My 16 month old is really frustrated, can someone help?

[beth558]

I am having trouble keeping my son occupied. He doesn't play with any of his toys and is always into my things! lol Typical I am sure. But I am running out of ideas to occupy him. We play outside alot but when I bring him inside, he gets so mad! Throws fits and cries. Not sure what to do , He is my first child. Is he too young for playdough and fingerpaints? He seems ready for more than what I am doing right now. Please send me some ideas! Thanks!

[Amy2]

Elisabeth,
I think he is too young for fingerpaints and such, unless you are prepared to be cleaning up his stuff continually, and pulling playdough out of his mouth.
I think this is a challenging age because they really do know what they want, but can't communicate yet. It's tough.
What worked for me when my first was little was reading Basic Montessori for under Fives. It helped me to make the environment accessable to him so he had free reign without being destructive, or bothering the things I didn't want him to bother. Basically the idea is, make your home so child friendly/safe, that he can do what he wants. We had a big cupboard with all our unbreakable bowls that he would sit for hours and bang on. We had a drawer with all the plastic stuff, cups, bowls that he could open and dump out. We put things out of reach (like our VCR, which duh, took us SO LONG to figure out) instead of having to hover over him to be sure he didn't stuff marshmellows in it. We got an old tape player/radio with lots of buttons on it and put it on his level so he could experiment with a "grown up" thing.
I think that our kids really want to do what we do, so if you're folding laundry, you give him a few clothes to let him "fold" as well. If you're cleaning the sink, give him a rag or sponge so he can "help" with cleaning. Or if you want him out of your way, get a bowl or something he can clean himself.
The screaming/crying thing is so normal. If you can just step away, or ignore it, it will probably ease up.
Just a few thoughts for now. If anything else comes to mind, I'll let you know!
Amy

[Sasha Rowan]

Get down some old hats, purses, scarves, ties, shoes, etc. and let him have a dress up box. Fingerpaints and playdo depend on how much he likes to put stuff in his mouth. My ds1 didn't mouth much at all (too busy talking to put stuff in it.) Where as my dd is still putting things in her mouth at 23 mo. Mostly anything that will let them pretend to be you will amuse them for a while at that age.

Just remember that in one short year or less, they'll be at the "go away Mommy, I'll do it" stage.

[momtomonkeys]

Hi!

I introduced crayons and paper at this age with my dd (actually even a bit earlier). You do have to sit there with them and make sure they keep the crayons out of their mouths but it is worth the time. My dd was coloring and drawing (very simple) pictures by the time she was two. I never had a problem with her using art materials incorrectly ....even as far as drawing on walls...after age two. Also, you can put them in a high chair and put a drop cloth under them with real messy projects. Have fun...life is short.

Have you tried puzzles? What about tents...something cool about tents you know. Umm, does your child have any musical instruments? Kids really go for the noise makers! Puppets are fun too.

Well, good luck and hope things turn around for ya real soon!!!

OH! You can do fingerpainting with pudding!!! I used the jello pre-pkgd kind and dumped it out into a big plastic dish pan. You could also just put some on the tray of the highchair. You will probably have to hose em down afterwards put they love it. And, it is fine if they put it in their mouths!!