I know it’s boring to read about extreme weather, but yesterday was 44 degrees here people and my friends in Europe keep posting photos of snow on Facebook.
I’ve never been a fan of the heat, but in ye olde childfree days I could just lie down with a book and try to pretend it wasn’t happening. Now I have to provide entertainment for cooped up children. Step 1, obviously, is making sure we either visit someone or have visitors, because entertaining multiple children in the company of another mother or two is less daunting than one bored three year old on my own. So I rocked, jiggled and dandled my friend’s baby while she herded the preschoolers dancing in her kitchen. We fed them icypoles, we had a contingent of visitors to share our airconditioning for the hottest part of the day, we fed them more icypoles. They were actually pretty well behaved, there was sharing of Christmas presents, nothing broke and no one got hurt. Not even when they were jumping down the stairs. Then we ran out of energy and instructed them to stare at the television for a while so we could count raffle money.
We had a nutrious dinner of rice cakes, with your choice of peanut butter, vegemite or tomato. The kid got experimental and had peanut butter and vegemite, and insisted that it was good. Eventually it was cool enough to head out for a walk to wear out his legs and give us some chance of sleep. We walked to the RSL for a cheap dessert (and what do you know, they have icy cold aircon!) felt grateful that there was no smoke in the air and that the threat of a fire starting was dropping for the day and headed home. Then we got up early to water the garden in our allocated time, gave the kid (ok, and us) a good run around using the new cricket set before giving up on good parenting for the day by 8.30 because it was already hot. The television is back on, Sesame Street was an episode I’ve seen several times before and I’m starting to wonder how many episodes they actually make, is it too early for a nap and just how many coffees can I justify in a day given the virtuous nature of setting an alarm for 6.30am when you don’t have to be anywhere?
Feel free to comment along the lines of “toughen up princess” or suggest non tv ideas that don’t require brain function.
12 comments
Comments feed for this article
January 12, 2010 at 11:03 am
sooz
No, I was going to suggest moving on to the DVDs actually…I think extreme weather merits extreme parenting and any and every thing you have in the arsenal is totally justified. If no one is getting hurt and the use of drugs is minimal it’s all good. Good luck – hard times!
January 12, 2010 at 12:08 pm
froginthepond
What can I say? Yesterday afternoon was spent by the Bloke and the kids in front of series 3 and 4 of The Goodies. AND we have evaporative cooling.
This morning the DVD went on at 11.00am, a school holiday record. And I’m trading suck it up emails with my brother in London who teaches in the only school to remain open in their district.
January 12, 2010 at 12:42 pm
kate
Ok, let the record show, just in case the kid reads this when he’s grownup: we did turn the tv off again, I had another coffee, we made tortillas for lunch and played with the marble run. The tv mostly has to go off because he is much better behaved without it, and the sound makes me cranky.
I’m thinking stories and a push to reinstitute the routine of quiet time in his room after lunch is a Good Plan.
January 12, 2010 at 2:07 pm
sixthinline
I’d with the DVDs. at least then you can be selective and there are no ads. I’m trying to amuse my two year old grandson now while his mother studies and his father works.
There is only so much amusing you can do in conditions like this. We will venture out soon but it’s just too hot to look forward to it as a distraction, though food needs be bought.
Usually an outing is fun but not today. I have a heat induced headache and my little boy wants more amusement. It is always hard when you are constrained by anything, particularly the weather. I feel for parents and grandparents of small children everywhere. And notwithstanding the evils of ‘box’ watching even for short periods especially for small children sometimes it’s justified. There are only so many stories I can bear to read.
January 12, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Rebekka
“and the sound makes me cranky.”
Three words: Noise.Cancelling.Headphones.
Added bonus: You can’t hear children either;-)
January 12, 2010 at 3:53 pm
innercitygarden
True, but if I was going to just ignore him I would be better off adjourning to a nearby cafe or pub.
Fortunately, in a most unusual turn of events, the kid is actually having a nap. Waking him up at 6.30am for watering and cricket has paid off. Let’s just hope he is able to get back to sleep when it’s night time.
January 12, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Di
I grew up in dry intense heat but sadly I have acclimatised to Melbourne’s cooler temperatures in the 15 years I’ve been living here. Thankfully, we have Air con for the truly stinkypoo days, but we also spent quite a bit of time playing over the weekend with buckets/pans/kitchen implements of all kinds, and soapy bubbles and squirty water bottles on the lawn. Bonus benefit of lawn watering on the sly… We even took the squirty water bottles to the playground at an early hour before the heat set in. Great entertainment when your toddler is strapped into the swing!
January 13, 2010 at 10:04 am
kel
i used to be quite fond of the the ‘you can give mum a pedicure if you like’ treat( go figure!?) Its the equipment that gets them enthused. 2 small girls working slavishly on my feet for an hour was a great tv alternative!; warm soapy water, towles, mousturiser, nail file and very light coloured varnish…worked an absoloute treat. they never gor sick of it and neither did I! Just lay on the bed an made appreciative noises every so often
January 13, 2010 at 10:06 pm
Stomper Girl
Oh wasn’t it ghastly? I ended up spending a FORTUNE on antipasto for dinner because I won’t cook in that sort of heat. And I turn into an absolute parent of least resistance too; yes to icecream, yes to pixel nannies. I’m sure my kids would love it except I’m a complete grump and they get shouted at for the very least thing.
January 14, 2010 at 12:21 pm
suse
Hideous hideous. Thank god it’s eased for now.
ps. ‘toughen up princess’ made me giggle.
January 26, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Penni
Okay I’m a bit late but anyway:
One of the best indoor play tips someone gave to me was filling a baking tray with dried beans or lentils and using it like a sandbox (you need to be okay with potential messes for this, and not be too hung up on food play – I am a bit thingy about using food as a toy when people are starving in the world, but I actually wash and cook the beans anyway – sue me.) We do it with measures and plastic containers and other kitchen stuff but it would be fun with cars or plastic animals too.
January 26, 2010 at 8:46 pm
innercitygarden
Heh, we have a jar of Play Lentils for cooking play. And they do make a huge mess all over the floor, which I sweep up with a dustpan and brush and stick right back in the clearly labelled jar for next time. I figure it’s better to be playing with a food over and over again than to be acquiring larger and larger quantities of plastic crap. When the jar gets too gross I chuck it all on the compost.