How will you Occupy the lil one on those HOT days!

Ok so DD is 1 and LOVES being outside, she would be out there all day if she could.

Today it's 25 degrees outside already, we had an hour outside with her bike and on the tramp already and she keeps wanting to go out and play.

What can we do in summer to keep her occupied and cool?

* On the cooler days i am happy for her to play outside in the shade.
* We have a pool but it's not shaded so we are going to buy a floaty with a hood so we can go in sometimes even if theres no cover.
* She has just started to look drawing with crayons so that will keep her occupied for a bit.
* Going to buy some NEW DVD's for her to watch (but don't want that to be the ONLY way to keep her still).

What else can we do, would be great to share ideas to keep us all SANE without hot and sooky bubbas!

Oh if your looking for healthy ways to keep your lil one cool check out some of the great ideas in this other thread, have tried some myself and DD loves them:
http://forums.bellybelly.com.au/foru...t-1yr-old.html

hmm time to :think:

a small container with water in it and a paintbrush to paint the pavers! (not a craft paintbrush a normal one)

Playtime in the bath!! Make a cool bath & have cups, bowls etc in there to play with.

Building with blocks - you build, she knocks them down ;)

Play outside in the early morning & late afternoon

A plastic teaset and have a teddy bears picnic.

A bucket of water and some water toys.

If you have a covered area those cheap plastic blow up pools are great. We used to fill them with just a couple of inches of water, enough to splash & play in. Depending on age obviously you still have to keep an eye on them but we used to be able to do stuff & keep an eye out while they climbed in & out.

Oh yep, forgot about that! We have a clam shell pool & we put an inch or two of water in the bottom & fill it with balls :) It was a great hit last summer with both the almost 4 year old & the almost 1 year old.

Thanks everyone- never thought about the paintbrush and water... she could do that on the pavers in the under cover area!

She loves her blocks so that will keep her occupied inside for a bit, the worst part is they get bored with the things they use all the time, i try and rotate her toys (keep them all in tubs in the lounge and sun room) so guess on the VERY HOT no outside days could be a toy free for all..

Have asked for one of those seashell sandpit things for x-mas so that can prob go under cover too and keep her out of the sun...

Keep the ideas coming.

With the paint brush and water we let them paint the walls that are in the shade.
Another is drawing on the driveway, walkways with chalk.
2 buckets or tubs, one with water and a cup so they can transfer water from one to another

I know sprinklers aren't ok on the lawn, but you can set a sprinkler up going very slowly - just enough to sprinkle - in the wading pool.

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I know sprinklers aren't ok on the lawn, but you can set a sprinkler up going very slowly - just enough to sprinkle - in the wading pool.

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Ahhh that reminds me of when I was a kid & we used to run on the grass under the sprinkler for HOURS on hot days.
How times have changed huh..... :doh:

I'm considering setting up the wading pool INSIDE the house with a few old towels around it and some bath toys!!

I can only imagine DH's reaction when he comes home but pffft, the kids will love it and they keep cool!

put her to bed...lol. DD has been having some long day sleeps lately, I think because of the heat, must make her tired.

Sorry I dont have any constructive ideas, but I'm sure this thread will be handy for us for next year!

Spray bottle with water in it... Oskar loves that. The only thing about those clam pools is they can be very slippery if they're climbing in and out... just a caution ;) I ended up buying those "reef" shoe things from Big W for about $8 to combat that problem, worked a treat.

We used to have an undercover area when my kids were younger so they had a pretty good set up. I had a pool, easel, table and chairs and toys etc. They could paint, draw or go in the pool. Usually though they spent most of the time in the pool lol.

I used to take lunch outside for them so they could eat it at the little table. Lunch was usually little sandwiches on a plate to share and a fruit platter. Then they'd go inside after lunch for some rest during the hottest part of the day.

Thanks everyone...
DD is hopefully getting the shell pool (which will be used as a sandpit) and easel etc for x-mas, she is also getting a little wooden table and chairs set from DP's aunty and we will get her first real bike, we have an undercover area so aslong as it's not too hot even in the shade i think we will be in there a bit... hmm if i could gate it off would be good then i wont be chasing her with my big fat PG belly in the heat.

Will be interesting in Jan when #2 is here to keep DD occupied and not have #2 too hot... oh well outside nap time will do her good aswell.

Bucket of water, cups, containers, wisk & spoon :)
Next to the garden for added fun if he wants some dirt, lol!

When the girls were younger (but older than DS) I kept about an inch of cold water in the bath for them to go play in when ever thay got hot. Kept an eye on them of course.

Oh just thought of another one and DD is using it right now.

Washing Basket Tent... lol i use my two tallest washing baskets and drape a doona cover from the couch over them, throw in a few teddies and toys that light up and wah-la... lol

I used this a while ago when she was obsessed with HELPING me with the washing, threw all the socks in there with her and kept her busy while i folded...

So far so good she's been in there 10min and she's in a fowl mood today!

Found another one while i was away at dads on the w/end... put her in the high chair and filled the tray with water... SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH... she had already spent 2 hours on the verandah playing in a tub of water...

Better keep the ideas going it's 33 today and tomorrow and then 30 both wed & thurs!

A couple of ice cubes in a shallow tub!

My DD is starting to like crawling in and out of cubby houses. You could set some of her toys in there as place to play.

we are fans of the shell-pool with an inch or two of water, a paintbrush and the bricks! we also drag out some 'fun' stuff from the second drawer, like mummy's measuring cups and ladles...DD loves it! she also just loves the excitement of getting into her swimmers really :lol:

oh and tennis balls in the water is also a bit of hit (we have a dog, so DD likes to sit there 'throwing' the ball for the dog).

during the crazy hot part of the day we do quiet activities like lunch (usually 'cool' foods like cut up fruit salad and yoghurt etc) with a cold tuna salad. then a DVD and maybe a nap. when she wakes up, she usually gets back in the swimmers and begins the water antics all over again LOL!

Glad i came across this thread.
Here i lovely Adelaide it will be 37 again today then we are looking at 39 in the middle of the week.
I let Lachlan out early in the morning and later in the evening when our lawn area is under shade.
We dont have any under cover areas out the back to playunder so we are inside.

Playing in the bath tub with toys is one of our favourites
When we got outside we have a water sand play table that we fill with water and he splashes away.

I am loving reading all these replies. it reminds me of how much fun it all is...I can't wait until DD2 is older & we have another little one to do all this with!

Thanks everyone, nice to see we can all help each other out and i know this thread has come in handy for other people!

Good activities on here... shame I dont have an outside area that is usable :(.

But here is a a going out activity - reading group at the library... Air-con goodness...

Oh another odd idea to create some shade outside... we have NO shade over our pool except VERY early in the morning or late at night SOOOO DP is looking at making a wooden screen over 7ft with shade cloth, putting it on WHEELS so we can move it infront of the pool as we need to, even if it shades a part of the pool for some afternoon fun!
He's also looking at those room dividers on e-bay.. might be worth a look for something easy to use and fold for outside grass time?????

* Tiny bit of water in the bath and a bag of those balls for the ballpits... DD has been sick and has been LOVING the balls in the bath or shower.

:bump:
Any more ideas to help everyone out?