Bored at Home with a 14 Month Old

Try making home made play dough- its edible but doesn't taste good. You can find recipes for this on the net. Also let him finger paint with pudding, coolwhip or shaving cream. These are awsome sensory things.

When I was alone with my first, many years and several children ago, I spent a lot of time learning the skills that I would need to be a good SAHM. I cooked, trying new recipes and trying to work more and more from scratch. I read everything I could find about mothering, marriage, etc... I entertained. All of this gained for me experience that strengthened skills that I have needed so much in the busy years that followed. I realize that with a little one it is challenging to get anything done, but I just got creative looking for ways to keep him entertained while I worked, read, whatever. The best thing was to try to involve him in some way in what I was doing. It wasn't easy, and I ran in place (or in circles) a lot, but I was never bored.

A few ideas since I see you probably don't live on a busline in Holmen, WI...

Seek out local moms to form a playgroup with... especially if they're within walking distance so you can get to their homes too. Get it established while weather is nice so it's in place for winter.

Painting: get an easel, paint brushes. He can paint any surface with water (brick walls and concrete show water marks well), or real paint on paper.

I saw on your town's website that they have an awesome aquatic center (http://www.holmenwi.com/holmenpr/). Do you go there? Do! If it's too far to walk, do you have other mom friends who would pick you up once a week for a joint outing to it? Or use the public transportation service, splurge on the cost of it once a week. I think a 14 month old would LOVE that place!

i understand your pain with only having 1 car. we did that for over a year. To take the car for the day I'd have to wake up ODS and once DD was born her too. It was an hour out of our day to take him to the bus stop!!! It's tough but well worth it. Here are some ideas:

Art; by all means he is ready for art. My DD has been coloring/painting for a while. Get the washable paint/crayons and you should be fine. finger painting or get the paint brushes (Alex makes them)w/ knobby end that's easier to hold. You can also mix some shaving cream and glue on colored paper and it "holds" to the paper. Have him color a paper bag for a puppet.

Songs/Music; Go on a "Bear Hunt"

Playgroup; if you can't find a playgroup in your area of accessability try organizing one that meets in your local park. meetup.com can help you find local momma's wanting a playgroup. Best part if you organize you can set the location!!!

I would say "yes" get a sand/water table. Tons of fun for your little. Step2 makes some great ones. Also, how about a playdate at the park or somewhere you can walk to?

Hey M.!

Try finger paint!!! Kids love making a mess, and the finger paints now a days is non toxic and cleans up easily. The sensory table is a great idea. I know they use them alot at daycare centers. Anything to stimulate him is great. Maybe even having some interaction with another baby his age. Good Luck!

S.

A little about me: I am 34 years old, married with 2 children (2 and 5). I stay at home with them Mon. thru Friday. Have a home business. I am a registered nurse on the weekends. I love making jewelry, scrabooking, and gardening.

M.,
Do you live near a bus line? Taking the bus can be a fun adventure with your child, as long as you don't have to walk too far to catch it. I also agree with the idea to get a bike trailer. You can go so much farther with one, so you can visit new parks every day! Plus, think of all the exercise you'll get! Also, the indoor slide/climby thing might be a good idea too - I got one at a garage sale when my son was about 14 months and he loved it. We kept it inside until the following summer and it really didn't take too much space.

Also, if you want to get into art and are worried about him eating crayons or markers, get one of those aquadoodle mats. You just fill the pen up with water, so if he puts it in his mouth, there's nothing to worry about.

Good luck! We have one car too, and when my husband has it I feel very confined. I feel your pain!!
Amy K

get on the city bus...you can travel quite far...and find new destinations...

Has your husband thought about using public transportation to get to work? That would leave you the car.

Hi M.,
I have 3 kids including a 16 month old and also am a SAHM. The water/sand table is a great buy for this age, my son loves playing w/ ours! The sand gets really messy though, so we usually just put water in it. We do walks, go to local parks, just play outside (my son likes to play w/ cars, trucks, and balls.) For inside days we play w/ toys, experiment w/ coloring (he is a bit young though, like your son he wants to eat everything), look at big colorful picture books and photo albums. This age is tough,but it does get better as they get older. Good luck!

I'd look for a moms' group in your area--many times they have stuff going on in your own neighborhood! (We live in a huge metro area, and even our MOMS club chapter has coffee chats or park days at peoples' houses within walking/biking distance from my house.) Check out momsclub.org to find a chapter near you. I also like the idea of ECFE and community ed classes, if your area offers them.

Yes, definitely your little one is ready for crayons. He will try to put them in his mouth, but you can redirect him. They also have those "ball" crayons for toddlers that are bigger and won't fit into mouths.

And I like the idea of putting the pool in your house. I know it sounds weird, but really--we had this little blow-up pool that had a "quilted" plastic bottom (so a little softer if it's on a hard surface) and a little inflatable ring around the side. It took less that 5 minutes to blow up, and was small enough that my boys could crawl over the sides. You could buy a cheap plastic shower curtain under it (folds REALLY flat when you're not using it), and leave the pool up for a couple days at a time so it's not driving you insane. The whole thing could store in a small tote in a closet or garage.

Are you near the city bus line? Can you arrange "play dates" with other children his age? Can you bake, clean house, weed gardens, etc., for someone else, in exchange for them dropping you and your son off to do something somewhere while the other person runs errands? Are you near relatives or friends who can drive and take you both on outings?

