Here’s Oli’s mum Emma with a great post on  keeping your little ones entertained when you can’t get out and about, hope you find it useful while we’re having this awful rainy weather.

After having 3 weeks of constant snow, which doesn’t make for easy pram pushing, and a child who decided that he was scared of the snow, we had to come up with some ideas of what to do indoors. And now that he has developed chicken pox we’ve had to bring the ideas back out and add to them as we hibernate for the next week or so.

It’s amazing what ideas the Internet can give you when you type in a simple ‘what to do indoors with the children’ search. Add those to your own ideas and you have at least two jam packed week’s worth of activities.

The first thing I got Oli involved with was the housework, although as he’s only one I couldn’t exactly giving him an apron and some marigolds and leave him to it. We hoovered together which was fun for him, pushing along the hoover with his mummy made him feel involved and helpful. Whilst cleaning the bathroom he had a cloth and I had a cloth, and even if he wasn’t exactly being helpful he was copying his mummy and this kept him entertained. Sorting out the recycling from the rubbish was something which gave us an idea for another activity.

Model making! This was the first time my toddler has been introduced to glue and after showing him how it makes things stick together, it was like he has just discovered food for the first time. We made ships, castles and even pretend food out of empty cereal boxes, loo rolls and whatever else we could get our hands on. How about making collages out of old magazines and catalogues, I remember making my own dream house by cutting up a catalogue and sticking items onto a drawn out house such as beds and fridges in the appropriate rooms.

We asked around and managed to get a huge sheet of plastic from a friend that we put down in the kitchen, we stripped Oli down to his nappy and let him roam free with a paint brush. Yeah it was messy, but it was so much fun for him and for us to watch; we now have paintings displayed on the fridge which would make Van Gogh proud.

Making food together was rather a success: apparently shaped sandwiches go down a lot better than the boring triangle ones mummy normally makes. Icing cakes is also fun and they can then be given to family members or even a neighbour.

Playing board games is something which is suitable for any age, Oli may not have got the concept of Twister but the coloured spots were a delight for him to look at and a great way for us to teach him his colours. No matter what age your child is you can find a board game which the whole family can sit down and play together.

Think back to your childhood and what kept you entertained on those rainy days. Hide and seek was one we remembered so we tried to play it with our son and when he got bored of that we hid his toys instead, I’m still finding toys such as ‘Mr Snappy’ hiding in the laundry basket.

How about exercising at the same time? As I’ve not been able to go out running I’ve had to confine my exercises to the house. I’ve been sticking on fitness DVDs with music to dance too, whilst I exercise Oli is dancing around me throwing his own little shapes.

Indoor obstacle courses: I’m not suggesting riding a mattress down the stairs but stick down cushions and using them as stepping stones. We sat on one together and pretended that a crocodile was in the water around us. Get their imaginations flowing and ask them what else they can turn into obstacles. How about turning the sofa cushions into a fort or a tent which you can chuck a blanket on top of and if its dark why not grab a torch and tell stories.

Finally, nothing can beat snuggling down as a family on the sofa with some popcorn to watch a film. Why not make it a weekly thing?

What do you do to entertain your child when you’re stuck indoors?

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