I don't have kids of my own, so I always worry when we're having family over that small kids won't have anything fun to do. Long ago I created a box that has kid-pleasing things in it -- storybooks, crayons and coloring books, blocks, a Candy Land game, small cars, magic tablets, and so on. I add to it periodically (especially around the holidays when everything is on sale, LOL) and it's one of the first things that visiting kids always gravitate to in the house. What's new in the box?
One year when my sister and small daughter were traveling a long way to see us, I enlisted the help of a couple people at my workplace who had small children of their own. I sent an email out telling them how old the baby was and asking if I could borrow things that would make her visit more comfortable. Within hardly any time I had toys, books and a portable playpen that I was able to borrow for the entire time. It made the visit a lot easier on all of us -- me, because I knew I'd made my guests more comfortable, and my sister, because her daughter had lots of "safe" things to amuse herself with that she wouldn't have had ordinarily. (It also made the baby's visit a lot easier on the dogs, who were no longer Public Attraction No. 1!)
We also always do the following before kid visits:
-- Anything breakable gets put away. Just don't fret about it.
-- We have sweet, playful dogs, but they don't live with children. At the first sign of stress, the dogs went outside or in the bedroom for the rest of the visit. (And stress can be panting, pacing or just a miserable look on their faces).
-- Buy a few juice boxes and have some instant mac-and-cheese on hand. Kids just don't like a lot of foods grownups like, and if it's not like their own mom or dad makes it, they may be extra finicky.
-- Put a DVD player in a "safe" room and rent some kid-friendly DVDs for the day.
-- Have a place where a tired child can safely take a nap away from the fray. Both the child and the mom will appreciate you for it.
-- For older children, hand them the digital camera! You will be amazed at the photographs you'll get, from angles and viewpoints you'd never have gotten by yourself.
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Alison, this is a terrific post idea.
I don't have kids of my own, so I always worry when we're having family over that small kids won't have anything fun to do. Long ago I created a box that has kid-pleasing things in it -- storybooks, crayons and coloring books, blocks, a Candy Land game, small cars, magic tablets, and so on. I add to it periodically (especially around the holidays when everything is on sale, LOL) and it's one of the first things that visiting kids always gravitate to in the house. What's new in the box?
One year when my sister and small daughter were traveling a long way to see us, I enlisted the help of a couple people at my workplace who had small children of their own. I sent an email out telling them how old the baby was and asking if I could borrow things that would make her visit more comfortable. Within hardly any time I had toys, books and a portable playpen that I was able to borrow for the entire time. It made the visit a lot easier on all of us -- me, because I knew I'd made my guests more comfortable, and my sister, because her daughter had lots of "safe" things to amuse herself with that she wouldn't have had ordinarily. (It also made the baby's visit a lot easier on the dogs, who were no longer Public Attraction No. 1!)
We also always do the following before kid visits:
December 3, 2008 - 9:42am-- Anything breakable gets put away. Just don't fret about it.
-- We have sweet, playful dogs, but they don't live with children. At the first sign of stress, the dogs went outside or in the bedroom for the rest of the visit. (And stress can be panting, pacing or just a miserable look on their faces).
-- Buy a few juice boxes and have some instant mac-and-cheese on hand. Kids just don't like a lot of foods grownups like, and if it's not like their own mom or dad makes it, they may be extra finicky.
-- Put a DVD player in a "safe" room and rent some kid-friendly DVDs for the day.
-- Have a place where a tired child can safely take a nap away from the fray. Both the child and the mom will appreciate you for it.
-- For older children, hand them the digital camera! You will be amazed at the photographs you'll get, from angles and viewpoints you'd never have gotten by yourself.
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