Here we sit, thick in the throes of summer. As parents, we are constantly attempting to create engaging activities for our children to pass the time. However, there are most certainly limitations when your kids are at the preschooler and infant stages of life. Here are some examples of free, stimulating activities you can do at home to simultaneously benefit both of your busy children.
1. Read Board Books:
During this activity, you can have your infant nestled in your lap while your preschooler sits on top of them, on top of you, elbows you in the face, asks a million questions, tries to turn the pages, interrupts you after every sentence, squeezes your infant inexplicably, all while your infant tries to eat the book, head-butts you, and then cries uncontrollably.
2. Play Dress-Up:
During this activity, your preschooler will ask you to strip her to nothing but her underwear, make you change her outfit 18 times, accessorize her outfit, pretend she is Ariel, pretend she is Belle, pretend she is Snow White, all while you are the Evil Queen, and simultaneously prevent your infant from swallowing said accessories, not pull a bookshelf on top of her, and then cries uncontrollably.
3. Play Outside:
During this activity, your preschooler will ask you to push them on the swing, push them in the cozy coup, blow bubbles, play princesses (you’re still the Evil Queen), get them a snack, almost step in dog poop, then forcing you to pick up the rest of the dog poop, have a tea party, all whilst your infant crawls on the deck, tries to eat pinecones, almost falls off of the ledge, hits their head while crawling under the picnic table, tries to eat leaves, tries to eat grass, and then cries uncontrollably.
4. Math/Sorting Games:
During this activity, your preschooler will count and sort different objects like cheerios, poms poms, pipe cleaners, buttons, marshmallows, felt cut-outs, all whilst you try to feed your infant in their highchair as she spits out her food and refuses to eat because instead of pureed sweet potatoes and avocado, she would like to eat the cheerios, poms poms, pipe cleaners, buttons, marshmallows, felt cut-outs instead, and then cries uncontrollably.
5. Finger-Painting:
During this activity, your preschooler will complain about the colors she is given, complain about getting too much on her hands, ask you to strip her to nothing but her underwear after her hands are covered in paint, complain when you refuse and then wash her hands, throw a fit, be put in time out, all while the infant crawls, pulls up, is able to reach the plate of finger paint, becomes covered head to toe in finger paint in 9 seconds you put the preschooler in time out and returned to the kitchen, is happy at first, then cries uncontrollably.
6. iPad Educational Games:
During this activity, your preschooler will beg to watch YouTube Kids, Disney Junior, or another TV show on the iPad, while you gently encourage them to play ABC Mouse, solve puzzles, or participate in other educational games, all while you try and eat lunch standing over the sink, go to the restroom with an audience of your preschooler (holding the iPad), your infant, and your golden retriever, whilst the battery runs out on the iPad, pushing your preschooler into a psychosomatic rage, and you are simultaneously trying to put your infant down for a nap, and the UPS man rings the doorbell to let you know that your Amazon Prime delivery has arrived, pushing your infant and dog into a psychosomatic rage, then you cry uncontrollably.