tyhoon - what to do with kids at home???

dear all - grateful for any tips - we have 2 two-year olds and last time we were stuck at home at typhoon we were climbing walls in about 3 hours!!! TV only lasts a while, so does drawing, playing with trainset etc etc.. what do you do with your kids to entertain them when you are stuck at home all day?? Am absolutely terrified of tomorrow - and not because of wind!! :(

When the worst was over with Fengshen (as in, no more risk of getting a branch on your head) we took the kids outside in their raincoats to look at waterfalls and such. Great fun. If you access to a little "nature" you can build little dams with stick on the sides of the road.


Indoor stuff:

- Baking. 2 years olds can be entertained for quite a while baking a cake, cookies or muffins. Have them measure out and pour ingredients, crack eggs, set the timer, be in charge of the mixer control and so forth. Yes there will be a mess, but then they can help clean it up. More fun!

- By all means have them do the dishes. For our #1 that's 20-30 minutes of fun right there. The dishes aren't always that clean afterward, but it's the thought that counts. ;)

- Tidying up closets and throwing old crap out. Kids love that stuff, and it takes much longer with them "helping".

- Hide little things around the living room and have them look for them.

- Look at family photo albums.

- Play dress up (can easily be combined with tidying up).


Finally, I would say that learning to play by themselves for more than 10 minutes is a useful skill. Try not to be so flustered when they come to you for more stimulation. Sometimes saying "you'll just have to play by yourself, I'm reading a book" is quite valid. Of course, at this age, you can't expect them to entertain themselves for hours, but shorter periods will work.




"Build a play tent with chairs and sheets"


Big open umbrella with sheets also works.

oh, brilliant!! baking definitely - not really good myself but just went and got some brownies mix from Olivers, that should do it. all ideas are just great - thank you both!

Nono, mix takes too little time. ;) Get a proper recipe. It's fun even if you fail... And you can always lick the batter.



Here's a chocolate cake recipe to get you started:


* 200 grams of butter (yes, real butter)

* 100 grams of light chocolate (milk chocolate)

* 100 grams of dark chocolate

* 5 eggs

* 2 dl sugar

* 2dl of white flour




Melt the butter and the chocolate in a saucepan on very low heat. Careful that it doesn’t burn. Whip the eggs and sugar until they are quite fluffy (duh). Mix the butter and stuff with the eggs and stuff. Mix in the flour until the dough is even.


Bake at 250 degrees for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven. It is supposed to be really loose, so don’t worry if it seems like jell-o when you take it out.


Let cool. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

made me laugh! guess you are right! not enough mixing - will use the recipe, thank you! :)

"what's "dl"???"


Deciliters. Isn't Canada metric? ;)


1 dl = 0.42 US cups. Of course you could just say 20cl or 20cc or even 0.2l instead of 2dl. Same thing with perhaps more common measurements.

hi there


there are some great suggestions already, another option is to let them try on your clothes, complete with heels/hats.


bathing in a different tub, like mummy's and using special bubble bath.


have lunch or snack in a special place, like the playroom, and build a fort. you dress up too!


your kiddies are old enough for a game like simon says, or freeze tag ?


if (in our case, when) you watch a video, if it is something like cinderella, practise waltzing. they go crazy for the princess treatment.


i'll be thinking of you! good luck.

we do all the above lus lots of gross motor, very active things-

put some couch cushions on the floor by parents bed, then put all bed covers and pillows on that, place pillows to cover any sharp corners and jump off bed onto pillows, an adult might need to stand to hold the cushions from slipping. My 3 year old and 17 month old love this. Although our bed is quite low to the ground.


jumping on the bed is always good for active play. I also do airplanes- lie on your back and hold them up flat and fly- if they hold your hands and you rock back and forth it is also really good for your ab muscles.


- we play soccer with a soft ballinside


- as far as baking- we love muffins- oatmeal are good, add flax seed and a few chocolate chips for temptation and I don't mind if they eat a lot


- picnics in different places in the house are good, like someone mentioned

To axpatguy

maybe its a nationality thing, I'd never heard of dl until recently, luckily the sets of measuring spoons you get here have it written on them. In England receipes are always measured in oz or grams, never dl's or cups.

Hope everyone enjoys their day off.

"maybe its a nationality thing, I'd never heard of dl until recently, luckily the sets of measuring spoons you get here have it written on them. In England receipes are always measured in oz or grams, never dl's or cups."


""dl" ... we are metric, but when i was growing up we were kind of 50-50.."


Just making a little joke. ;) I grew up in a very metric country and I went to French school. Can't get more metric than that. I can still remember the posters explaining all the relationships.


Having lived in the UK for a year and in the US for 6 years, I have had to learn the other system too. Luckily Google can convert everything. Just do a Google search for "convert 2dl to cups" for example.