Things to do to wear out 2 year old

[lauradj]

My DS is 23 months and I have a 4 month DS as well so I get the need to tire your boy out!  I take my DS1 to a drop in gymnastics 'program'.  It's 45 minutes long and the kids just play on whatever they want, however they want (except for the trampoline, only one kid at a time!)  It completely kicks his butt and it's a struggle to get lunch into him before he passes out.  Both DH and I chase T around the house in short spurts and have dance parties, which he loves!  We have a little scooter and a bike that he occasionally plays on.  We're not pushing it right now, just letting him find his comfort zone.  He also likes to 'garden' with me, which mostly just involves him scooping dirt or bark mulch and also raking the driveway  Whatever, it makes him happy.  I strongly agree with the helping around the house idea.  Going up and down the stairs and/or a step stool, all those little things tire them out and keep them interested.

[Katet]

WRT swimming if that was the first time then he really had no idea of the expectations, if you do it a couple of times he'll start to learn the routine & that can change lots of things.

Do you have trains near you, because when DS1 was 2 I also had DS2 as a newborn, I found that one way to mentally tire DS1 out was to take him on a train trip, we'd only travel 2-3 stations & stop sit on the platform to wait for a return train & have a small snack, watch a few trains go past & then get on one to return home. Bus rides to no where were also fun.

[Chloevalentine]

Thanks for all the great ideas! We do a gym class once a week and sometimes he spends more time out in the lobby "talking" to the workers lol. He's a very social boy!

[deb]

That being the case, maybe you could, when you have the time, go to places you'd normally go to for a reason - only for NO real reason. Go to the grocery store and just walk around and look at things, without the pressure of you having to shop and him having to be shlepped along. Talk to the customers and workers, point to the different fruits and veggies and so on.  Walk through the neighborhood without a real aim and notice what he gravitates to: the flowers, the rocks, the leaves, the bugs, whatever. As PP suggested, ride the bus or train for a few stops; riding the bus home after a walk to a bus stop a few blocks from home can tick off a lot of "boxes" in terms of having a busy morning out for him.

[Mel_bhs2010]

We have dance parties and play chase around the house. Sensory things, like finger painting, also wear him out

[Pinkviolet]

My lo is nearly 21 months & I find if I take him to the park by ourselves, he's ready to go in about 20-30 mins. If we meet up with another mum & lo he'll happily run, climb, play, explore for much longer. Other good things are visits to pet shop/toy store/supermarket with no real purpose, just to explore & look!

[ButterflyLily]

Our favorite indoor exercise is a dance party! We have a few a favorite tracks, here is one of them. I love their animations and I am glad that LO is actually learning a lot with the nursery rhymes!