My 2-1/2 year old gets bored easily and is easily overwhelmed when he has too many choices. Part of this is being a toddler, but part of it is his personality. He's works better one on one whether it be with people, or toys!
We noticed that he was bringing all of his toys out just for the sake of throwing them on the floor. The more toys there were out, the less likely he was to play with ANY of them (imagine trying to think in such a cluttered space!) and even LESS likely to help pick them up at the end of play time.
It took me a while to get to this but we finally started a toy rotation last week and WOW! what a difference it has made! All of the toys for the day fit into one 60 gal tote that we rotate 3x a week.
We decided on three times a week because he's gone two days to Mother's Day Out and on the weekends were are usually pretty busy and out of the house--or since Dad's home free time is spent working with him or wrestling around. I'm still worried that he will get bored after a few weeks of doing this...ehhh!
It's amazing how many toys a child can accumulate (and we don't buy them for him - they're gifts) even when you are making an attempt to limit the number. We need a solution to stop the toy madness! I have trouble balancing boredom with simplicity and in a small house, simplicity is key!
I'm considering getting rid of several of the less "popular" toys and trying to utilize some things from around the house to entertain him. Things that we'd do for a week or so, then put back and create something new. I've also thought about a toy rental arrangement with a local organization or with friends...not sure how to go about this though!
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Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Toy Rotation and Donation!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Works For Me Wednesday: Storing Diapers and Less Walking!
With our first child we always changed diapers in his room on the changing table...until he was like 20 mos old! Then after the birth of our daughter I realized that it was ridiculous to think I would be able to haul her back to her room to change her diaper 12 times a day with my 2 year old wandering around the house. Plus, when you have a toddler you get ZERO time to sit and I was frankly tired of all the up and down!
So I started changing diapers in the living room on the floor or sofa or wherever I happened to be in reach of a diaper. But as you can imagine, I was always hunting around for wipes/diapers or trying to get them back from my son so I could use one (same problem downstairs in our family room!). One day while I was out at a local consignment store I found a nice set of matching baskets with cloth liners for $20 and thought ah-ha! my diaper solution!
I have one of these baskets in each of the kids rooms and one in the living room and family room. Each one has wipes, ointment and several diapers for each child in it and I can be certain that there are always diapering supplies at hand. They look nice and unless someone makes a point to look inside, there would be no hint of the diaper changing that occurs in every corner of the house! I refill them every morning (if needed).
Now I don't have to listen to my husband complain that there are no supplies ready for him (which there must be if I expect him to change a diaper!). And I get 5 extra minutes a day to sit down - even if I am wrestling a small child to the ground at the time!
Check out WFMW posts at our other blogs BeCentsAble and Naturally CentsAble
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Quelling the toddler frustration!
Okay, parenting help!
My toddler (a 31 month old boy) is a bundle of frustration and emotion at any given time of the day! He's very curious and independent. Typical for a toddler, he has to have things his way, a very certain, specific way, or no way at all. And when he decides it's NOT happening, there is no talking him down - much to the dismay of parents out there who try to step in and offer assistance. It's something for him that just has to pass - in an hour or two!
He's very passionate (and I'm taming my idealism) and as a result, these meltdowns are many and often!
I'm struggling with the best way to manage these frequent outbursts and qell my own frustration. You see, I also have a 9 month old. She's very laid back but I feel like I've been mostly ignoring her while I deal with my son. The problem is that I can't discipline him every time he acts this way or we spend most of the day at odds, but I just feel like I'm running out of creativity and diversion tactics!
Ultimately, it seems like I'm tiptoeing around his mood somedays and I just don't think that will serve either of us well in the future.
Any help!?
