On the Go Activities....

I'm with Bunny - We get a lot of mileage out of itsy-bitsy spider and thumbkin, too.

A little memo pad and a pen can get you a long way, or check out the toy aisle in the dollar store - our last major score was a tiny "fishing" game (the kind with the moving fish and the little poles) that wound up - we were pretty popular with the other little kids in the ballet studio waiting room for that one. The dollar store also has bags of little plastic animals - those have been great for us.

IKEA has great finger puppets. And I have girls, but we've gotten some joy from little cars, too.

If you can find one, try a cheap mp3 player. We got a little kid-proof one (with just one button - on and off, a twist top for volume control, and speakers instead of headphones) from toysrus and filled it with grownup and kid friendly stuff. Think the Beatles or jazz - stuff that won't drive you nuts, since it has a speaker and you'll have to listen, too. My little one bops along in the shopping cart, "dancing" in place.

We also make up stories. I admit, sometimes the well runs dry and I plagiarize a bit. My daughter was pretty impressed with the one story I "made up," until she actually SAW Star Wars...

My boy loves emptying my wallet and change purse. This can keep him quietly busy for 10+ minutes. Works a wonder in church.

Magnets, small puzzles, a travel etch a sketch, books, small quiet snacks like goldfish or cheerios. stacking cups. small cars. a string and beads. two baby food jars and some elbow macaroni for him to dump pour re-fill.

We get a lot of mileage out of little hand games too like - where is thumbkin, the itsy bitsy spider, and the like.

good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

Hi! There are lots of things you can pack into your diaper bag or purse. A simple play camera, Paper and washable markers, Some finger puppets. A cup with "stuff" in it to empty and fill. Some ribbon or yarn to wave around. Books, lots of books. A stack of little Dixie cups to stack and make houses with. Sounds weird but those little cups are cheap and you can carry a good size stack and they'll actually survive much longer than you think. Bean bags to toss (they won't roll or hurt anyone). It's all about exploring...

We had little Hot Wheels cases that held six cars. I would let them each pick the cars they wanted to bring. I usually brought crayons and a little colouring book. Playdough mini's and bubbles (if we will be outdoors). I had a collection of little pocket size story books (Robert Munch etc). A couple of snacks, and a treat for the end if they behaved. As they got older hand held games, such as ds and ipod.

Cheerios in a toddler spill proof container

I have this problem too. But I honestly think that no amount of new toys will distract her from having a new experience. My daughter (and maybe your son too...and probably lots of 2 year olds) is sooo active and curious that sitting still while there are new things to learn and explore just is not appealing!

What works ...sometimes... is I have a mini backpack with her name on it that I leave in the car. In the backpack is paper, pen, colored pencils, some dollar store toys (dress up) and stickers! A new page of stickers will occupy a good 5 minutes, for me anyway. Mini melissa-and-doug puzzles are good too. If I'm getting desparate I'll put a new app on my iphone for her (but only if I need her to be REALLY good)...and even then it just doesn't interest her sometimes.

Usually as long as I change up the items in the backpack...the contents (and the backpack itself) will pique her interest for a while. But if the place we are going has way more going on than the backpack...it's best to just try and involve her in whatever I'm doing. ie; if I'm attempting to shop, then have her try to name colors, or play peek-a-boo behing items, etc
Good Luck!

Cars were one of the only thing that worked for my son. He's only 3 but he's a little better now and can wait mostly, sort of kind of, patiently. :) I would throw some Hot Wheels or some small figurine type people and those were usually good. Another big hit with both my kids are they Disney cell phones. Most of them have princesses on them, which my son didn't care and still sort of prefers, LOL, but if you go to the Disney Store (or Walgreens sometimes) you can find Mickey, etc.

Also, most of our "out" stuff was kept in my purse so they only saw it when we were out and about it and it made it more intriguing. I manage to always buy a purse with some sort of extra pocket or something for this reason, but you could always use a Ziplock or an old make-up case you got as a free gift.