Parents: what do y'all do with your toddlers on cold, rainy weekends?

[RTFirefly]

We adopted the Firebug in March, so we didn't have this problem last winter. But now the days are getting short, cold, and wet, and we've got a 2 year old with a lot of energy to burn off.

Sure, we can distract him with books, crayons, and Sesame Street DVDs, but we really need something for him to do that burns off some of his seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy. (If there were a way to harness all the energy the Firebug generates, I think we could supply power to the entire neighborhood!)

So what do parents do to wear out their young kids when the days are short and the weather's rotten? I'm hoping for some good ideas from you guys!

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

We have hours of fun playing with a beach ball in the house. We play a game we call "Keep up" where you have to keep volleying the ball in the air and you can't let it touch the ground (carpet). It's fun because tables, couches, chairs, etc are all "in play" and you can bounce the ball off them. Only the ground counts. Of course, my sons are four and seven...it may be hard to get a two year old to enjoy that.

Build legos with him. Play "rolleyball"...where you both sit across from one another open-legged and roll the ball to each other...bonus points for the kid if he can strike you in the nards...

Another thing we used to do is play with race cars. It helps if you have a big and smooth enough area so they can go farther and faster. Hot Wheels work, but I went out and bought a couple of those "shake and go" cars that are battery powered...you shake them up (the engine "revs") and you place them flat and they take off. Those things are a lot of fun!

Drawing is another good way to kill time. Sometimes we use regular paper and colored pencils/markers, or we get on the computer and use Paint or a similar program.

Paper airplanes! Get online and try to see if you can build some of the wackier ones out there. Flying them around the house is fun and harmless enough.

If you have a dog, encourage Firebug to play with it. We have lots of fun using rope toys and playing tug of war with our dog.

Give him piggyback rides around the house, pretending to drop him once and awhile.

OK.

[MissTake]

Blanket tunnel chases. Remember making blanket forts with furniture? Make a round tunnel instead and play tag.

Like FGIE, we'd play volleyball, but with balloons.

Put on music and dance as silly as you can.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

Blanket tunnel chases. Remember making blanket forts with furniture? Make a round tunnel instead and play tag.

Like FGIE, we'd play volleyball, but with balloons.

Put on music and dance as silly as you can.

We tried that, and it's pretty fun, but we have like 16' cathedral ceilings in our living room (where there's the most room to play that game), and my seven year old can hit it all the way up to the ceiling.

We'd often find ourselves having a snack, talk a little and then run back over to volley again as it took so damn long for the thing to come back down!

:)

[Rushgeekgirl]

We installed a swing in my daughter's bedroom door frame and let her jump into a big pile of blankets. We built her a balance beam in the living room and let her paint it (she was three though, a little older so keep this in mind for next year). We gave her rags to "clean" the tables and a little broom to sweep the floor.

The Wiggles have good get up and move videos if you've worn yourself out.

Painting and drawing can become a more physical if you have an easel or tape big sheets of paper on the wall. I make great gobs of homemade play dough but at two maybe he might eat that.

There's always dancing!

[MissTake]

And we switched to ballooons after our little octagonal 2 gallon fishtank went down after a tragic beach ball incident. :)

[Green Bean]

Maybe there's a local indoor play place you can take him to? We have this one (http://www.kidzvillage.com/) nearby, and it is all sorts of awesome. And parents get in free.

And one of the sprout's favorite games when he was little was "Arthur the Destroyer." We'd stack up blocks in a simple tower and he'd knock them down. Hours of fun. If there are two stackers, you can have a race to see who makes a higher tower before Firebug the Destroyer comes along.

Oh, and did you know that you have a spaceship in your house? Two laundry baskets! The kid in one, and one turned upside down on top. Really, you can get a ton of mileage out of laundry baskets. Throw in a couple of sheets or towels and stuffed animals, and you're good to go.

[Pray for peace]

We put on an album (we use children's music) and march around the house playing simple instruments like tamborine or maracas. Sidney Jr. also loves to dance while the rest of the family is playing Guitar Hero.

[SMullen]

Ha. I live in Seattle. When my daughter was little we went outside when it was cold and rainy. I love all the suggestions for what to do inside, but don't forget the outside! There are great raincoats and boots for kids. Take em outside and let em stomp around in some puddles!

[Hal Briston]

Got a formic countertop? Cover it with shaving cream, and let the little one go nuts drawing in it with his hands. Added bonus: the counters are nice and clean when you're done.

