Question

PARENTS & TEACHERS: How do you keep a 1 year old and 3 year old entertained without fighting? Tired enough to take a nap? Remain calm but still have fun? And learn and feel challenged? I’m running out of ideas and need suggestions, please!  

Answer 1

You don’t. Anyone who is remaining calm in these insane days must be on magical rx. Lord almighty. It’s insane. The amount of yelling is crazy. Doctors better be prepared for the onslaught of therapy needed after all this shit. We are just trying to tag team it and not run out of milk and bananas. I pitch in with reading in the evening but honestly: thank god for iPad and nick jr. Blaze and Dora are teaching my 4 year old life skills while we reign in our 8 year olds e learning. We figure our 4 year old will just catch up anyway. At least your kids nap. I’d kill for a street legal device to zap my kids into a nap.  

Comments

@mauro169 read all the suggestions on this thread. They’re all pretty good. Yours is my fave lol. It’s sooo true!  

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@mauro169 they aren’t napping. I need to get them as exhausted as I am so they want to nap. Juggling full time work, entertaining them, playing referee, and trying not to yell - is testing my patience for sure!  

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@chromyl277 oh wow! My kids both napped daily until around 3. 5. They still do quiet time naps in preschool until age 5 but they sit quietly on cots when they don’t nap but they nap at daycare but not home with me on the weekends

Answer 2

I have a 7 4 and 2 year old I would say lots of fresh air and running in the yard if possible. Fighting keep both engaged in other things lots of play and reading good luck was there a year ago and had the 6 year old in the mix too  

Answer 3

Sleep, no sugar, outside time in the morning all help, but it’s still nearly impossible

Comments

@multifoliate it’s just so cold and the 1 year is barely walking. There’s nothing outside he wants to do but eat chalk. ‍♀️‍♀️

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@chromyl277 bundle him up and take a walk. I have 4 littles, two in the stroller and two riding their little bikes or walking

Answer 4

I’ve taken a large chunk of our toys and put them into bins. I then take out one bin a day every day of the week, which refreshes toys. Each bin has a puzzle, some books, some kind of art, some kind of car and some building type material. That will keep my kids engaged for a decent amount of time. I did the same thing with sensory bin materials. I have a variety that I rotate through. We play outside a lot. Read a lot of stories. At that age, a typical amount of time to expect engagement in any one activity is no more than 5 minutes. They also don’t are still transitioning from parallel play to interactive play, so I wouldn’t expect them to play together yet. In terms of learning, they learn through play and interaction with adults. Things like Sorting the cars by color and counting them, singing songs and nursery rhymes, listening to you read stories and acting out scenarios like going to the store or a restaurant. My kids love to play chef and will make things to serve to me. They love to wash dishes in the sink or wash fruits and veggies.  

Comments

@rao2 I tried that but after the first week the 3 year old learned where the bins are and has now taken them all out. I’m working full time and trying to get them exhausted as I am.  

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@chromyl277 I hear you. This is me with my 4 year old 2 year old and 6 month old

Answer 5

We feel you! Our kids are 5 & 3. Here are some things we’ve tried (you may need to modify): reading books in their own tents, outdoor chalk obstacle course (run straight line, zig zag, spin, hop, jump, etc. ), matchbox cars driving through shaving cream (car wash), a baby gate dividing a room in two and then volleying a balloon over it, shapes made on the floor with blue painters tape and then they have to follow your direction (put your R foot in the heart), Go Noodle, Cosmic Yoga, “trips” to the zoo, sort items by color, Simon says, animal walks, tracing letters, stacking blocks, animal parade with stuffies, and MagnaTiles on the garage door. You may already do these, but thought I’d share. Good luck!  

Comments

@ptolemaic You win the day with these clever gems!  

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Thank you! I follow some creative people

Answer 6

It gets better when they get more in tuned to what they like to do together. My husband and I are constantly so impressed how well the kids get along during some “moments” it’s so sweet. & then the fights kind of get worse. My daughter who just turned 2 in February will like go crazy on her Brother that will be 4 in July. Like wrestle him to the ground and just go nuts  And 3 minutes later it goes back to this love fest and this is our life. it’s good that we like to laugh I think. We do have a strict no hitting policy in the house but secretly laugh with eachother. It does get better! My son calls his sister his best friend now but it’s so rough when it’s the baby stage and you have to really really worry about the baby getting hurt. I do think it’s just the nature of sibling relationships

Answer 7

Secure both kids in a seat with a tray. Put flour on the tray. Give them cars to play with in the “snow”!  

Answer 8

Do a Busy Board. look on Pinterest for ideas

Answer 9

I have a 1 & 3 year old and they fight but they are also able to share really well now. We talk a lot about the fact that they are each other’s friend and right now they are best friends. Sometimes friends fight but they always make up. My 3 year old is understanding this more and more each day. Activity-wise we follow a schedule that I put together since starting this quarantine. We have breakfast, get dressed, brush hair, brush teeth, craft time, outside time, school work, wash hands, lunch, then free play until nap. The routine has kept us all sane-ish. The kinks in this are when I have meetings or paperwork, phone calls and work schedule changes, but I feel like my kids are getting along much better. We also sing Daniel Tiger lessons whenever possible and both kids love DT. Good luck!  

Answer 10

Follow @takeabreaktots on Instagram! She has some great ideas!  

Answer 11

Wondering the same thing!  

Answer 12

Bounce. House. My boys spend hours a day in theirs and it exhausts them. Ages 4&2

Answer 13

I also have a 1 and 3 year old so I feel your struggle. I have sensory bins for Mr 3 and then put him in a room separated by a baby gate. The most popular one has been a giant bin of baking soda. Some days we toss in paw patrol toys, other days trucks. Only thing that has ever kept him independently busy for more than an hour. We also go outside as much as we can, even on cold days and even days it’s wet (Mr 1 doesn’t walk so it’s hard but worth it), and we build an indoor playground with cushions or do dance party to get energy out in days we’re stuck inside.  

Answer 14

Water! Get a big plastic tub, like under bed storage, and just put a little water with a towel under it. Give them cups and scoops. Little animals to play with. Random crap you find around your house.