Ideas for a Toddler Playdate & Sleepover
Relying on close neighbors or friends for the care of your child reinforces the village mentality. It communicates to your toddler that many trusted adults are charged with their care --- not just Mommy and Daddy. One aspect of this is found when parents alternate weeks or days watching each other's children, sometimes in the form of an overnight playdate. The arrangement allows families to run errands, keep doctor's appointments or spend one-on-one time with their spouses. They can be taxing, but careful playdate planning promises a lot of fun for everyone involved.
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Morning
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Toddlers have the most energy to burn in the morning. Plan activities that entail active play. If weather permits, set up an outdoor play station that includes ride-on cars, balls, sandbox toys, jump ropes and anything else that will expend their energy. Draw a hopscotch board on the driveway. If the playdate is planned during indoor weather, try setting up a small obstacle course throughout the larger room in the house. Pile pillows on the floor for climbing. Set up a bowling lane in the hallway with empty plastic bottles and a soft ball. Select some kids music and have a silly dancing contest.
Afternoon
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In between breakfast and lunch, toddlers will generally require a small snack to tide them over until mealtime. Try to avoid foods with empty calories like pretzels. Instead, consider pieces of whole fruit or whole-wheat crackers with low-fat cheese. The protein and fiber will fill them long enough to prevent hunger meltdowns. Depending on the number of children, cook in bulk for lunch, rather than making individually plated meals like sandwiches. The night before the playdate, make a large quantity of hearty soup with beans, vegetables and meat or try tossing whole wheat pasta with chicken and vegetables.
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Nap
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Following lunch, round the kids up for a story time. Ask each of them to get their stuffed animal and find a comfortable place on the floor to spread blankets and pillows. Choose two or three short books. Reading to them will help wind them down from lunch and their afternoon activities, easing them into their naps.
Evening
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After nap time, let the kids have some unstructured play time indoors. Provide coloring books and clay, set out blocks and puzzles, and arrange dolls or figures for pretend play. For dinner, ordering a pizza delivery is the least labor-intensive way to go, but be sure to provide some vegetable options on the side. Offer fruit for dessert.
Night
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Planning a craft is probably the best idea for a fun group activity for a toddler sleepover. Try cutting out pictures from magazines in advance and let them glue the pictures to card stock paper or oatmeal containers. Make a giant batch of homemade play dough and give the children various kitchen utensils and tools to mold shapes with it. Get a bunch of wooden spoons from your local dollar store and let the kids make spoon "people" by gluing yarn and buttons to the them. Or, if you prefer to avoid crafting, play a game, like Simon Says, that will be fun but not wind them up too much before bed.
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References
- Photo Credit craie grasse image by Thierry GUIMBERT from Fotolia.com
