2 1/2 Year Old Boy Bored at Home!

Being bored is good.
Too much stimulation is actually bad.
Him learning to entertain himself at a young age is a good thing then you won't have an 8-12 yr old complaining that he's bored.

Some kids, just do not know what to do with themselves.
It is actually good for them... to have a down time... from over-stimulation.
Because, it develops self-reliance and independence and creativity.

When my kids are "bored" I tell them "That is GOOD! See what you can think of!"... and then I let them think.... and they will often ponder stuff and come up with things to do.
It is good for a child, to develop that 'ability.'

And, some kids just don't know what to do when there is no 'structure' or routine in their lives. So, maybe have a routine for him when he comes home. It does not have to be all hyper/toys/noise things. Just something low key. Color a book. Cut and paste scrap paper. Help you 'sweep.' Help you put away. Have him do "helping" things... to develop that part of him... not it being about just him being 'entertained.' That teaches a child, good skills and ability.

My kids, just also like playing with stuff in our house. Or out in the yard. Even raking leaves is fun for them. Or playing ball. Or we turn on music and they dance around to the beat... or they do building blocks etc.

We teach our kids to "invent' things on their own... games/songs/activities/pretend play etc. And they do and have fun with that.

Think of things that HE can initiate... on his own.. versus being 'entertained' at.

all the best,
Susan

Two websites that I just used to find birthday presents for my 3 year old are mindware.com and fatbraintoys.com. They had a ton of toys with good reviews and you can sort by age.

Do you really think he's bored or maybe is just used to an enviroment with more noise and busy-ness. I would think he'd be happy to have a little down time. Have him help you make dinner or bake, my daughter loves that! Coloring or water colors are nice while you are doing cooking or laundry too. He can be near you but involved in his own task. Playdoh is also a good activity as well as puzzles and books. My daughter loves her play kitchen, do you have one? That is a good toy for kids to stay busy! Also Little People toys are pretty fun and a good toy for playing by yourself. We have a few sets and my daughter loves them.

I am a SAHM and my 2.5 yr old and I like to play with/use:

- books (library can help with boredom)
- Play-Doh with cookie cutters and toothpicks and play-doh toys
- blocks
- Legos
- Lap toys that make noise (like the Little Touch Leappad)
- paint (watercolors)
- color (a book is okay, but my son loves it when I print Woody & Buzz off the Internet)
- cars (all kinds, not just boring Matchbox)
- magnetic letters and numbers (my son knows all the numbers 0-10 and almost all his letters capital and lowercase)

But my son likes a lot of toys that he can do imaginary play. He likes "houses" that he can put his toys into and out of. Just today he had a farm house with windows and a door and a swing for his Apple Grove Pals. He used the toys that are supposed to go with it, but also grabbed his Snoopy stuffed animal. I was watching him. He was saying "Snoopy too big" because Snoopy's head wouldn't fit out the door. The Apple Grove Pals are great though. I think you have to get them online. Their hats come off. My son likes matching them. Each set of "pals" comes with a book too.

And as for cars -- the ones he likes best are the ones that DO something (the dumptruck has a pivoting dump thingy). Two other cars he likes - you can kind of wind up the wheels so that when you let go of the car on the hardwood floor, it goes shooting across the floor.

Oh and just like Margie said -- Rotate the toys. We do that too. On the nights when I am a complete mess, I pull out a box of toys he hasn't seen in a month or two and it's like magic -- he LOVES it all over again!

My son's preschool does sensory tubs with things like rice, oatmeal, birdseed, pasta, etc. If you don't mind the waste of food you can give him a cup or 2 of something in a dishpan with with some measuring cups, silverware or other safe kitchen stuff. Both my 4 year old and my 20 month old love to play with kitchen stuff (toy and real) and pretend food (clean boxes or containers I would otherwise recycle). I let my older one play with shaving cream and food coloring occasionally but it can be messy and needs closer supervision.

My 26 month old son loves to play with realistic toys like I use such as his vacuum cleaner, broom, kitchen set with play food, phone, leaf blower, and lawn mower. He also enjoys building with Legos, coloring, painting, reading, and musical instruments. Outsisde he loves to ride his bike or scooter. He's great at entertaining himself with these toys for quite awhile, but I am still by far his favorite playmate! He loves to help me with whatever I'm doing. He tries to fold clothes, plays in the water when I wash dishes, stirs and pours when I'm cooking...He also loves to take a walk and bring a little paper bag with so that he can collect things along the way. If I am doing something that he can't help with I sing or talk with him so that he doesn't feel ingored.

