# quiet busy activities needed for 18 month old



## mlleoiseau (Jun 28, 2005)

Dd is 18 months old and is always busy. I am in search of ideas to keep her quiet and occupied during doctors appointments and, mainly, church. Crayons and a coloring book don't work. She jabbers when she reads books and easily gets bored with them. She loves to be in almost constant movement, although she stays quiet in church until the sermon starts. Last week I took her to an outdoor military ceremony and she was quiet until the general started speaking. She usually won't nurse, and giving her snacks doesn't seem to help. I know she's acting age appropriate, but I need ideas for quiet activities.
Thanks in advance!
Deborah


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## Daffodil (Aug 30, 2003)

At that age, my dd would be pretty entertained for a long time with a shoelace. She'd manipulate it in various ways, and wrap it around things. Probably not all kids would be equally fascinated, but it might be worth a try.


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## ~*max*~ (Dec 23, 2002)

My 18 month old likes those mini magnadoodle things. It is her favorite car toy.


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## BathrobeGoddess (Nov 19, 2001)

If The activities you are giving your dd is keeping her up until you really *want* her to be quite, hold off giving them to her until she begins to make some noise. Also, don't exspect any activity to work for longer than 10 minutes at the most! When we have to take ds somewhere where he is required to stay quite (like a wedding) dh and I tag team him to an area where he can be noisy. That way we both get to enjoy at least some of the activity.
I'm afraid I don't have any ideas for you because the activities I consider quite are still too loud for things like church (cars, blocks, etc).


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## strawberryprincess (Apr 30, 2005)

magnets on a cookie sheet (or something smaller perhaps for church) is generally quiet. dd can move magnets around and stick them together and it keeps her occupied for several minutes. a small measuring tape also works great







we tend to give dd things she is usually supposed to have while we are somewhere she needs to be quiet (hence the measuring tape) but things from my purse like my hairbrush, or coins (if your dd doesn't put things into her mouth), or the cell phone work well.
if crayons don't work, try pens or pencils. maybe something different would work. or those crayola markers that only write on special paper.


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## surf mama (Jan 8, 2005)

My dd loves putting things in containers so I give her a box or container filled with one type of object and she pulls them all out and puts them back and then she might decide to lay them all out on the pew or start handing them to me and then taking them back etc... Some objects that have worked well for us are: small stuffed animals, pieces of fabric, large craft pom poms, picture flash cards. All of those objects are quiet. Also for a container I save the shoeboxes from her shoes and they are a nice small size to carry the object of the week.

My dd also loves to wrap up little plastic animals in small scarves or pieces of fabric. That can keep her busy for at least 5 minutes.

Also she loves stickers so I bought some name tag stickers and those colored dots people use at garage sales (both were really cheap with tons of stickers). Then I help her get them off and she has so much fun filling up a page with lots of stickers. Oh and a stack of post-its can be fun too.

I am also looking for more ideas as my dd has been quiet so far but I need to keep thinking of new ideas for when these stop working.


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## 2GR8KIDS (Jan 17, 2005)

I second the suggestion of stickers and post-its. Also, those little tape flag things or just a roll of scotch tape (although they are somewhat noisy). My dd also likes the little self-inking rubber stamps that are sometimes given as party favors. And she likes to fill and spill things too.


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## mlleoiseau (Jun 28, 2005)

Thanks for the ideas, and please continue posting if you have more. She's my first and I'm really kind of clueless when it comes to figuring out developmentally appropriate toys. And the first month we went to church, she was quiet the whole time because it was a new place and new people. Now she's more comfortable and therefore squirmy. And she is good until the sermon--I think because the activities and people keep changing, (announcements, prayer, singing, lords supper, offering, singing, etc.) Then the sermon starts and there's no change til it's over. Same thing with the military things we've been to.
A container filled with things might work. She loves sorting and emptying things. I like the idea of a measuring tape, too. A shoelace may work as she's never really seen one. Magnets may work, too.
She's never had stickers or a rubber stamp. I guess I could try introducing them to her at home first. I wouldn't want her trying to stick them to the hymnals.