[overlyverbose]

The following are regular rainy-day activities for us:

-Jumping on the glob (to create "the glob," which is based off a Fraggle Rock episode, just throw most of the back cushions from the couch onto the floor and cover with a duvet or other fluffy cover, then sit back and let him or her launch off the couch or jump up and down)

-House races - our son is ridiculously energetic, so we often tire him out by doing laps around the house with one or both of us chasing him.

-Building a cave - this is another variation on the pillow fort, only our son got the idea out of reading an Alladin story. We build a cave around him out of couch cushions and a duvet. It inevitably becomes the glob, so it's pretty multi-purpose.

-Jumping on the bed - we probably shouldn't do this, but I have no problem with our son jumping on his bed or ours as long as one of us is there to supervise him. I never realized a 3-year old could run for over two hours without stopping; watching him jump on the bed is infinitely easier on me because I don't have to chase him.

-Watching the ball or slinky go down the stairs - may not be best for a 2-year old if he or she hasn't mastered stairs; however, we routinely bounce balls or slinkies down the stairs because our son has to go down and climb back up to get them.

When all else fails and if we're really not in the mood to go to a kids' place that will be overrun, we start running errands. We've never been big on strollers, so our son has known to stick close to us since he was very young, so malls and grocery stores work well. Malls can be especially helpful because many have a kids' area. That way your kid doesn't have to use as much decorum, too - instead of having to walk sedately with you, he or she can race around the play area with the other kids without worrying about warnings to stay with you, walk slower, do X, Y or Z. Groceries are also good because they can be a good learning experience (learning the names of different fruits & veggies, following directions, helping, etc.) and your kid can walk around with you and push the cart.

[RTFirefly]

Thanks, folks, for all the good ideas! Not all of the more energy-intensive ones are adaptable to our house, but I think that more than enough of them are to help us get through the inevitable spells of nasty weather.

For instance, the guest bed mattress and box springs are on their last legs (bought 'em in 1985), so I may turn him loose there and let him use it as a trampoline on rainy days over the winter, then buy a new set in the springtime. And his bedroom is big enough for us to bat a beach ball around in, and there's really nothing breakable there, so we can do beach ball games in his bedroom. I also like the idea of marching up and down to music - he loves music, I'm delighted to say, everything from kids' songs to pop music to Beethoven.

I expect we can find some things to do on rainy Saturdays that will get him to sleep late on Sundays. :)

[An Arky]

Ha. I live in Seattle. When my daughter was little we went outside when it was cold and rainy. I love all the suggestions for what to do inside, but don't forget the outside! There are great raincoats and boots for kids. Take em outside and let em stomp around in some puddles!

My kids love this; especially having hot chocolate afterward!

[norinew]

It's been touched on before, but find all the indoor play places in your area! Chuck E. Cheese, the kid place in the local mall, the Burger King or McDonald's with an indoor play area, whatever. Find them.

And I'll second letting them play outside even when it's wet. Most kids love mud puddles (hell, you were there when mudgirl earned her name, weren't you??). If it's a cold, dreary day, follow playing in mud puddles (or playing in piles of leaves) with playing in a bathtub filled with bubbles, followed by hot chocolate and cuddling while reading.

[ivylass]

I think all that fresh air will help wear him out too. After a day out in nature my kids were wiped out.

[RTFirefly]

It's been touched on before, but find all the indoor play places in your area! Chuck E. Cheese, the kid place in the local mall, the Burger King or McDonald's with an indoor play area, whatever. Find them. That's one resource I've already taken advantage of (the play area in the nearest indoor mall, anyway) but there's a limited extent that I can make use of that, since the nearest mall is a half hour away. (The nearest Chuck E. Cheese is right around the corner from the mall.) Some solutions are of limited applicability in my relatively sparsely-populated exurb.

And I'll second letting them play outside even when it's wet. Most kids love mud puddles (hell, you were there when mudgirl earned her name, weren't you??). If it's a cold, dreary day, follow playing in mud puddles (or playing in piles of leaves) with playing in a bathtub filled with bubbles, followed by hot chocolate and cuddling while reading.I'm good with a certain amount of wet, but if the rain's coming down sideways (which is the call for this weekend) or so heavily that an umbrella is basically useless, then I'm staying inside.

But if it's only a light-to-medium rain, I'm bundling us both up, grabbing the big umbrella, and taking the Firebug out for a walk.

