Yesterday I described a dilemma that probably sounds familiar to many of you – how to keep your toddler safe, occupied, and content while you take the occasional business (or personal) phone call. You may have noticed that most of the things that I have tried so far have not worked all that well for me. Today, I am going to offer some suggestions that have worked for other people.
One suggestion that I have seen is to create activity bags for your toddler that only make their appearance when Mom (or Dad) is on the phone. Activity bags are exactly what the name would imply, a bag that contains all of the items that your toddler would need to do an activity. The contents of the bags do not have to be pricey, either. All you have to do is think of things that a toddler might enjoy. Some examples include an assortment of shaped pastas with a few paper cups to sort them into, shaped pasta and yarn for making macaroni necklaces, a can of play dough (or some home made play dough) with a couple of “tools”, small note pads made from recycled scrap paper with crayons and stickers, and so on.
Another suggestion is to keep an old sheet handy and pitch a quick play tent by putting it over a table or some chairs. If your toddler does not usually have a play tent set up, the novelty of this new play space may keep him or her entertained for a bit. There were also some suggestions regarding finger painting and water play, but those will certainly not make their debut around here until the warmer months when we can do those things outside. Even if I were to lay down a huge tarp in the living room or kitchen and watch him like a hawk, there would definitely be major issues. I know my little guy and he knows that if I am on the phone, I can not really speak to him to discipline him or remind him of any rules. The first place the paint or water would go would probably be the wall or the floor. It would not be just a splat of paint or a drip of water, either. The whole container would get dumped in a dramatic fashion, accompanied by a very fake sounding “Oooooh nooooo”. As in “I know exactly what I just did and it was no accident”. I think he will love doing those things outside though, and I like giving him the freedom to make a mess when it won’t really harm anything or anyone.