Taming the TV habit

[dabittymama]

Ok all you moms and teachers out there!!!! With such a cold winter my girls have been watching too much TV, IMO at least. They don't really play with many toys and mommy can only stand painting and coloring (well with Sadie coloring with crayons is still more snack time than anything...:)).

We do a tea party every day and an art project read books upon books but after that I am at a loss. Any ideas to keep them entertained that don't cost anything (that is key) and don't invovlve the TV? I really just want it to be warm enough to go play outside again!

[rachelv]

How about a cooking project each day?

Or, when my oldest was younger, I would pull out a bunch of ingredients and she would make up her own recipe. She always referred to it as "brain". It was usually just a pile of mushy goo.

[LibbysMommy]

How about a cooking project each day?

Or, when my oldest was younger, I would pull out a bunch of ingredients and she would make up her own recipe. She always referred to it as "brain". It was usually just a pile of mushy goo.


Ohhh my oldest DD loves doing this!! She especially loves adding sprinkles to her creations!! This can actually keep her entertained for quite awhile!!

[DawnMarch]

How about a treasure hunt? We have a treasure hunt game that asks for random things around the house, but obviously you could do this yourself!

[julifish]

I have the opposite problem - it's sooo hot here in the summer to do anything outside during the day.

My girls always loved playing in the bathtub with all sorts of containers - they pretend to make lemonade, coffee, etc. I just saved all our plastic recyclables and let them use them in the tub a few times before recylcing. Obviously though - you have to sit there and watch them so they don't slip under.

What about building a small stage area and looking for some dress up clothes and let your kids come up with their own little play or show? My kids could spend a whole day doing that (but mine are school aged).

Homemade play-doh and cookie cutters = hours of fun and no feeling guilty if they mix the colors together.

Cooking with you. My girls and I used to make bread once a week. I got yeast bricks from Sam's so it was cheaper and we got really good at making bread, plus we had yummy bread to eat.

If it's not too treacherous to drive - the library usually has great programs for little ones and you might meet some other moms in the same bind.

Have over some mom and kid friends and make it a play date so you don't have to play with the kids - they can play with other kids while you hang out with the moms.

I hope that helps.

[Misty Cato]

My son and I play sink or float. Just get a big bowl of water and a bunch of random objects and they guess whether each item will sink or float. Now he goes and picks out all the objects so that makes it go a little longer. We always end up in a water fight by the time it is all done, but you might be able to keep it under control. :p

Indoor picnics are fun, especially if you let them help prepare the food.

PBS Parents (http://www.pbs.org/parents/) and PBS Teachers (http://www.pbs.org/teachers/) has a lot of great ideas and activities.

Scavenger hunts are fun. I try to do these once a week with whatever Jamin's letter of the week is a school. So this week his letter is 'M' and a clue was, 'Baby sister's favorite drink' then I put the next clue on the milk. It takes a bit of planning, but it's one of his favorite things to do.

You could call you local firehouse and see if they do tours for the little ones.

[ditzyscrap]

Tresure hunts are a blast. We had my whole family here a couple winters ago and were trying to think of things to do with the kids. We came up with a "Blues Clues" type treasure hunt - with gifts at the end (grandparents were here as well and had brought gifts for the grandkids, lol). We printed out pawprints we got from nickelodeon.com and cut them out and put them in different spots - we wrote little clues on the backs. Jae put the one that started the game on her back pocket and walked in front of them until they noticed it, lol. It was a fun game and kept the kids SO entertained!

[jessica31876]

scavenger hunts are always fun. Make believe games are good. Like with my daughter we would pretend the cat was a dragon and she was a princess and her bed was thee castle. Hide and seek inside or outside also fun. Making "forts" with chairs, couch cushions and sheets the kids usually love.

[jessica31876]

dress-up with mom's and dad's old clothes is also fun for little kids

[LenaGardner]

This!!! (http://lenabrandenburg.blogspot.com/2008/10/one-with-indoor-sand-box.html)

I also suggest:

Aquadoodle

Homemade edible play dough

volleyball made with a string tied across the room and one inflated latex balloon

:)

[Sarah8914]

wow, these are great ideas! I've been really fortunate lately in that my girls play REALLY well together and are happy for long periods of time with that. It helps me out a lot.

Also, as far as the TV thing, just set a limit. Whatever you feel comfortable with (like 2 shows a day or something) and after a few days, they will know that's all they can watch so they have to choose what they want. It works really well for us, but we've always done it that way, so it may be harder to change.