This is a guest post by Marina Chernyak. Marina Chernyak is the co-owner of 1001Shops LLC and manager of a music box store located at AmazingMusicBox.Com
Have you ever had to take your toddler somewhere that it was drastically important they remain quiet? Maybe you had a meeting at the bank, DMV, or heaven forbid even a funeral. I have come across several situations that were not exactly fun for a toddler and in turn the situations quickly became less fun for me as well. That is why I am glad to have put together a list of a few quiet time items that are easy to purchase or hand make and they will fit right into your purse.
#1. Sitting Still – one of the biggest problems that I have had with my toddler is teaching her to sit in her chair and stay there. One day while reading a book about a chicken I got the bright idea to make my toddler her own egg that she has to sit on. I drew an Easter egg and let her color it. I then laminated the egg and now I keep it in my purse. I will admit that sometimes I get funny looks for pulling out a laminated Easter egg for my daughter to sit on but she is always excited when I pull it out because she knows that if she keeps it warm it will hatch into a special treat.
#2 . The peek-a-boo bottle – I had seen concepts similar to this before but I thought why not put it into an old water bottle therefore recycling the bottle and creating something fun for the kids to play with. All I did was go through the toy box and around the house till I found a stock up of items that were small enough to fit into the plastic bottle. I then filled the rest of the bottle with rice and super glued the lid on. Now when we are some place where I need my toddler quiet I can pull out the plastic bottle and she can have fun shaking it around to uncover all of the many items that are hidden throughout the rice. **Please remember that with small children and small objects you will want to make sure the lid is glued on tightly so they are not able to spill the contents or choke on them.
#3. Flash Cards – These are an easy and inexpensive way to entertain a toddler. Not only are they purchased for cheap at your local dollar store by they are also a fun way to teach your child letter, number, shape, and color recognition! The one problem that I had with flash cards is that it would be very easy for a toddler to scatter them all over and lose them. To eliminate that problem I placed them into an old photo album so my child could flip through the pages like a book.
#4. Magnifying glass – I know that this one seems weird but I have found that children LOVE to play with Magnifying glass. I found one, one day at my local WalMart in the kids toy section and my daughter has had hours of fun with it. There is something interesting about making everything bigger!
#5. Homemade play dough in a bag – this project can be messy so I always make sure that it is kept in a Ziploc bag. The kids will have a blast just moving it around and squishing it between their fingers. I like to make my play dough at home instead of purchasing it. But, please know that homemade play dough does not last as long as regular play dough so it should be used the same day that it is made. My favorite recipe is found at www.about.com
Nature’s Playdough
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
Mix flour, salt and oil, and slowly add the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until dough becomes stiff. Turn out onto wax paper and let cool. Knead the playdough with your hands until of proper consistency. Use as is, or divide into balls and add a few drops of the vegetable juices to make green, pink, and orange.
I hope with these 5 tips on keeping your child quiet you will be able to have better experiences when you leave the house. I know that carrying these items in my purse has made a big difference in my life and I truly hope they do for you as well!
This was so helpful!!!!