Trying to Get My Child to Stop Playing with the Water

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Both my kids were fascinated with it. Until they were older and could better understand, there are two options. Just keep moving him away over and over and giving him something else to play with. OR put the water out at times when he isn't around. When ours wouldn't leave it alone. I moved it up until they found something else to keep their attention.

if you are open to the idea maybe get him his own water bowl to have.... (even is its a cheap dollar store dog dish lol)... maybe that will help... other then that is there anyway you can put a baby gate up so he cant get to it.

Maybe you could get him a water table to put in the kitchen that he can play with during the day. They have a bunch of different styles and sizes at toys r us. You could check their website.

ha, ha, I had to laugh. Our 3 1/2 yo STILL plays with the water!! Good luck on this one!! :)

My daughter went through the same thing -it only lasted a short time. I think all kids this age love to do this becuase they are exploring and it's easy to reach and it's fun to make a mess. The only thing you might be able to do is just redirect him every time he does it and eventually he won't find it interesting anymore. Good luck

Give him his own tub of water, some cups and containers, a big beach towel underneath (or outside as the weather improves). This is a wonderful, educational, creative, natural, and just plain fun activity for kids. Give him what he's craving!

While making dinner I'd put my kids in the sink with some warm water. Or get a big-ish tub, put water in it and let him play in the kitchen on the floor...for outside water tables are the best :)

When my son puts his hands in the dog water, we go back inside. But it sounds like you must have indoor dogs. Can you leave the water up on the counter, then put it back down during naptime or when your son's distracted and playing with something else? Or move the water to a different location - your bathroom, maybe, where it's not in sight tempting your son.

I don't know what kind of dogs you have, but when we had a cat and babies, we kept pet stuff in a room (bathroom or laundry room) and put a baby gate in the doorway. You can leave a small space underneath for a small dog to slide under, but too small for baby. Or you can put the gate to the floor and have the pet jump the gate. If you have a four season porch, you can leave the water out there and just keep sliding glass door open enough for the dog to slip through. Or if you have a dog door to the outside, you can keep the water out there.

Good luck,
S.

Kids go through stages and right now yours is in a tactile stage. Give him things to do that he can feel, like fingerpainting with pudding, if you are thinking of keeping the pudding picture then make it with water not milk. Wiggling his fingers in a bowl of dry macaroni or rice, things he can pick up and feel. You can take old picture frames or thrift store finds and put different fabrics like satin, velvet, burlap, and corduroy. the varied textures are wonderful opportunities for him to feel. But the biggest thing you can do is let heim play in water. You can put an old dishpan of water, shallow of course, and give him some measuring cups, a seive, anything that will make the water do different things, and he will sit and play with that for a long time. We made water tables in my center by using rubbermaid tubs and PVC. Kids need the opportunity to explore and this may be how you get him uninterested in the water bowl.

This site may have some good suggestions:
http://familyfun.go.com/playtime/

That used to drive me nuts, too! Try this..get his little stool and put water in your bathroom or kitchen sink with a few paper or plastic ups and let him go to town! Yes...it will make a mess but they really love this at that age. He'll have a blast and might forget all about the dog dish.

well this is unfortunatly par for the course.

#1: your child LOVES water. this is common and normal. so its entertaining and fun!

#2: he gets a rise out of you whenever he plays in the water. more fun believe it or not, seeing if and how you will respond this time.

the best solution is to move the water dish out of your son's reach somehow. whether that means to put it in another room, or the bathtub, whatever. someplace your child isnt allowed during the day. if there isnt any such location you should maybe get a gate or something and figure something else out. we have to feed our cats in the laundry room and my son doesnt play in there, so it works great. i dont know how it would work for you.

if that doesnt work.... i dont know what to do. be consistent, distract, if you even see him going in that direction, redirect him. :P