Work at Home Success By Jill Hart
Mom Laughs By Cheryl Moeller
Simplifying Motherhood By Trish Berg
Ask A Twin Mommy By Cheryl Lage
Mothering By Heart By Cheri Fuller
Jelly Mom By Lisa Barker
Family Check-up By Sheila Wray Gregoire
Parent to Parent By Jodie Lynn
Moments for Mom By Elisabeth Corcoran
Making the Most of Marriage By Paula Friedrichsen
Tips for Fun with Two Tiny Toddlers
October, 2007
By Cheryl Lage
QUESTION:
Hi Cheryl...
Here we are 14 months old and wow…
Things have changed then changed again. I am hitting a stop gap. We are
involved with our local twins group which is amazing and I love it,
but my girls are at an age where they are too old for the baby play dates
and to young for some of the other activities (mostly due to insurance
purposes at the location). And finding things to do that don't require
a lot of $$ is another problem. Being a twin family we like to stay on
a tight budget as not to get a head of ourselves. I have volunteered
to be the activities director in my club. I am looking for ideas for in
home or at the park fun stuff for toddlers that don't require a lot of
money and can keep them entertained. I keep running into activities for
older kids when I specify ages. I am stuck. do you know of any good
resources? I get some of the parenting magazines but again a lot if not
all actives are targeted at older kids. I know several of the moms in my
group are also hitting that problem. I found a book from Playskool,
about keeping your toddler busy and still have fun. Any words of wisdom or
maps to the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
-Twin Mom J
RESPONSE:
Hi Jackie---
You know you have likely hit one of the “tricky windows” of twin parenting…not only are you supervising/guiding/entertaining/managing two babies, but they’re at a “between” age, as you’ve discovered.
Like you’ve mentioned, we too were (and still are, our twins just turned six!) very concerned about keeping things reasonable…in price and in expectation. Your babies are at a wonderful age where participating in or attending events or doing daily things not even necessarily “entertainment/activity” specific---by virtue of the babies’ age and “newness” can be VERY entertaining for them! The trick is to not get too wrapped up as parents (and set the unintended and unfortunate precedent) in planning days designed solely to please the pumpkins. (I know you know that, I almost stated that more as a reminder to myself!)
When our twosome were the age yours are now, here were some of our favorite activities: (many of which can be orchestrated as a group with other moms or solo with your crew for the span decided upon)
A spread blanket (or in a playpen/play-yard) with noisemakers---kid-safe musical instruments or merely Rubbermaid containers with plastic or short wooden spoons (we did suffer the occasional sibling as drum incident!)
Art galore! Many days we’d get the kiddos set in their high chairs and dole out dollops of finger paint or bathtub finger paint and let ‘em have at it on the trays. We also masking taped oversized paper to the trays and let ‘em do crayon art VERY early. (If the girls are big on putting things in their mouths still, you might hold off on those!)
Board books, blocks, Little Tykes rolling toys (cars, school bus, etc.) VERY big at that stage.
We did LOTS of “adventures” (as their daddy called ‘em upon returning home from work “Where did you all go today?”) It may seem lowbrow, but Wal-Mart excursions were a WONDERFUL outing for us…we’d pile in the double stroller and just walk the aisles being social (and getting diapers, wipes, dinner ingredients, etc.) Even today, my kids always seek out Miss Mary, Miss Seevon, Miss Brenda, Mr. William…folks that have been kind to them since their birth and watched them grow (two of whom came to “congratulate“ the kids as we were buying our school supplies for kindergarten!). The post office became a regular excursion. Yes, it took longer to unload them in and out of the car and in and out of the double stroller than our entire in-P.O. experience required, but just seeing various environments and people performing different roles, while I tended to tasks that needed doing has always been a fun event.
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The in-mall soft playgrounds started to be a regular outing for us around the age yours are now (our son was just starting to walk more than crawl around then). As one mom managing two babies, the enclosed (any weather) aspect was always appealing. Plus there was always a food court (not that I was feeding them much fast food fare) nearby…the smells, lights and people were always happy stimuli for our twosome. Mall walking/people watching was a fave activity for all three of us. Personally, I’ve never really enjoyed shopping, so this frequent activity didn’t put my budget at risk! On pretty days, FENCED playgrounds were oodles fun. (many churches and places of worship have fenced playgrounds where you don’t interfere with school kids during the week in daylight hours…often we had the whole place to ourselves!) Other varieties (wide-open, ) caused me too much stress---which quickly transferred to the kids!
Sandboxes. Big hit. (again, so long as they’re not big on putting everything in their mouths. Ours were not too oral, but we DID have a sand consumer!)
Another favorite--and free--“adventure” was the library or Barnes & Noble story time. Again, as one mom commandeering two little ones, I kept ‘em stroller bound for their safety and my peace of mind. It was maternally frustrating to see the moms (and nannies) able to cuddle one child and listen, but at that age, the idea of taking turns with one on lap and other in stroller would have been too disruptive and stressful for all concerned.
Another big---and free---hit that began for us around that time was the Barnes & Noble Thomas the Train tables. (also at Books A Million, and less-trafficked) They could stand tall enough to propel the cars around the table and interact with other kids there of varying ages.
We also made a point to figure out when the local malls had their “Mommy & Me” events and “Club Mom” days. Often there would be a children’s musician performing a concert, or Radio Disney would be doing dance & story time. There were ALWAYS discounts and even free snacks for mama (and older kids). Met many nice mamas at those events!
Again, maximizing your stroller, take the girls to places that relax YOU and that YOU enjoy. Your relaxation is just as communicable as your stress. When I tell people that my kids have enjoyed our state’s fine arts museum since they were 5 months or so, they think I’m crazy (and lying). I’m not! The high ceilings, visual stimuli, the whirring of the stroller wheels on the marble floors, they really do love the experience. We didn’t begin going to our local children’s museum ‘til ours were three….the mama outnumbered scenario and the knowledge that they would NOT be able to enjoy it in a stroller…we just knew it would be wiser to hold off.
We did not participate in any of the Gymboree/Kindermusik/Young Rembrandts type classes at all…but I have known many friends who’ve enjoyed them. However, much like the scene at B&N story time, those activities are often easiest/most enjoyable for all parties concerned when the adult to child ratio can be one to one. (In fact, some of those classes require an adult per child.)
You mentioned seeing/considering a copy the Playskool Toddler’s Busy Play Book. I actually received an advance reading copy of the text, and it might have some great ideas for you. Many are going to be options for once they get a bit older, but it is a neat resource…and one that might serve you well in your role as activities coordinator. (Lots of good, simple kid craft/project ideas)
Another new book for you to consider is Unplugged Play by Bobbi Conner, the host of The Parent’s Journal. She constructs the text into three categories toddler (age 1-2) play, preschooler play (age 3-5), and grade-schooler play (ages 6-10). Many of the ideas are ones we remember from youth that are fantastic fun and at risk of extinction in today’s electronic environment. (Which I love, but like to temper with more homespun fun!)
Happy exploring the options!
Best-
Cheryl
www.Twinsights.com
Feel free to contact me with your experiences in twin potty-training, or with any twin parenting dilemnas you may have at http://www.twinsights.com. I hope to hear from you!
© Cheryl Lage, 2004-
Author of "Twinspiration: Real-Life Advice From Pregnancy Through the First Year" from Taylor Trade Publishing (2006), Cheryl is a fully-mobile, full-time mom to four-year-old fraternal twins, Darren and Sarah. Cheryl's unabashed honesty, vigilantly supportive style, and willingness to share "what works" have made her a requested speaker on a broad range of topics, twin-related, and otherwise. Check out her website @ twinsights.com.