[Ceejaytee]

We play Tickle Monster still (my kids are 7 and 5) which involves chasing the small people around the house and then tickling them when you catch them. You try not to catch them too often though so they do a lot of running.

We don't have a lot of space, but we used to let them ride tricycles in the house. There's just enough room for that, but they can't go far.

Dancing is good, jumping on pillows is fun. Marching is awesome. We play the balloon game (we call it Balloon-o). Indoor play spaces are great. Soft balls are also fun in the house and they won't break things. You can throw them, catch them, roll them on the floor, bowl with them. Yours might be too young for this, but sometimes we set up objects on the stairs and the kids try to know them down with balls.

[Dangerosa]

We play Tickle Monster too, but our version involves the adult lying on the floor ready to grab little kids as the run by. Sometimes you can snooze while they taunt you - you just need to lunge once in a while, and catch occasionally to keep them happy.

[norinew]

My kids, at least, always loved playing with dry ingredients/measuring cups/measuring spoons. Often, I'd let them do it in the bathtub (no water) or the bathroom/kitchen sink (with a step stool) for easy clean-up. Also, just playing with soap and water in a bathroom sink with a stopper and some water-proof toys has always been a big hit.

Oh, and while my Mom was always a "No, you may not play with bubbles in the house!" I always let my kids do it.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

We play Tickle Monster too, but our version involves the adult lying on the floor ready to grab little kids as the run by. Sometimes you can snooze while they taunt you - you just need to lunge once in a while, and catch occasionally to keep them happy.

We play a variation of this game where my sons try to attack me while I am on my knees with my eyes closed. I don't cheat...they laugh hysterically at me as they try to trick me into guessing where they are and lunging after them, only to grab empty air. They circle around me, dodging in to tap my arms or shoulder, then dance away.

If I do catch them though, it's tickle 'til death...or until the other brother "saves him" from me.

They ask me to play that one all the time, only problem is, it wears me out faster than it does them!

[drastic_quench]

The mall has a large indoor play land for toddlers, and everything is rubberized so they can go nuts. It's free, and a helluva lot more sane than Chuck E Cheese.

[RTFirefly]

The mall has a large indoor play land for toddlers, and everything is rubberized so they can go nuts. It's free, and a helluva lot more sane than Chuck E Cheese.Our nearest mall has a pretty small indoor play land for toddlers - I'm guessing maybe a 40x20 oval. It's certainly better than nothing, but it is kinda tricky to supervise him there. On the one hand, there really isn't room for parents like me to hang too close to their kids, but on the other, he's still at an age where he needs to be able to see Mommy or Daddy when he looks up and wonders where we are. He's also at an age where he doesn't really understand sharing and taking turns, so I need to be close enough to occasionally step in and make sure he gives way to a kid who's playing with the thing that he wants to be playing with. So it's a resource that I'll use, but gotta admit I'm not exceedingly fond of it.

And the mall is a half hour away, which is kind of a long trip for something like that unless I'm going that way anyway, or unless I'm getting desperate. It's just a function of living in an exurb, I expect: not much in the way of good indoor places to take your kid to, and a ways away to boot.

Fortunately, there've been a lot of good suggestions in this thread for things we can do in the house itself, and they're inherently less location-dependent.

[Nava]

We play Tickle Monster still (my kids are 7 and 5) which involves chasing the small people around the house and then tickling them when you catch them. You try not to catch them too often though so they do a lot of running.

Wait, you don't take turns? Turnabout is fair play, we started enforcing it because his grandmothers wanted to tickle the Kidlet without giving him a chance to tickle back. If someone tickles him, he can tickle back, and of course the recipient of the tickles is allowed to run away from the tickler. This also gave us the chance to teach him the difference between tickling, scratching and poking.

[Huerta88]

Do a geographically-restricted search on "bounce house."

[Ceejaytee]

Wait, you don't take turns? Turnabout is fair play, we started enforcing it because his grandmothers wanted to tickle the Kidlet without giving him a chance to tickle back. If someone tickles him, he can tickle back, and of course the recipient of the tickles is allowed to run away from the tickler. This also gave us the chance to teach him the difference between tickling, scratching and poking.

They get plenty of opportunity to attack. They usually come after me though, and leave daddy alone.

[Mr. Moto]

Where do you live?