One thing you might try is putting some of his away and then bring them out in a couple months as WOOOHOOO Lookie here new toy.
That way you aren't running to the store to keep up with daycare.
The best toy my kids had at two was the play kitchen and the play broom, vacuum set. My son is 21, ours has been through four kids, and I still use the little broom and dustpan.

Give him some plain old household stuff, pots & pans, shoes boxes filled with cotton balls spoons etc. a very large box can be used as an elevator, a secret hide-away, clubhouse. Let him use his imagination, he can play for hours.

My son is 8 now, but I remember what it was like when he was 2 and I got home from work and had to get started on dinner right away. My son didn't seem interested in his toys - he wanted to be in the kitchen with me. I know this is messy, but I used to put one of those plastic tablecloths on the floor and give him a rectangular shaped shallow bucket or tupperware container filled with a little bit of water. I would put some measuring cups, spoons, and funnels in the bucket. He sat on the floor wearing just a pull-up and played. He was content and I could make dinner. Sometimes I covered the kitchen table with a big piece of paper and let him color.

My daughter is 2 1/2 and also had the same problem.

I got her a child size chair and table for activities and she will color or do stickers for about an hour at a time.

She loves stickers. I buy inexpensive books of 1000's of stickers. Find ones that are easy to peel. I showed her how to get the stickers off by making a fold by the edge of the sticker so she can lift it more easily. Now all I do is give her a piece of construction paper and a page of stickers to occupy her for 15 minutes at a time. She loves it. She even likes to color the pages after she puts on the stickers.

I also got her the robot "gears" set. I think it was 4+ but she loves it. She's really into them and since there are so many combinations, she is entertained for longer periods of time.

The LeapFrog Fridge Phonics are awesome. We keep them in a large plastic wipes box instead of on the fridge. She used to play with them for hours and now she knows all her letters and can sing most of the alphabet song if she sings along with it.

And most recently she had started to pretend play with her kitchen set.

Several of the other suggestions are good, too.

My son is very into cars - of all shapes and sizes. We have a garage we got on freecycle and he loves to race the cars down the ramp- for hours. He will make his own ramp though if needed (at my in-laws) out of whatever is around. He also loves the animal figurine type toys. Nice ones are made by Schleich (sp) and this is the perfect age for him to really start pretending. We got about 10 animals for him when he was 2 and he asks for more each birthday/christmas. He has about 6 horses (some Schleich and some fisher-price, etc) He will line them up in a parade or make a farm etc. He plays with them in our little pool or out in the yard. When he was 2-1/2 he literally brought them everywhere and even slept with them. Let him use his imagination! Good Luck

He is two and a half. I wouldn't worry. He might be exhausted. Beth was right.

hi mommy, depending on the time of day i'd take it its wind down time, so introducing some books for him to read while u make his end of the day meal, plus there is no harm in a bit of tv, some bedtime shows that he can relate to, make his bed routine into a step by step game, toy cars are are always a winner with the little boys especially if u suggest a place he can use a road and then he will be using his own imagination plus you get to do what u have to get done round the house. other stimulating toys are farm sets with animals and tractors, car garage sets with ramps, these will keep you's both busy. best of luck from mum of three in Dublin, Ireland. xx

My son was the same way at 2 1/2 (although he didn't go to daycare). It seemed that he did not know how to amuse himself. I found that if I got down on the floor with him and engaged him in an activity, showing him "how" to play, he would then play by himself for awhile after I got up and started dinner or something. My son needed to be shown how to drive his cars around and have them "talk" to each other. Once I gave him some ideas on how to use his imagination, he slowly got better. At 2 1/2 he loved cars (of any shape and size), trains and plastic dinosaurs the most. He also loves to play outside with balls, bubbles or just simply running around. I agree with some of the other moms that suggested rotating toys. I try to do that and it makes a world of difference! I also read a book that suggested something called "special time". Give your child 5 minutes (or whatever amount of time you decide) of completely undivided attention. We set the timer for 5 minutes and then I do whatever my son wants to do... which usually entails playing chase around the house. I don't answer the phone, check dinner, look at the computer, etc. I found that when I give him some undivided attention and let him lead the activity, he is more likely to then play by himself for awhile so I can get something done.