Having small children at home can be a very isolating and testing time. For many parents it is a steep learning curve and the world being what it is today, not many of us have the community and family support new parents used to have.
When you stay home
with your baby - even if it only for a few months you may find you know no-one at home during the day - all your friends may be working. So, you need to make new friends. The best way to do this is a mothers group or playgroup. This will give you support and your child friends and give you a soundboard for your struggles and worries (as is Minti!).
When your child starts being active, they need regular exercise, activities and socialising. Many mums struggle to know what to do with a very active toddler, particularly if your child has been fairly easily pleased up to now.
Again, I can't say enough good things about playgroup - ours has been a godsend. We have a hall for indoor play, a playground, children ranging from newborns to 5 year olds and many many toys. You can watch your child playing and get some idea of their interests before spending money on toys yourself. Our playgroup also lends books - both for kids and parents. This is great and can save you heaps of money.
The library is another great place to start. Ours does story time for toddlers and one for preschoolers. Each has either craft or music and stories. This can give you a base of things you can then use at home. Our library also does activities in holidays for a small fee - but these must be booked early. You may borrow dvds and books and music - and ours has a reward system, so each time my son fills his library card he gets a small story book to keep - great!
We have a great yard so do lots of outdoors stuff, but all our outdoor toys were second hand - hand me downs from friends, garage sales, freecycle and ebay. We have a cubby house, trampoline, swings, cars, bikes etc... And, of course, plenty of garden beds and veges. The kids even have their own section they can decorate and plant as they wish.
Otherwise, check out the parks locally near you. Your kids can run around, climb and swing and you may even meet other mums there as they take their kids for a walk too.
Great toys for a toddler indoors are:
cotton reels, duplo, dress-ups, little people, pegs & a basket
anything that makes noise - put some rice or beads in a jar or bottle and seal it up tight
pretend play (food, tea set, cleaning equipment),
books (especially board books, touch & feel, lift the flap),
play-dough (you can make yourself, recipes should be on here somewhere),
cubbies (with the furniture & soft furnishings) and puzzles.
You can get great toys and books from the second hand shop and garage sales for almost nothing. Otherwise, maybe once you are at playgroup ask mums about borrowing toys - there may be a toy library somewhere or maybe some with older kids may even give you their hand me downs.
When buying toys second hand make sure they are intact and safe and then take them home and either disinfect or wash them, particularly if your children are at the age of putting everything in the mouth. I also buy clothes second hand and always wash them before wearing.
These are some ideas for parents of young kids that you can do to keep you both sane, without spending a lot of money. Maybe someone can add some more tips?
(May 2008) (
