Spending Time with 3Yr Old Son

buy a soccer ball and kick it back and forth. get him a trike or a little bike with training wheels and work on that...

http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/

http://www.superpages.com/yellowpages/C-Parks+&+Playg...

duck ponds, zoos, visit farm animals...

http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/

Sidewalk chalk, bubbles and balls are essentials in my house! I always joke that my son would sleep outside if I would let him. He is 2 1/2. He does not care what he is doing as long as it is outside! I do have a swing/slide set in the yard. This was an expensive, but definitely worth it, investment! My son loves to pull his little sister in their wagon, go for walks, help with yardword and I even got into gardening since we were always outside (which helps save on some of the grocery bill!). Kids love to learn about things. Take him on a nature hike, make a scavenger hunt with him (a list of things for him to help you find...leaves, acorns, roots...anything!). I remember an activity when I was little in which you put leaves under paper and then color on top of it and it comes through! Hope this helps some!

My 3 year old daughter spent the day outside with the whole family (mom, dad, grandma,and great grandma) yesterday washing all 4 cars! She had an absolute ball helping spray the water (of course she wore most of the water she sprayed, but that's the best part!), wash the car, pick up berries from our bushes (no eating though), riding her bike with grandma, "cleaning" in the garage, etc. She also loves the park. Have fun outside with you little one! D. H.

Outdoor activities are great for him and most are free! Playgrounds are great, we have several really fun ones near us. Check out any local state parks. Occasionally they will have kid friendly events too. Go for walks around the neighborhood. Does he have a big wheel/tricycle? Have him show you how well he can ride.

The ball idea is great. You can even stay in one spot and make him run around.

Get a plastic baseball and bat. My son loved to play baseball outside. He also loved to ride his hot wheels.

The backyard can be the most entertaining place for kids this age and all you need to do is be there and maybe take pictures. Chalk for the driveway or porch, Bubbles, and a bucket with shovel are all you need. Boys love to dig and so does my daughter. They will also love to collect rocks.
Parks with playgrounds are another good activity. A plus is that he'll meet other kids to play with too. If you live near the beach or a pond, feeding the seagulls or ducks is a good activity this time of year. When it gets warmer, a little kiddy pool or sprinkler is easy and fun. We got my daughter (2.5 years) a sandbox and outdoor play house for the back patio. I just sit in my chair and interact with her when she invites me. Most of the time she just likes to bring me things and tell me about them. Just go outside and follow his lead and you won't have to think of things for him to do; he'll let you know.

It really doesn't matter what you do outside with him as
long as your outside. He will find things to do and then come tell you about it. For activities, for a 3 y/o, croquet would be a good activity with a 3 y/o. Maybe
just bouncing a ball back and forth, or hiking in the backyard, looking for critters, rocks, etc. Have him
keep his rocks and then you could get a rock tumbler and
clean the rocks, it has been a while since mine were 3, so
I may not be much help, but we do still play croquet all
the time together still. Old game but still fun.

C.

Hey D.,

I have a 3 year old son too! He loves going outside. We take walks and look at the trees, birds, - sometimes we find bugs to look at. He loves to swing and kick the soccer ball around.

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R. Peirce
Certified Parent Educator, Coach, & Facilitator

Parks are wonderful. They are filled w/ equipment and other kids he might interact with. Bring a ball, some bubbles or sidewalk chalk and watch the other kids just flock to him. There's lots of opportunities to pretend play - the jungle gym becomes his fort, the slide becomes a space ship.....you get the picture. Pack a lunch and make a day of it.

We just adopted a 3 year old and it is truly a different experience. I am used to having girls.. I have had to learn to do more "boy" things. For instance, we bought some foam swords that can be used indoors if you have a room with no breakable items. Also, he likes board games and large floor puzzles. There is also a remote control car that I think is by Fisher Price that has soft sides and does not harm furniture.

Hi D.,
I was the same way. I am not really a rough and tumble kind of gal, so finding outdoor activities I could enjoy with my son was a challenge. I found that our most favorite activities included walking. I would think of things to look for outside like pinecones or rocks or whatever, then when we finished, I would let him bring the items in the house and make something with them. Also, I was very busy when my first son was young, working part time and going to school full time, so I found ways to include him in what I was doing. Trust me, it will work.

I would bring him in the kitchen with me while I cooked and give him things to do...for instance, "get mommy the green measuring spoons". He won't know what they are, so you give him verbal directions on how to find them. "Go in the drawer where we keep the forks and look for the green plastic spoons...Oh, here they are, see they have numbers on them". It keeps him busy, gives you a chance to cook and spend time with him and also gives you tons and tons of teaching opportunities. As a single parent, you know the importance of being independent. If you teach him at a young age how to look for things and help it will help you and him in the future. Having him search and think will develop wonderful problem solving skills.

My son is 11 and I still ask him to help me with things that I don't actually need help with. As they get older, they don't like to spend time with us -- trust me, enjoy it NOW! I will call my son down and tell him "I need you to make a pizza for you and daddy while I make mine". I continue to ask him to look for things, measure things, read directions etc. Same goes for cleaning and other projects around the house. I find that asking for help goes over much better than ordering him to "clean the bathroom". If I say, can you help me by getting the windex and going into the downstairs bathroom and cleaning the mirror. It gives him a mission and a challenge, and he feels he is "helping" rather than doing a chore.

I know this probably isn't exactly the answer you were looking for, but I also know by reading your profile that you are a busy, busy lady, and doing your best, so I suggest you get him active in being a productive part of the family and spending time with you at the same time. Take turns. Say to him "okay, we will go outside and play, but first, we need to get dinner started". Then always follow through, and just FYI, do your part first because they lose interest if they have had their reward first!:-)

Good Luck and keep up the good work!!! I love hearing parents who want to spend quality time with their kids, it isn't happening that much these days!!!

It's not uncommon for a child to want to spend time with their parent. In fact, treasure the momments because there will come a time when he only wants to you to drop him off 5 blocks away from school and you'll be luck if you can get a peck on his cheek as he rushes off to be with his friends! It's call the teen years! The good habits you make of being there for him now and sticking with it will allow him to be able to come to you when he is older and needs to talk about girls and all that fun stuff. You can also use your life lessons to help teach him along the way.

Anyways, the park is a great place to take him. He can run around and you can push him on the swing for a while too. You can sit there and read a book or magazine while he plays. Take him bowling! Put the bummper gaurds up and get one of those ball rollers things and hel'll have a blast! Take him to the zoo, sit at the table while he colors, take him to a movie geared towards kids, the beach when it is nicer out, etc.

Just remember, you don't have run around the entire time outside in order to spend time with him. Just being there is good too.

Good luck!
S.

When it is too cold or rainy to go outside (or just for something else to do inside), you might consider reading to him. I used to read sports "juvenile fiction" books to our sons. Beverly Cleary and other authors have some great books. One of my sons became an avid reader on his own later. When you're reading, they can be on your lap and your get to share an exciting story together....a shared experience that you can talk about later, at dinner, at bed. The physical closeness when reading to him is also a precious time.