In the fall I would recommend looking into ECFE classes, you can make friends with parents with children your same age and maybe ask about finding a rideshare with someone going to the same class as you from your neighborhood, offer them money for picking you up of course!

Find park playgroups in your area. There are so many awesome things to do with your 14 month old but you need transportation to get there. I am completely for routines but I would definitely consider adjusting your childs routine to have access to your car, both yours and your son's life's will be happier not feeling stuck at home.

Lots of good advice for you already. I agree with the bus and/or bicycle ideas. I went through this for a little while with my DH---convincing him that I needed the car was very difficult, and I wasn't willing to get my kids up at 5 am, either! So I put a lot of miles on the stroller, took the bus a few times and did the bike/burley, too. 0ne other thing that worked for us: DH drove home for lunch-- afterwards, we would all go and drive him back to work and he would carpool back home. It didn't work for DH to
carpool TO work, but maybe your husband can do that, too.

I know how difficult it is to convince DH's to give up the car. He just doesn't understand what an inconvienience it is to have a perfectly good car sitting in a parking lot all day. Remind him of car theft for unattended cars, and also remind him that at 14 months old, your son may become sick or injured and you'll need to get him to a doctor, or go to the store for some Pedialyte at the very least. Strongly encourage some form of carpooling and compromise on this issue.

One last bit of advice, get to know your neighbors. Maybe one of them would be able to watch Jr while he sleeps and you could drop off/pick up DH at work.

As I said, I went through this myself, and it's no fun. Eventually, we bought a home that was closer to his work so he could walk everyday. Compromise is needed from you both.

I bought a big plastic storage bin and filled it with dry oatmeal to use as an indoor sandbox. In it I put all different kinds of kitchen utensils like spoons, cups, bowls, a small strainer, etc. I put newspaper underneath it, but the oatmeal still gets on the floor. So it is actually easier to vaccuum up the oatmeal off of the carpeting than the kitchen floor. Plus, if you buy store brand oatmeal, it's really cheap.

One thing about the sand/water tables, they are a great investment, but I would use it for only one or the other. The sand/water mixture turns into a hot mess VERY quickly.
You can buy just sand tables, which have more space for sand and are a lot less messy. And believe me, I have no problems with messes, but wet mushy sand ALL over the patio is a true nightmare.

I know you said no kiddie pools, but could you get a little toddler-sized slide and swing? Little Tikes has a great one our daughter has loved since 15 months. Here is the link-
http://www.littletikes.com/toys/swingalong-castle.aspx

Bubbles and sidewalk chalk are fun too, if you can use the chalk.

You can start the crayons for sure. I was scared to give them to my son also, but I found out that he was already coloring with MARKERS at daycare, so I gave him crayons at home and he colors, although he does still chew on them and loses interest pretty quick. They are non-toxic but I end up taking them away anyway. Just keep trying and reinforcing that they do not go in the mouth and eventually he will get it.

Definitely don't get a sand/water table. Most of them leak and even if they don't, there is potential for a huge horrible mess. What I have done is I bought a $10 kiddie pool which I usually fill up with water in the yard, but one thing you can do inside is put a big tarp in the middle of a room, and put the pool in the middle. I sit my son in the middle of the pool and there he can play with a big cake pan filled with sand or water or noodles, he can finger paint in there, he can play with cups filled with rice or beans, whipped cream...all of the messy things that I would usually never let him do inside. Before we start I undress him down to only his diaper, and then put a small adult shirt on him. At the end I just take off his shirt and diaper and wipe his skin off with baby wipes. It is so much easier to clean up that way.

You might also want to buy a small toddler climber with a slide for inside. I got one at a garage sale for $7, and my son loves it. A seven dollar climber is rare, but there are climbers and slides on craigslist for much less than what you would pay in the store of course.

Another fun thing is homemade play-dough. I searched "homemade playdough" on Youtube because that way you can see it being made and determine how hard of a recipe it is, and also determine the quality of the end result

One thing I read in a magazine that sounded fun but I have yet to try is to make cups of different smells. I think they actually had little tubes in the magazine but I'm not sure where you find those?? Instead I planned on using mini Ziploc containers with holes in the top. Anyway, the idea was to put different things in the cups, like a cinnamon stick, a slice of lemon, a cotton ball dabbed in vanilla or mint extract, oregano, etc into the cups and let your child explore the smells. Again I haven't tried it yet but it sounds cool.

Do you have any learning videos for babies/toddlers? My son still loves his Baby Einstein videos...My son sometimes doesn't sit through the whole thing but it's still nice to have the classical music on while doing something else

Set up a fort. Your son wont be able to help you yet, but if you set it up and crawl in and out of it with him he will surely have fun with that. There are also play tents you can buy. My son has a tent but still likes the fort better

That's all I've got for now

We bought a bike trailer for my sons first birthday. Our town is only 15,000 people so nothing is all that far away. I just load him up and go where ever i would in the car. park, pool, store (for small amounts). If you dont want to do that then perhaps start working with your son on his learning. my son is the same age as yours. when i have a few moments i work with him on his letters and animals sounds and sign language. you don't need a kiddie pool if you have a bath tub. just put swim trunks on him and get him special "pool" toys.