We are lucky to have an Ikea close by - the kids treat this as a fun night out. They get to run around in the play area, we all have dinner and then the kids get cones while Mom and Dad drink coffee (and maybe have a cinnamon roll).

If we don't buy anything else, this will usually set our family of five back around 25 bucks. Ikea runs their cafeteria and snack bar as loss leaders.

You have mentioned before that you are a bike rider - we had our kids in the bike trailer at that age. The trailer is nicely weatherproof, and is another fun thing to do.

[RTFirefly]

Wait, you don't take turns? Turnabout is fair play, we started enforcing it because his grandmothers wanted to tickle the Kidlet without giving him a chance to tickle back. If someone tickles him, he can tickle back, and of course the recipient of the tickles is allowed to run away from the tickler. This also gave us the chance to teach him the difference between tickling, scratching and poking.That's a great idea!

[RTFirefly]

Where do you live? Northern Calvert County, MD.

We are lucky to have an Ikea close by - the kids treat this as a fun night out. They get to run around in the play area, we all have dinner and then the kids get cones while Mom and Dad drink coffee (and maybe have a cinnamon roll).

If we don't buy anything else, this will usually set our family of five back around 25 bucks. Ikea runs their cafeteria and snack bar as loss leaders. The nearest IKEA to us, the one right off the Beltway in College Park, is probably about 45-50 minutes away. But I'd forgotten about their play area - it's really quite good, IIRC, and I'd say it's more worth the longer drive than the play area at our mall is worth the shorter one. Thanks for the suggestion!

You have mentioned before that you are a bike rider - we had our kids in the bike trailer at that age. The trailer is nicely weatherproof, and is another fun thing to do.That's another of those instances where the advantages of being in an exurban environment turn into at least a perceived disadvantage. There's a lot of good cycling around here, but unlike DC and northern VA, it's all on public roads. I feel safe riding on them, but outside the mile or so of roads in our neighborhood, I'm a bit queasy about taking the Firebug in a trailer on them. That may be irrational, but aren't we all. :)

[Mr. Moto]

There's a lot of good cycling around here, but unlike DC and northern VA, it's all on public roads. I feel safe riding on them, but outside the mile or so of roads in our neighborhood, I'm a bit queasy about taking the Firebug in a trailer on them. That may be irrational, but aren't we all. :)

Stay in your neighborhood then. Those are the same streets the small one will ride with you when he gets his bike.

It is monotonous, I admit, riding around the same blocks all of the time - but kids don't feel that kind of monotony when they're on or around a bicycle. Besides, he'll probably be telling you to go faster, so you won't be bored for long. ;)

[Aspidistra]

I was going to say "ride the bus" - but given your location maybe you don't have one? Worth considering if you do.

Second, third and fourth norinew's suggestion of a sink-full (well, half-full...) of bubbles. My Small Boy loves "doing the washing up"

Ever made playdough? Playdough is great. Lots of recipes on the intarwebs.

Play puppydogs. Throw the ball. He fetches the ball. Throw the ball. He fetches the ball... You get to sit down for that one!

Do bouncing rhymes (I do this with me lying in the middle of the bed. Even MORE relaxation for mummy!). These two are good for about half an hour...

Mother and father and uncle John
Rode to the market one by one
Mother fell OFF (*fling him to one side*)
Father fell OFF (*other side*)
But uncle John rode on and on and on and on and on...

This is the way the ladies ride (jiggity jig, jiggity jig)x2
This is the gentlemen ride (gallop a trop gallop a trot)x2
This is the way the farmer rides (THUMPETY THUMP THUMPETY THUMP)x2
And this is the way the butcher boy rides (over and over and over and OFF!)

[crowmanyclouds]

I've heard that helium filled UFO shaped balloons are fun for the whole family!

It's too soon ..... isn't it? :D
CMC fnord!

[billfish678]

I just throw em outside and hope they go into hibernation till spring time. Doesnt always happen, but it at least always turns out I get a peaceful winter no matter what.

[salinqmind]

My toddler used to make "potions" - mix a little oil, vinegar, jelly, honey, corn syrup, salt, sugar, and everything from the spice rack - stir up with water, and voila, there's yer potions.

Also, washing (plastic and unbreakable) dishes and cups and such, standing on a chair at the sink (under supervision, of course) took up a surprising amount of time. Washing toys in the bathtub - God knows, they needed it! Fingerpaints. Having a sockball fight (yeah, pairs of socks rolled up in balls) across the bed.