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My DS loves going out but we only have decent weather here about 4 months of the year and the rest of the year it rains. When we get decent weather I take him to the park, to the pond to feed the ducks, to the shops - he loves shopping and fetches the bag himself!, just for a general walk and to the church as he loves visiting the church. We also go to the playground where he can play on the awings and slides. When DH is home we can go further afield as he drives so we go to places like the zoo, steam trains etc. They seem to enjoy pretty much anything outdoors - just like looking at things and running round. In the colder weather I stick to indoor activities more like playgroups. We have one of those everyday here (England) and they last for a couple of hours and it gets them to meet other kids/play with toys.

Hmm...what about a StrollerFit class. I am not sure if they offer those in your area so maybe check it out. I know that depending on the weather they either do this outside or in a mall. Swimming...has he been to any swimming classes? My ds1 just finished his 2nd level and it was offered through our local community centre. It was fun and he enjoys it. What about joining a toddler class or Gymboree. The social aspect of it is great and they usually have great tools to encourage crawling, cruising ect. Maybe exposing your ds1 to these elements will encourage him to get moving around. A zoo or petting zoo is great to. A park...to let him swing and slide with your help. These are just some ideas. Where we live (Vancouver, BC) its getting too cold to be outside but we are busy with indoor toddler classes like Justine has already suggested. Hope some of this helps.

you can go to relatives houses,playgrounds,trips to the store,swap babysitting with another mom. i wa slooking at the sears wishbook to, i thought it was a neat idea, they had something like a baby sled in there that you can pull your lo around on.

Even though he isn't walking yet, you can still take him to do the same types of things older babies can do. Go to the park and take him on the slide, put him in the baby swing, take him to the Zoo, the aquarium, Let him crawl around in the grass outside and explore. Take him to a water park where they have a toddler area- you can sit with him in the water. Buy a small pool for the back yard. Take him outside with non-toxic fingerpaints and let him paint. Bring a bunch of toys outside.

We just started a Little Gym class. DD really liked it. THey start those at 4 months, so any age works. I also MUST get out of the house daily. We go to the store, to grandmas, to the mall, to Target. It's freezing here, so being actually outside isn't possible for us right now...How about the zoo? Parks (you can go down the slides with him, etc), aquarium, children's museums, library.

those are great ideas! we do have a zoo here, but from my house it is a long drive and he doesnt really tolerate the trip well because he hates being strapped in his car seat for longer than 20 minutes...lol we do have an inflatable pool that we bought him for his one year birthday, but it's too cold outside now for him to be in it. they do have a gymboree, but it is also about an hour away so once again..the fuss factor....lol ya know, for living in a so called big city it sure takes a long time to take him to any cool places...haha! i do think i will try getting him some finger paints and let him play with that and we do have a little play yard at our subdivision (it doesnt have any baby swings though) so we could try going down a slide. i think besides us taking him to the store (which is usually twice a week) we could take him to the mall and push him around in the stroller...he loves people watching...lol thank you for those ideas and i will definetly try some out and will let ya know how it goes :-) oh yeah, dh and i are thinking about getting ds a swingset for christmas (the kind that has the baby swing that you can convert over to a big kid swing later)...do any of you know of any good ones out there or any suggestions on a good deal?

hey again! my answer....seeing as you live in a hot climate....take him to a pool. There are all kinds of little flotation devices for toddlers. My son LOVES bathtime....and the few times he's been in our hottub (we keep ours at body temp)...he's loved that too. If I lived where you do...I'd HAVE to take him to a pool....I hate heat!!!

Didn't read all the replies so some of this might be repetitive, but you should try gocitykids.com, it has all kinds of ideas for indoor play areas in certain cities. Right now the weather is cold, so we go to alot of indoor play areas like Little Gyms...but there are TONS in all major cities. Also, if you have kids museums or science centers, sometimes they have great toddler play areas too. I would def start w/ the Go city kids thing tho...it saved me!

and when all else fails, take him to the mall. Almost all have those play areas now, he can crawl around and be around other kids. Very stimulating for him. Plus if you have a buck they usually have those toys for them to ride, my son loves those. Also, they have these great wagons with seats. I live in Florida, so I understand your heat thing, very well. We luckily have a park within walking distance of our house, so I spend much time there everyday LOL. You could also take him for a walk in the morning when you get off work. I do that everyday before I take him to daycare (I also work fulltime overnights, yay 3rd shift!) :D

thanks for more great ideas ladies! now that the weather is finally getting cooler i definetly think i will try out the morning walk (even after i get off work) because that way he is at least getting in one walk a day (just in case nanny or dh cant get around to it) We do actually have a mall close by so i will try taking him there too. i never thought about the little playgrounds that they all usually have...duh! lol that will be especially useful during the hot days (which seem to be MOST days around here)

You might want to join a momsclub...like type in momsclubof houston and it should take you to on,they have all kinds of activities and you can see to which ones you can participate and socialise your baby!Momsclubs are great.

I agree with most of the other poster. The little play areas at the mall are cheap easy entertainment for kids. I take my dd there all the time. Also the park she loves it! Another one for inside is a pet store (maybe your mall has one, or you have another one close by). Kids love to look at the animals,even if its just fist tanks or birds in cages. That might be cool for him. Also try thte library. They usually have mommy and me groups that read and sing to the children. Our library has a kids area with puzzles and things for kids to do. My dd can spend an hour in the library doing those.
As for the swingset- we bought a great one from Home Depot. Its a Disney brand and is the model- Brookview II. It comes with big kids swings but you can easily switch one out for a baby swing. It has a slide, rope ladder, rock climbing wall, and places for 3 swings. Of course he would have to be a bit older to do the rope ladder etc.. But if you plan to keep the swingset for a while that would be great. I think its around $699-not bad for what you get. Read the reviews on the home depot website, it got great ones. Its predrilled wood and fairly easy to put together, though still a long process,but that is any swing set. Its a good value for the price as it can accomodate several children playing on it at once.