Martin

I have 3 boys 2, 4 and 5 month old now.

My boys loves to play in the bath tub. Give them plastic bowls and cups. They like to pour it from one cup to another. Or empty shampoo bottles or mouthwash bottles. They love that. Nothing expensive. And keep all the water mess in the tub. Just make sure don’t fill the tub with water and always be in the room just in case they slip and fell in the water.

Story time is the best for my kids. They cannot not have story time with their dad. Is like their “date” with him. Is bonding time.

Walking around the neighborhood after dinner. Our kids love to do this…might be a little hard with the 9 month unless u have strollers.

Library story time is great. Also check your libraries..sometimes they have special event like magic shows, etc

My sister and I like to take the kids to Pottery Barn kids…not to buy anything, but just to let them play with their floor samples stuff, kitchen, ironing board…is awsome…They love it! ;0)

Bringing them to the mall indoor playground…they love that too…and you get to relax and they get to burn their energy and afterwards eat ice cream.

My 2 older boys love to bake cookies/cake with me. They esp. love to mix the cookie or cake mix.

If you can go to the park or backtyard, buy a bottle of bubbles. They love to chase bubbles…just something with bubbles, is fun. Also flying kites…my boys love it. I found some clearance once at Target for less than $2.

DO NOT buy electronic toys like electric trains. Replacing the batteries would drain your wallet. It start to drain our wallet…Get some dinosaurs, they are pretty cheap at walmart for less than $1 at the clearance section. I love seeing the boys use imagination. Then u can rent The Land Before Time movie and watch it together (when they are older). Puzzles are fun too….my oldest loves puzzles.

They love to help you clean tables, vacuum, sweep the kitchen floor, etc.

Play kitchen…give them your pots and pans that u don’t mind them using….they will cook legos, blocks, anything in it….tons of fun on the living room floor.

Some parks now has really nice facility. There’s one by our home they have HUGE playground with water spray. All free!

Soccer, they love it! chasing and kicking the ball.

I hope that helps.

It is something I think kids of different ages can enjoy – and it give you a few minutes to prepare a meal and put a few things away.

Bad-mouthing another parent in front of the kids (they are always listening, even if you think they are asleep).

Undermining one another’s rules. It only hurts the kids when one parent is lax in discipline and the other has to work to twice as hard to set/enforce limits.

Making your time with kids about you instead of about the kids. Parents are people and have emotional needs, but expecting your kids to fill those needs is misguided. Nobody ever said raising a child would be easy… and it can be difficult to take when a child doesn’t reciprocate affection the way you would like. But you need to stay strong and model the kind of behavior that will help, not hurt, the child.

http://www.outdoordads.org/

(From the website:) OutdoorDads is a family outdoors group in Portland Oregon. Our goals:

*To encourage parents to get outside with their kids, and meet other parents who do the same
*To instill in our children a love of adventures in the natural world

OutdoorDads hikes once a month. Hikes are typically 2-3 miles long at the most with minimal elevation gain, we go at a very modest pace, and are within a 45 minute drive of Portland. While primarily a group for dads, all outings are open to both dads and moms. We’re mostly geared for kids from 3 months to 5 years, but all ages are welcome.

OutdoorDads is an informal group, and we want to keep it that way. There’s no membership fees, applications or waivers. Participants pay only for personal expenses related to a particular trip (typically US Forest Service parking fees, park entrance costs, etc.)

Here’s a link to a list of cheap but fun things to do with kids. Most are for older kids (card games, riding bikes, etc.) but some are adaptable to toddlers and preschoolers (e.g. play soccer, have a scavenger hunt).
http://zenhabits.net/2007/02/100-ways-to-have-fun-with-your-kids-for/

It’s amazing how activities can be adapted for the little ones. My 3 year old has a blast flying his “kite”, which in reality means running around in the wind with a decorated paper bag attached to a long piece of yarn. With some creativity there is no end to the cheap fun to be had.

found this through some other site, thought you might like it.

In a more general sense, enjoy the chance to spend time with your kids and learn about parenting dad’s way, whatever form that may take for you. Remember, there is no diapering gene and there’s no reason you can’t be just as effective, dynamic and enthusiastic a parent as mom can, even as you guys figure out different paths to the same goal — raising happy, healthy, and loving kids. Good luck to you, buddy.

An idea for outside is paintbrushes and a small bowl of water. Kids love to “paint” anything and everything outside just with water and again this will not cost you much at all.

Kids this age just want to be with you and have your attention, toys are secondary. Talk to them, tell them stories, sing, read and just have fun. Like someone else said….keep it simple. Good luck to you.