Ideas for Things to Do with 3 Kids.

How old are the twins? I have 21 month old b/g twins, and since I have the summer off, I'm in a similar situation (except that I don't have any other kids). I just enrolled them in a parent/toddler class through a preschool. It's one day per week from 9:00 - 11:00.

I live in an area where there are several indoor play places. One is Eat, Play Grow. They charge $5 per child for unlimited play. There is lots of play stuff for little kids to do and is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. Another place is a play room at Liberty Park. Also the playground there is covered in soft foam not sand. This is in Cerritos. We also go to the library for story time and that is fun. There are numerous indoor play places Scooter's Jungle and other places around that have open nights or afternoons for kids and those are fun. Look in the kidsguide free magazine for more information.

June 20, 2009

Hi There,

I remember trying to figure out what to do moments like yours. Let me tell you what worked, I ordered a bouncer. Yes, we usually only entertain the idea when we are having a party, well, I looked up where I could order one for the day at an affordable price and hooked it up when it arrived.

The great thing about it was the fun my kids had. They had that bouncer all to themselves. Sometimes, they would just sit after jumping and talk to each other, IT was SO CUTE! lol. Think about it, join them once in a while to have fun and especially, observe them. They love the attention and showing off for mom and dad. GOOD LUCK. C.

You don't say their ages..

Find a park that you are comfortable with... dress them in bright orange shirts. Go on a hike - not a hike hike, but walk through your neighborhood, look at leaves, flowers, bugs.. go to the park and walk around first, then go and play. Bring a big blanket and umbrella (unless their is a shady spot) bring plenty of water and snacks and relax. You don't have to hover (again, I don't know their ages, so maybe you do..LOL)

Do you have a kids musuem in your town? Somewhere that they can roam and touch everything?

There is always indoor play places when it gets real hot out..

Go to the park with friends... friends with less kids than yours is always nice - then you'll have an extra set of eyes.

I know the park can be stressful, but the more you do it the easier it will get and again, I recommend checking out many parks until you find one that you feel most comfortable at, where the kids can roam a bit and you can still keep an eye on them. The park should be a fun place for all of you.
M.

Hmmmm...my big question, really, is: do you have a yard or are you in an apartment?

If you're in an apartment, you have my sympathies. I've spent years trying to "get out of the house"...both for my own sanity and to give my son somewhere safe to run and play while we were in apartments. Renting a house, and then buying...it's amazing how much stress went out the window with those two moves, purely and simply from having a yard.

If you have a yard though, why leave? (okay, okay....i don't mean NEVER leave)...But seriously. The phrase "go outside and play" seems to have been lost from our generation's speech pattern. While a backyard can have a swingset, or sandbox, or balls, or other toys...it's also the home of make believe forts. races. hide'n'go'seek, waterballoon fights, running in the sprinkler, laying in the grass looking at clouds, "backyard camping", following an ant trail, climbing trees/bushes, flashlight tag, clubs & clubhouses (made out of a cardboard box), throwing rocks (NO! NOT at your brother!!!), playing catch, drawing with chalk, picnics...a thousand things to do and imagine and discover. Running, chasing, crawling, bouncing, hopping, digging up buried "treasure" (I buried 5 dollars in pennies in an area with no grass, once), looking for dinosaur bones.

Unless you have no space of your own, why not save "outings", as something special and fun to do as a group/family...where it's more then just you trying to keep up?

You know, I think a lot of us struggle with the fact that we are NOT here to entertain our children. Teach, play, protect...yes...but not to keep them from being "bored" 24/7. How are they every supposed to develop their own imaginations if we give them every experience carefully planned, laid out, and complete? Do they really NEED to go play with other children for an hour that they're likely to never see again? Or would they be better of bonding with each other and inventing their own games? Playing with the neighborhood kids (if there are any), is icing on the cake. People travel all over to go to favorite parks...it's hard to make friends who last for longer then half an hour.

Don't be afraid of boredom. Let it happen...and then see what they do with it. With a few nudges in the right direction (aka: let's play outside or go play outside), you might be amazed what they start to do with the world around them...once we take a step back and let them :)

good luck

My friend has kids like that... only she has 3 boys.
She cannot handle going to the park with them... because her boys are so wild. They are about the ages of 5-2 years old.
She has tried, but it has been nearly impossible... she even almost lost one child because he is a bolter and just took off and then HID somewhere. She literally was crying because of the stress and was so frightened her child was "lost."

She no longer takes them to the park. ONLY if her husband or other friends are with her. OR, she gets a babysitter... and she will spend time with 1 or 2 of her kids at a time.
OR, she has play dates AT her home...
She also cannot really do errands with all 3 of her kids in tow... her kids are like wild horses... she is a good Mom and has rules and discipline... but her kids are just this way.
She can hardly wait for them to get older and mature... then she knows it will be easier.
But so, that is her day and what it is like.
Mind you, her kids are nice kids... just very exhausting and so fearless and exploratory. My kids like her kids and they do have nice manners and everything. It is just their boundless activity and they are not scared of much.

