Need Ideas for Bored 18 Month Old!

I got two books from the library called the Very Busy Toddler Book or something like that it has 365 ideas of things you can do or your toddler can do with things you have around the house like pans, cotton balls, and water. These helped us immensely. There are also a couple of books called the Kids Book of Concoctions, it gives all kinds of things to play with like play doh made out of peanut butter I'm sure this can be found at the library too. My girls loved this stuff.

Here are some ideas:

-Paint with pudding in her highchair
-Give her stickers to stick on paper-ex. stars to stick on the letter "S" Cars stickers to stick on the letter "C"
-Fill empty water bottles with different objects, fill with rice or colored water and oil. Make sure to tape the lid!
-Fill empty food containers with objects to make instruments

OR

Check out www.totallytots.blogspot.com

I am in no way associated with it, just have found it to be a useful tool for ideas to do with my kids!

The advice so far has been great. I have two more suggestions:

Do you have lots of board books at home? My 18mo loves to "read" his books, stack them, etc. Kids at this age also love to be read to.

Check out the site http://abcand123learning.blogspot.com/ They have lots of great activities and craft ideas. Many are geared for preschool aged kids, but you may find some good ideas there for your little one.

Best of luck to you, daughter and new little one!

Go to Lakeshore Learning at I-10 and Ray next to Babies R Us. She can try out the toys to see if they are interesting before you buy. My son needed all new challenging toys about 20 months old. I got him a shape peg toy, cooking set, and building blocks. Keeps him super interested. I also do crafts with him. Get a stack of construction paper and go to dlt-kids.com for craft ideas. Get your stickers at Lakeshore Learning and let them stick away. My son loves it!

My 17 mo. old son really loves to finger paint. It's messy, sure, but it keeps him entertained. You can put her in the high chair and put a large bib on her with a shower curtain on the floor, give her some chocolate pudding, and let her go to town! Or maybe even a ball pit? They sell them at wal-mart and target. On occasion, I also put on sesame street for a bit and most of the time he will sit down and watch that. There's even fridge magnets so she can play with those while you are in the kitchen doing dishes or something.

Based on experience, my suggestion is this: Be sure there are toys available for your daughter, but do NOT bring them to her to occupy and pacify her. This behavior will be expected for life, if you do it now. Let her fuss while you do the things you need to do. She needs to learn to occupy herself. You will thank yourself 100 times over once the new baby comes, and for the rest of her life, if she can find ways to occupy herself.

A refrigerator box & a sheet make a great tent with some dolls is a sleep over. Some pots & pans upside down is a great day weith the band and some plastic mixing bowls spoons & cups is a day at the bakery. Simple stuff that they love for hours.

A couple of ideas, my sons could be entertained with a sponge dilute soapy water and "washing" toys: dolls and cars and trucks a wash. discovery toys has an awesome pound a ball toy that was a hit. also we took Music together classes and they were great while having a baby in carrier along with. google this program for locations. you get a cd for home and learn to incorporate music into your home. kids love to beat a drum, shake instruments and it builds their brain. also maybe you could get a 10 or older girl who could do supervised baby sitting. kids are fascinated w/ older kids and many older girls love babies! you could get some things done while she is entertained! enjoy her! my oldest turned 10 today!