Winter Madness, and Its Only November!

My daughter got hooked on Teletubies and that was a hard one to kick and trying to negotiate with a child at that age was sometimes challenging.

We would start out our day:

Wake up, change clothes, make bed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, practice our 3 sign language words. Then she could watch 1 teletubby video. (negotiate-only after we did these things would she get the video)

Then we would go out an do 1 activity for her and then 1 for me (I told her we had to share/take turns)

By then it would be lunch then naptime.

Activities try:

timeoutkids.com or timeoutny.com-you can look up age appropriate activites for the week (wed-next tues)

Museum of Manhattan (MOM)-they have a great inside olay and art area for different ages and on occasion learning activities

Swim class (Jewish Gym) the pool is warm and changes floor levels for them

Chelsea Piers (I heard they have great gym play areas-havent been there yet)

Family Fun Magazine-I like this one has different activities

MCDonalds Inside Playland
(very small and very managable-just dont go between 3:30pm-early in the day is better not to many wild kids) on 10th and 23rd (look it up I am not sure exact address- but is one block behind Whole Foods in Chelsea on the West side)

Brooklyn has alot of places to eat while the kids can play/kid friendly and the zoo look in the time out website for these. (Although I have never been over there but there are always a ton in the magazine)

ToysRUS in Time square has the big Ferris wheel inside and is $3 a piece. My daughter loves it and all the lights. Plus I get to see what are the new learning toys.

At this age my daughter loved story time-if you can find one of those...

A little about me:
Married with 1 daughter living in Manhattan

Hi,

I have been there. My son is really active & now 27mths. Nothing seems to tire him out. When he was his age, he nevered played with toys, just carried things around. Since its only Nov. & the winter is so long I would bundle up. And would continue going to the park & anywhere else outside. Even if he is not running around, it will get u both out of the house. And your day will go by so much faster. We also have become members of the children's musuem. They are great for rainy days & days when u need something to do. And we travel to the one in the city, long island etc. What about having playdates at other people's homes? Library stoytime? Just a walk around the neighborhood? I am not sure about your child's seperation anxiety, it will probably pass. Did u pratice leaving him for a minute or so on his own while u wash dishes or something? Of course, check on him but don't let him see u. Hopefully, he will learn to be on his own more. Activites with other adults & children will help him also. Don't worry alittle TV is not bad esp. if u limit it to a couple times a day to help u & him.

Hi A.,
This time of year is hard cause you cant get outside as much as you would like. But here's some ideas. Get him so Mega blocks. My son loved playing with ANY blocks. Crayons and a big pad. I used the color magic cause it only works on the color magic paper.
Some TV is ok. But I hear what your saying. Sometimes there's no other choice. I hope my ideas helps u limit TV time
N.

Hi A.,

I have shared your experience! My son crawled at 5.5 months, and never stopped moving (still true at 2.5 yrs) I would strongly caution you against TV! Mounting research indicates that not only do young children not learn anything other than brand recognition (basically meaning, to them it's all one big commercial) but that for young children, watching television could be neurologically harmful (yikes!). The book Buy, Buy, Baby provides a great synopisis on this topic.

Invest in some down outerware (for both of you!) and take the little guy to the park. That's what will tire him out! I would have lost my mind if not for the winter visits to local parks! It also offers social opportunity, and a chance for him to build confidence in his physical abilities and his ability to play independently.

A nice indoor choice is the Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM), there are areas specifically designed for small children. Unfortunately, like every great thing on Manhattan, it gets very crowded!

All the best!

C.

Read to your toddler. Good books with captivating pictures and words/sounds should get him to sit still for a bit. You can start with a few minutes at a time and work up to 10 minutes or more. Do it now to start good habits. One of the reasons my 13 year old son excels in school is that he can focus for long periods of time. That came from sitting and playing with him when he was a baby/toddler. Make the investment now and you'll reap big rewards later on. If you need suggestions, contact me. I suggest visiting www.toysofdiscovery.com and looking for the D0-Re-Me and you books with CDs that will get him up and dancing/moving to age-appropriate music. Other fun indoor activities are baking cookies. Let him help you measure out ingredients. It will be a mess, but he'll be busy! Make home-made play dough, do baby puzzles, 4 piece puzzles. Once he gets the hang of it, he can do it without you.