Sorry I don't have any answers... my other friend has triplets... and well, she has a hard time with this issue too.

All the best,
Susan

Don't know where you are located, but the Firefighter's Park in Murrietta (Murr. Hot Springs Road) is completely fenced in, and has bathrooms. I used to hate park outings with my boys for the same reason. We still did it, but not that often. I think the one who said, bring a friend along (adult) is on the right track. I would add, even a teenage sitter is a good idea, that way one person can be assigned to watch the babies and one can go with the older child.Also plan outings for the older one when the babies are home with Dad, so you can really pay attention to her and talk about what interests her at the park. Do you have a backyard. Sometimes when they are young the best thing is to make the back yard more appealing, climbing structures, swing, sandbox, water table. You can just use the ready made plastic gym thigs that come from a toy store if you don't want to invest in a big lumber and metal one.

I understand how you feel. I have two kids, one is four and one is 14 months. The 4 yr old wants to run around outside and play but the 14 month old just wants to climb the steps or eat the dirt or run around where I cannot see my daughter. It's frustrating! I don't know where you live, but where I live there are indoor play areas which both of my kids love. Is there anything like that near you? The ones here are called Kidsville and Playtown. They are like little indoor towns with tons of toys and playthings for the kids, both really small and a little older. They're not free, but they are pretty cheap and safe.

There is a awesome book called "Baby's day out" you'll love it

can u go to some parks that have gates around them? there's one in Elysian Park in Echo Park..or the indoor play yards? must be tough! can any of your friends ever tag along and help? also there's a little indoor play ground at the Glendale Galleria u could go ..sit down and let them run around in..
or take them to the Natural History Museum to the Butterfly Pavilion there.
good luck..you have your hands full..i have a 3 year old son who is finally not running off from me anymore..thought i'd never see the day.

I will be watching for ideas here, I also have three kids and hardly EVER take them out of the house alone. I dont know the ages of your children, I have a daughter who is 9 and TWO boys who are 3 and 4. The boys are very energetic (to say the least) and definate BOYS! I worry about my daughter too, but that is my thing ~ too many horror stories of girls her age and things that might happen. I have lost both boys at seperate times, to the point of callin 911, just to find him hiding out. I no longer think that the game of hide and seek is such a great game after all. I found one friend that only has one child and we will go out together, two adults to four kids is a good ratio and that is the only thing I have found that works. Let me know if you get any advice that works for you. I have started smaller trips to really start working on getting control and to teach them to listen better while we are out, this seems to be working ~ but it is a long process. Good luck and I hope you get some suggestion that work. I just want to add that my kids are great, have wonderful manners, lots of friends, good grades, and never been any trouble for thier teachers ~ there is just something about open spaces and the public that causes them to behave like animals =} But you have to love them anyway.

During summer you might find a responsible teen willing to make some pocket change for another set of eyes to coordinate with you and make sure the kids are safe and having fun. Pair up with other moms to partner with keeping the kids occupied and safe while at a public place.
Hope this is helpful to you.

I know how you feel, and I only have 2 kids. I can't imagine the anxiety I would feel trying to keep track of 3! I have 2 boys, ages 4 and 3, and it is starting to get a little easier now that the little one is getting older. I don't have any great solutions for you, but I will share what helped me. I found it much easier to keep track of them if there were fewer people at the park. So I would "shop" around for parks that didn't have a lot of people at them, or try different times when there may be fewer people. And if I went to a park that had a lot of obstructions (buildings or structures that make it hard to see your kids from one vantage point) I would avoid that park, or save that for the weekends when Daddy could go also. Truthfully, for a while we did most of our park outings on the weekends when Daddy could come and offer an extra pair of eyes. If you live in a neighborhood with sidewalks and little traffic, a simple walk around the neighborhood was great fun for my boys. They would look at rocks, dirt, bugs, almost anything, and sometimes they would like to bring an outdoor toy like a tricycle or push-car.

I hope you find some helpful tips here. I know it doesn't help much at this moment, but it will get easier as they get older!

Hi,

How about a slightly more controlled environment; interactive, fun, educational, inside(!)...the Zimmer Children's Discovery Museum and the Skirball Cultural Center's Noah's Ark or Superhero exhibits are FANTASTIC! For more informaion and free passes, feel free to contact me anytime; the Concierge service is complimentary.

Best,
D.

