Activities for a 10 Month Old

I would recommend calling Parents as Teachers as well, they are great!! But in most area's they have play groups once a week, in my area they have them twice a week.

I'm a SAHM, and I find one of the best ways to combat boredom is to get out of the house (if the weather allows.) Like a previous reply mentioned, many libraries will have a weekly storytime. We often attend storytime at our local Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores. At our Borders, they also dance/sing, color and get a snack and it's all free. The younger kids don't get as much out of the actual story readings, but they really enjoy the interaction with other kids. Most libraries and bookstores will have their storytimes posted online on their "events" pages.

A.-
Have you looked into your local library?? Most of the time they have story time. Also, look into signing up with the Parents as Teachers group for the school district that you belong to. They have a great activity calander for all ages and your parents as teachers "teacher" will also bring you lots of great ideas to do. I have also registered with a class at The Little Gym ( a bit pricey but lots of fun)
Hope this helps!!
T.

I've always found that the simplest things make children happy. Give him a cardboard box to play with and you'll be amazed what he'll do with it. Also, give him a plastic mixing bowl, a plastic spatula and serving spoon or any non-sharp, non-choking-danger do-dad from the junk drawer in the kitchen. Also, if you have any larger magnets, let him sit in front of a cookie sheet and play with magnets. You can throw a blanket over the dining room table and move the chairs out and put a favorite toy under the table. It's all brand new in the new environment. Seal some rice in a pill bottle or film canister. Tape around the lid with packing tape to make it extra secure. It makes a nice soft swishing sound. Also, Family Fun magazine is a great resource. If you go online you can search for all sorts of topics.

GO TO HUGGIES.COM THEY HAVE A SECTION THERE WHERE YOU CAN FIND DIFFERENT INDOOR AND OUTDOOR GAMES TO PLAY WITH ANY AGE CHILD.

GOOD LUCK

G.

i have a 10 month old son. we love to just sit and read books and look through picture books. he also loves baby mozart from the baby einstein series.

we are also in kindermusik class once a week and highly recommend it! it gives us one on one bonding time. i did KM with my oldest son too and we both loved it!

you can also try the library storytime events which are free. i think they have a mother goose one that is for smaller kids like ours.

let me know if you want to chat more!

thanks!

C. Tai
Independent Consultant
Arbonne International
www.real.myarbonne.com

well after you've tried all the activities you can think of and you need a break, pop a baby einstein dvd in! my son LOVES it. and you can even sit and watch it with them and talk about the colors you're seeing or the children, and repeat the things they say...dance around the room with the music with your baby...my son is about the same age, and i don't feel like i really have to do a lot of "hands on" activities with him, but just change of scenery type stuff. he's crawling, and really just likes crawling around and discovering. so i make sure his area is safe and let him do that. when he gets frustrated, i'll put him in his walker, or put him on my lap and play a little or sing some songs. or look at some books, and then i can put him back down and he'll be content playing. v-tech makes some really great age appropriate toys with lights and sounds that are great and not too annoying. you might try a walker, or a johnny jump up, or if it's not freezing outside, bundle her up and go for a walk. a little cold air is good for us. being cooped up too much in the winter with the warm air is no good, just a bacteria breeding ground! oh and my son loves the newspaper. i'll put it down in front of it and he just goes through it. heloves the crinkly sound. so when i'm done with it, i let him have it. then when he's done, i just pick it all up and put it in the recycling bin. it sortof makes a mess, but a mess of newspaper is NOTHING compared to paint or flour!!

