Attending Summer Activities with Toddlers

We did t-ball last year, but this year it is going to be just a little different for our family. The big difference is that our youngest is now a toddler whereas last year he wasn’t fully mobile. He was perfectly happy sitting on a blanket or on our lap for the duration of the practices and games. This is definitely not going to be the case this year.

After a couple of weeks of practices, I’ve finally figured out a few tricks for how to survive these events with a toddler in tow. I’m sure as we work our way throughout the summer, I will acquire a few more tips for my “tool bag,” but these are what I have so far. If you have toddler that you will be toting around for your older kids’ activities this summer, feel free to give a few of these a try!

• Bring a variety of snacks. Toddlers burn a lot of energy, especially once they really start getting around good. While it can be a little tiring digging for the snacks, when you are at summer activities, these snacks serve two purposes: 1) they re-energize the kiddos and, 2) they take up time. Getting toddlers to slow down is definitely a game and providing them with a variety of snacks is a good way to do it. This is especially true when you pull them out at different times throughout the event
• Go for a walk. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to get a toddler to sit still, nothing works. This is when I take the little one for a walk. If we are at t-ball practice, we walk around the edges of the field where I can still see what’s going on and how big brother is doing, yet little brother has enough space to explore. When the little guy gets irritable and he’s fed up with sitting still, a change of scenery usually does the trick
• Bring “special” toys. Recently, I went to the Family Dollar store in search of some small, inexpensive toys that would hold my toddler’s interest when attending his brother’s summer activities. These toys are our “special” toys, meaning that they stay in a box in the back of my SUV and only get to be played with at his bubba’s activities. This keeps the toys interesting and easily helps me keep him distracted for about 15-20 minutes.

Do you have, or have you had, a toddler that you’ve had to take to an older sibling’s activities? Do you have any additional tips for surviving these events with a toddler? If so, please share!