7 Fun Places to Go with Toddlers or Preschoolers

Photo by Karpati

Going stir-crazy? Cooped up? Need to get out of the house for a day with your small children?

Even in the smallest of towns, you can find things to do and people to meet through the following places. Here are 7 fun places to go with toddlers or preschoolers. Some of these places will seem ordinary to you, so may simply serve as reminders of places you haven’t been for awhile. But look too for tips within each place in the list.

1) Libraries often have story times for preschoolers (you can take your baby, too) as well as other,  more elaborate programs.  The library in one tiny town we lived in (2,000 residents) brought in jugglers and even live parrots! Many town libraries are connected to larger library systems that sponsor traveling programs. If you want to check out books, but find it too stressful perusing shelves while managing small children, visit the online catalog while your kids nap. You can pick up the books at the front desk when you go in for story time.

What do sleep deprived moms and POWs have in common?

Did you accidentally call your child by your dog’s name today or put the remote control in the refrigerator?

According to sleep experts, including Richard Scuderi, MD, PhD (previously posted at sleep-deprivation.com):  “insufficient rest adversely affects the frontal cortex’s ability to control speech, access memory, and solve problems.”  Also: “exhaustion and fatigue affect our emotional moods, causing pessimism, sadness, stress, and anger.”

No wonder prisoners of war are often subjected to sleep deprivation: it depresses them, wears down their defenses, and confuses them!

If you are a prisoner of your own schedule, which causes a self-imposed lack of sleep, it’s time to give yourself permission to eliminate an activity or two and spend some extra time snoozing. (My mother—who had 4 children—often took one-hour afternoon naps. Now I know why!)

Most likely, if you have young children or a baby, you are losing sleep involuntarily. But it’s not just newborns who keep Mom and Dad awake. As kids grow, they’re sometimes needy at night when teething or battling nightmares. Perhaps they are even sleeping well—but you’re staying awake worrying about them!

Are you getting enough rest so you can enjoy parenting while you are awake? Is there anything you can do to insure that your body is getting the sleep it needs? Sleep is so valuable you may occasionally need to call in reinforcements—perhaps to help with the kids for an hour so you can crash for awhile.

Can you read this without Y A W N I N G?

Get some rest, if possible. Both you and your kids will benefit.

Hugs,

Laurie

YouCanTooMom.Wordpress.com

© 2005 Laurie Winslow Sargent: Excerpt from Ch. 2: Tough Stuff, p. 22 in Delight in Your Child’s Design