I asked my mom for advice thinking since she took us to church from early on and since she's a primary school teacher, she'd have good ideas. She seemed to think it would be fine to just let her crawl under the pews since she wouldn't be hurting anything.







I'm sure we would have gotten a royal spanking if we had done that.
Anyway, thanks for the ideas! I will definitely try them
Deborah


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## bobica (May 31, 2004)

I 2nd the magnadoodle- we got lots of time from those! Also a little photo album of her friends & family can be hugely entertaining. I also 2nd the flash cards- if she likes Dora or Blue they make a ton of those cards.


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## JodiM (Mar 22, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mlleoiseau*
She seemed to think it would be fine to just let her crawl under the pews since she wouldn't be hurting anything.







I'm sure we would have gotten a royal spanking if we had done that.

Sounds just like my mom! It's amazing how the things we would have gotten a spanking for are now ok with the grandkids.
Oh, and heaven forbid if you try reprimanding one of the grandbabies, because you're being 'too harsh' (I still think that's funny, especially coming from my mom, Ms, go get your own switch, and make sure it's a green one.)

Anyhow, back to the topic, here are a few ideas that work for us;
My Quiet Book (This thing is AWESOME!)
Wooden shapes and a string (Haba has some cute ones)
Dyed Pasts (Penne or Mostacolli) and a string
Paper & Pencil (for some reason, my kids liked spiral notebooks better than coloring books)
Sensory type books (Touch and feel, with lots of pictures)
Magnadoodle Travel Size

I have more, but ds woke up- I'll try to add more later.

I do want to add though, the most IMPORTANT thing that I have learned from raising my 5- keep a bag with 'quiet' items in it, do NOT let the child play with any of the items in the bag unless you are at the doctor's office, or church, etc.
If they play with the items all the time, there boring.... if it's something they don't see often, it's like a new toy.


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## mama2claire (Oct 31, 2003)

The Crayola Color Wonder markers and paper are a God-send! DD only gets to play w/those at Church, airplanes and restaurants so the novelty factor is huge. We also always have a few crayons and BLANK paper - she's not that into coloring books, but happily scribbles on copy paper - go figure!

Other than that, we always bring a baby doll that she can undress, feed, etc. And, although I don't love the message this is sending, my Mom did give DD two of those baby doll bottles where the liquid disappears when the baby doll 'drinks' and my DD is fascinated by giving her baby dolls a bottle or sippy cup.

DD also has an 'Easy Make Snake' which is a beading game to string wooden beads on a length of cord in different patterns. This is another good one, but wooden toys can be noisy if dropped on a church pew, so maybe just do this one if she sits on the floor.

Finally, you may want to see if there's an area like a vestibule or something where your Paster/Priest, etc. would be willing to allow you to set up some chairs. I'd be willing to bet there are other families in your situation and creating a make-shift nursery where you can still enjoy the service and kids can be a little noisy/active might be just the thing to get people through the toddler years.


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## mlleoiseau (Jun 28, 2005)

Thanks for the ideas! Last week went a little better although I still had to take her out at the end. I think she was hungry, so I'll plan to offer snacks sooner next time.
So I've tried coloring book and crayons, blue's clues flashcards, I Spy board book, lacing beads, magnets. None of those worked at all.
The things that did work were strips of fabric in an empty ziploc bag box, travel magnadoodle, drawstring bag with little animals, and the best thing--an oatmeal container with a slit in the top and 4 random slits in the sides with wooden shapes to insert. Only, the wooden shapes were a little too noisy for my comfort so I'm trying foam shapes next.
There is an unattended nursery in the back of the auditorium that has rocking chairs and changing tables. I could always let her run around in there. Also, there's the foyer where I could still hear the sermon. It's got 2 benches, but there always seems to be 2 or 3 people sitting out there during the sermon and I'd hate to bother them.
Where did you get My Quiet Book? What is it like? I found four books by that title on amazon.com, but none had info.
Thanks for all the help!
Deborah


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## cmili (May 27, 2004)

Thanks for asking this question.

You guys are brilliant, I kinda feel like a moron for not being able to come up with some of these on my own. I am definately stealing these ideas.


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