D. Markovic
Concierge for Jewish Education
Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater LA
###-###-####
____@____.com
http:www.jkidla.org

Hi there MOM,
I AM A MOTHER OF ONE GREAT ACTIVE LITTLE BOY ...XO
WHAT HAS HELPED ME FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS IN HIS CLASS AND OUT IS THE MAGAZINE "HIGHLIGHTS" IT HAS GREAT IDEAS FOR INSIDE AND OUT, SMALL AND BIG KIDS .. YOU DID NOT MENTION THE AGE OF YOUR CHILDREN HOWEVER THIS WOULD GIVE YOU SOME IDEAS AS IT DID ME!!:) TAKE CARE AND GOODLUCK!! J*C :)

I like all of the suggestions already given to you. Indoor play areas, smaller parks, taking a friend, etc.

I have 2 kids, a boy age 4 and a girl age 2. My best friend has 3 kids, a girl age 5, a boy age 3, and a girl age 1. Both of us take our kids just about everywhere together and on our own without too many problems. Your kids are pretty young right now, so it's the perfect time to start teaching them safety rules and how to behave out in public.

My son has enough energy for 3 kids and he was a BOLTER from age 1.5 to 3.5. But the more I took him out and the more we practiced our family's safety rules, he eventually got it. Now I can take them both to places like the Wild Animal Park, the Zoo, the parks, the pool, the mall....pretty much anywhere on my own without worrying....as much. Our rule is everyone needs to stay where THEY can see Mommy, not the other way around. And if THEY hear Mommy/Daddy calling their name, they need to answer "I'm right here Mommy" very loud. And for each place that we go to, once we get there, I show them the boundary that they need to stay in. At the park it's usually the play area, at the amusement parks, they need to be walking within a 10 foot distance IN FRONT of me. When we go to the beach, my husband draws a huge circle around us that they must stay in. If you cross the line or don't stay in the play area the first offense is a time out. Second offense is a spanking, third offense we go home. Period, end of story. And each time we explain to them the safety rules and why we have them. My son understands that he needs to stay in the safety area so that he doesn't get lost, so that a stranger can't take him from us, or so that his baby sister doesn't get lost or taken while Mommy is out looking for him.

Don't get me wrong, my son usually ends up in time out and we periodically have to go home because he is a repeat offender of the safety rules, but I know he understands the rules. I know this because when he goes out with my best friend, or other people who will occasionally take care of him, he follows our family safety rules with them and will even tell them what they are. And if he sees his sister straying, which isn't often, he will go and find her and tell her the safety rules.

I am not sure how old your daughter is, but I will often ask my son to "help" me watch his younger sister. It boosts his ego and makes him feel important. It only lasts for a few minutes at a time, but he will sort of keep an eye on her while he plays. So maybe you can have your daughter "help" you by making sure her younger siblings don't put stuff in their mouth. That will make her feel good, plus it will force her to stay close by to "watch the babies".

I would also suggest maybe starting off with shorter time periods at the park...at least until you feel more comfortable doing it. Maybe 30-40 minutes at a smaller park where you can see everyone at all times. I prefer the ones where I can sit in the middle and see the whole park. When my kids were 3 and 1 I preferred the smaller neighborhood parks. Now that they are both able to run and climb, we hit the bigger parks and amusement parks.

Another thing we do every so often, especially with my son, is to let him get "lost". We did this a couple of times at the Wild Animal Park. He strayed a little too far ahead of us and a big crowd walked by us. We could see him, but he couldn't see us. We kept calling his name as if we couldn't see him. He got very scared and started crying. A VERY good learning experience for him. He remembers both those situations to this day, ESPECIALLY when we go to the Wild Animal Park. Now when we go some where and he stays a little too far away we remind him of what happened at the Wild Animal Park.

I have a couple of suggestions. First, you can take an older child with you and pay them to be a sitter for the oldest child. A 12 or 13 year old would be great and they wouldn't expect much in the way of pay. Their job would be to follow the oldest around and play with her, make sure that she had safe fun. You could keep an eye on them both while you played with your twins.

Another idea is they take turns at the park, watching. First the twins are in a stroller watching, the next time the daughter is in the stroller.

Try to find a park with a fenced playground, too!

I would suggest going to indoor playareas in Agoura there is a place called Jungleland that is great for up to about 6 years old but mostly geared for younger kids. Chuck e cheese is a safe place you can take them where they can't leave with anyone else. FoFoFiggly is a lot of fun but is better probaly for 3 and up. How about an open field park where the kids can run and you can see them it might not be as busy you could bring a ball or bubbles to entertain them. Try findinf other moms to go with you to a park more eyes to watch them. Another option is do you have any young girls in your area that you could pay a small amount to go with you to help watch the kids. Good luck

Find a park that has a fence around it. This will help with the wandering factor. Find some other moms that you can go to the park with, a neighbor, playgroup, etc. Just keep an eye on them and try not to worry so much. A little sand or leaves is not going to hurt your kids. I have four kids and haven't ever had a problem going to the park. I just check on them so that I know where they are and let them play.

Look into indoor playplaces in your area. And relax. A little dirt won't hurt. Even if it's ingested.