*The pictures in this post are not of the author or her home, merely to demonstrate.
I don’t know about your house, but mine gets insane sometimes. Since I am the only one home during the day with my almost three year old, my stuff is hard to protect.
My son will dart to my room as soon as I turn to answer the phone, then I run after him with the phone and everything that was on my dresser is on the floor, and of course closing doors doesn’t work because he’s been able to open them for some time.
He loves to get into anything that isn’t his. That’s when I realized, he not only needs his playroom he has, but he needs something of his own he can crawl all over and make a mess with.
Part of what drives moms so crazy is their three year olds diving into anything and everything, no matter how many millions of times they have been yelled at and punished for, they want desperately to explore and entice their little noggins. Once kids learn to walk, the chase is on and it’s a long one.
When kids are well occupied and having fun with one particular item or game, they behave better and can remain in one area long enough for you to stir the pot without them making a break for the china cabinet or the back door. Finally I used my head and came up with a few ideas that may help mothers-to-be or any other mom: Playhuts!
Playhut is a genius company that has designed hundreds of cool indoor play tents for kids to play with and keep busy instead of getting into your bedroom and closet. Amazon has a huge selection of these tents like Thomas the Tank Engine, a school bus, school house, cafe, teepee, race car, and so many more!
I also found another website that sells fun indoor play tents for toddlers and Preschool-aged children to play in. These tents can be bought for less than $20 in many designs or a little higher in price for bigger budgets. To make one on the super-cheap, or free, try this link and the recommended book; but the book isn’t free.
Ebay is another excellent resource for new and used tents to buy online and get in the mail soon. In the search field at ebay.com, type in “Playhut” and over a thousand results will immediately pop up and you can narrow down results by condition, location, and price, or Buy It Now instead of making an auction bid. Playhut is the name brand and one of the best I have found; this search will bring up other brands and similar items as well.
If you’d like to get one free or very cheap, try browsing craigslist.org and searching “free” on the for sale section or try posting your own “wanted” ad.
Keeping them in their bedrooms or playrooms with the door shut does work too, though someone must be in there at all times to keep an eye and not keep them in too long because they get stir crazy like caged animals! Gates can also be put across the doorway but keep a watchful eye still because kids will learn to climb them, and then they can get hurt or be on the run again.
For outdoor fun in a safe, confined area, outdoor playsets are plenty fun. The price can climb very high, but some are inexpensive and easy to bring indoors like the garage to prevent sun damage and rotting from the weather. For these also, I prefer Amazon because of the excellent pricing and variety for the smaller sets like the plastic ones or the permanent outdoor swingsets.
Here are just some I found that most moms and their kids will love. I typed “outdoor playsets” in the Amazon search and this list should give you an excellent starting point for all budgets.
And I found these at Walmart.com. The prices of outdoor swingsets and playgrounds from Walmart can range from $500 to less than $90 or cheaper for just a single swing sold separately.
For indoor time, try this neat swing, that holds a child weighing up to 70 pounds!