good luck!
missy

I'm also a stay at home Mom and my son just turned 11 months. I was a very busy person before I became an at home Mom, so adjusting to having nothing to do but care for my son was a big deal for me. It took some time, but eventually we got into a routine. One thing I figured out is that the baby doesn't need to be stimulated all the time. I have sort of converted our living room into a playroom and I two plastic tubs filled with toys he can play with on his own, one at each end of the room. Then throughout the room he has bigger toys, walk behind toys, play piano, lots of toys with lights and that make noises, with buttons and doors, etc. He gets busy all by himself going around and emptying the plastic tubs, playing at each toy for awhile, and I just let him do his own thing. I'll go in there with him sometimes and play with him, but at this age I think his attention span is about 30 seconds long. I've found that when he seems "bored" (and isn't tired, hungry, wet or poopy) a little distraction for just a minute or two will get him back on track and back onto some great adventure of his own. We roll a ball back and forth, look out a window together (I can't wait for spring when we can go outside instead of just look out there!), play patty cake, sing the ABC's or other songs and dance around, I'll put a few Cheerios in a plastic cup for him and he'll shake, spill and eat them, I also keep a big plastic bowl in our kitchen filled with little toys he can empty out, that way when he goes off exploring he'll have that bowl of stuff to get into, and trust me, its always spread out all over the kitchen! Another thing I do is change things up a bit every now and then, and by that I mean I simply move toys around in the living room, put different toys in different bins, etc. I've found that maybe children don't need structured activities as much as we (the grown-ups) do, at least at this point in my experience as a Mom. Hope this helps! I'll be looking for a playgroup for my son soon, now that he's almost a walker and seems to enjoy being around other children, plus it'll give me some time to hang out with other adults a day or two a week.

Are you signed up with Parents As Teachers? They are an organization through the school district - free. A teacher comes to your home once a month to give you support as a mom and ideas for age appropriate activities to stimulate your child. They're a great organization, they aren't pushy or judgemental, they're just there ot help. You can contact your local school district to get signed up. They normally have playtimes scheduled once a month too, plus other fun activities.

here are a few:
http://www.familytlc.net/index_toddler.html
http://parenthood.com/articles.html?article_id=4447
pbsparents.org
you can print out sheets to color.

she can finger paint with yogurt dyed with food coloring or with fruit in it or make chalk paint by mixing food coloring, cornstarch and water. Playdough is good and you can find recipes to make your own on the internet too.

At this age we were starting to look at books. We would pack and unpack a back pack full of dishes and plastic food. We also have lots of musical and interactive toys.

Please remember it is important for her to play on her own a lot. You don't want her to become dependent on you for entertainment and you don't want play time to actually be work time for her or yourself by always asking questions and prompting her to say words. Talk to her when you are playing with the her, call her by name and praise the little things she is doing. "Jenny, you pulled the blue car out of the box, you made a good choice by getting the blue car. It's pretty and I like it." When she says baby words then you repeat her "Johnny, you said "babbly load" It shows her you are there, and really paying attention to them. Avoid asking questions, eliminate telling her what to do at playtime, and be as enthusiastic as you can. This will help eliminate all those pestering questions that come in order to keep your attention. Practice doing this all the time.

Blocks are also a great idea.

Go to your local library they might have books u can look at to give u ideas.

Hi A.-
I joined a MOMS Club in my town to help with activities. They get together for playgroups, field trips, recipe groups and lots more. It is a national organization and it did wonders for me. I met some wonderful friends for myself as well as my boys.
If your in Ozark, MO the website is www.momsclubofozark.org I think. (If not just google it) If your not in Ozark you can get the main web site by clicking on the icon at the top of the Ozark site.
Good Luck
T. H

My little girl is 10 months old also...she does seem to get bored at times...although she was only in daycare for 1 month (5-6 months). Some of the things that she really enjoys are: playing with a toy with wheels that she can push, music!! (sing, dance with her), playing in water in the bathtub or shower (with Mama, of course!), we read books (and she likes to "read" to herself while I read a book to myself too, though it only lasts about 5-10 minutes), playing hide and seek, going for stroller ride at the mall, going for a playdate with other little children her age (or older, she loves her 3 year old cousin). She also loves our pets, a loveable dog and tolerant cat (you might not want to bring a new pet into the home at this age, but window shopping at a pet store might bring a smile to her face).