

Ohhh, I like the cars on the slide idea! I have a little slide outside that I can bring in for the winter! I agree - he does have to learn to entertain himself! He's got older siblings that probably keep him busy at home! Thanks for the ideas!!

[mimi]

I have a small slide I bring indoors when the weather cools as kids still have the need to slide and like I said the boys race their cars and trucks down it constantly. I have a 31/2 dcg who seemed lost when her friends went to JK. I have developed a new routine for her (school time, read a book to me time etc.) so she embraces the new and doesn't miss her friends so much. I have also had to show her how to depend on herself for play ideas when I need to focus on the younger ones.

[Mamma_Mia]

I have a train table, car 'parking garage', over 15 cars, lego & lego cars and my almost 3yr old dcb is the same way. He'll just sit there. Same issue - baby of the family and older siblings entertain him. At first I'd play with him to teach him and ask "what if" questions to get his creative mind going......at this point - being here for almost 2 months, sorry kid. Time for you to figure it out on your own, I'm not feeding into it anymore. I have 4 others to care for!

[playfelt]

Ohhh, I like the cars on the slide idea! I have a little slide outside that I can bring in for the winter! I agree - he does have to learn to entertain himself! He's got older siblings that probably keep him busy at home! Thanks for the ideas!!

If he has older siblings and has stopped putting stuff in his mouth it is probable that his mom has taken anything "baby" out of the play area and now he just plays with the same toys as his siblings. You might want to consider a few more toys for an older child or that look like it such as hotwheels vice plastic cars. The slide is a great idea - a board raised slightly works fine.

He might like a bowling set or a target of some sort for tossing things into to get rid of some energy. Often a child that can't sit to concentrate need to be active for awhile first. Music on in the background can actually help focus as it seems to take away the concept of counting the minutes till hometime.

[Momof4]

Well now that just makes me sad. I child should never be bored, that's just wrong. There is so much to do in life, so much to learn and so many things to play with. I think this child needs to learn to entertain himself and not rely on others to entertain him. I don't consider it my job to 'entertain' the children unless it's storytime or circle time or craft time. All other times are for the children to use their imaginations and play with whatever makes them happy.