At what age do activities stop ending in tears?

I don't know, maybe I'm expecting too much... but every single time I do activities with my kids (crayons, play'doh, special toys etc), they don't listen to instructions at all and I have to take it away, resulting in meltdowns. Is it too much to expect to ask them to play on the table??? I just had a toy out (this, and they would just put the pieces anywhere, or put two at the right place then take them off and ask for a new board... they would not finish one board... so after two warnings (let's finish one or we put the toy away), I had to put it away, and more tears.

Seriously, it's just easier to let them play on their own at this point!

 

I think you're expecting too much ardon: I give my kids stuff like that and I just do it with them, yes they take them from me and yes they put them in the wrong places but that's okay. If you wanted them to only play with one board then maybe next time only bring one board out. What about doing it on the floor and setting all the boards out. Don't worry about what they do wrong but just praise and acknowledge what they do right. If they happen to get a circle on a circle-- say YAY you did it! Also lead by example, and what awesome boards to just teach colors.
Have you tried doing stuff in their high chairs? This has worked WONDERS for us! It keeps the mess contained and they don't get so easily distracted.
Just have fun with it... Unless mine are being mean I don't discipline them for just wanting to play.
Good luck!

 

I have to agree. 2 1/2 is about exploration and trying things, not doing things the "right" way. At that age, you should be trying to teach them what colors are or basic shapes, not be concerned with them putting together a picture. Honestly, until mine went to preschool, they never touched scissors, paint, or glue. I really didn't even give them crayons except for at restaurants or if they specifically asked to play with them. Playdoh was an outside only activity, that way I didn't care if it dropped.

 

I agree with Brigette and Sharon, with toys like that, I just let them play with it how they want to and if they want my help, they'll come to me. Most activities I let them play on the floor because my two don't have the attention span to sit still at the table and do something.

 

Oh gosh - I think you're setting yourself up for failure and frustration. Don't worry if they don't play with something the way it's intended. As long as they're having fun and so are you, it's ok if they can't play "correctly". At 2.5, the only things I worried about were willful destruction and permanent damage to the house. So as long as no one was deliberately breaking something or painting with tempura on the walls, it didn't matter how a toy was being used.

Now, at almost 3.5, my girls are much better at playing with toys the way the makers intended, but they still love to do it all wrong. And that's OK. Kids are such sponges that they learn things no matter how they're playing, or with what.

So I say give yourself a break and don't worry if your kids can't sit at the table and play correctly with a certain toy. You'll enjoy the time with them a lot more... and they'll have more fun too.

 

Yeah but even then I don't have the choice, if I let them play freely there will be pieces all over the house. Same with play'doh and crayons... if I don't let them sit at the table it will be a disaster.

Just reinforces my idea that activities are not worth it at this age!

 

Mine have learned that play dough and crayons have to stay on their craft table. I sit with them and if they get down with either, I remind them to put it on the table. It got better with time, but in the beginning, there were tears. We don't sit for long at the table, so when I sense them getting bored, I think of another fun thing to do elsewhere and they usually gladly stop.

I let them watch me using a toy/puzzle the way it was intended, but let them play however they want. I'll mention colors/shapes or whatever as they're playing with pieces. I try to keep the girls in just the playroom with me when we use a toy with lots of pieces as it drives me insane when a puzzle or book with pieces is missing something. That way, the pieces can't get too far! When they're playing on their own, they don't have access to those things with lots of pieces.

I don't worry about them jumping from one thing to the next and not doing things "correctly". We just have fun and if we do a puzzle for 60 seconds, that's fine, and if we color for 2 minutes, that's fine too.

Mine are loving coloring in little spiral notebooks. They also have sticker sheets and they put stickers on the random pages.

As an aside, an Occupational Therapist we saw recently suggested that I break my regular crayons into thirds an peel the paper off, so the girls could hold them with the tips of their fingers (thumb, index, and middle). She said that was the same grasp they'd use for a pencil when they learned to write, and was beneficial to use early like this and my girls really like the control of the crayon they have now.

 

I just let mine play. They are learning to use their imagination and figuring things out for themselves. I do have a rule that Play-Doh and crayons have to stay on the table. They get warnings for that and if they don't listen then I take it away. (They are pretty good about it though after a few examples that I was serious.) Sometimes I sit right there and play with them and sometimes I do stuff around the house and leave them be. I just reinforce the rules. They have share and take turns with certain things, it stays on the table, and they have to clean it up when they are done. It didn't happen the first time, but just be consistent and they will learn the rules.

 

I suggest color wonder markers instead of crayons at this age. They can only write on the paper this way. I would never let them play with played at home only at preschool. Sheets are kinda a loss at this point too. Jessy cried the first couple of weeks of prek because she didn't like changing activities when the teacher wanted them to and she's been in preschool since 2

 

Playdoh is only an outside game on the picnic table. But even then if they start running around with it, I tell them to bring it back to the table. One of my DDs could sit at that table for hours and play with it, but the other loses interest and goes and climbs on the playset or plays with her bike.

As for crayons, when they first started coloring at 1 1/2, I put them in the high chairs and only gave them two crayons at a time. Then when we got rid of the high chairs, I let them color while sitting at the table in their booster seats. Some days one or both could sit there for awhile (like a half hour) and color (or peel the paper), but other days they would lose interest much more quickly. I had to sit with them and help them until they were about 2 1/2.

Between 2 1/2 and 3, I started leaving their crayons and paper on their craft table and they would go play with it whenever they wanted, with the strict rule of no crayons away from the craft table. Of course this is a constant struggle and when it gets too annoying (for me), I put the crayons away and they have to ask me for them. That is usually a good enough consequence for them to follow the rule.

As for games, we have something similar to what you linked and one of my girls is TOTALLY into it and makes the pictures. The other likes to sort and stack all the shapes and that is fine too. I have to sit with them for this game though or else we'd have little shapes all over the house.

Its only recently that I've been able to leave their puzzles out without my help and supervision without them just spreading puzzle pieces across the whole house.

HTH.

 

i think actvities at this age are VERY worth it. not just from a learning standpoint, but from the time you spend with them.

we don't have any issues with crayons, markers, play doh, etc. when mine were a year old, i brought out crayons and 2 coloring books, laid down on the ground where they were sitting and started to color in a coloring book. they caugh on quickly, and now are amazing little artists! i totally trust them with their crayons/markers/colored pencils, and leave them out on their table to draw whenever they want to. playdoh is only done in the kitchen. so is painting and glueing. they love to do it, and i can incorporate some learning into it. (i.e. i draw 10 apples, put number 1-10 on them, cut them out, and then let them find a number, then they get to glue that apple on the paper. after all apples are glued, they can finger paint the whole paper. the whole time i tell them how great they're doing, etc. they love this, they learn, they become more confident, and we spend quality time together)

as far as puzzles go, mine are just now REALLY wanting to sit down and figure out a puzzle (we do the 25 piece ones). once they start picking them up and letting them free fall, i figure we're done and find something else to do.

 

I don't think it's unrealistic to have certain basic rules, like play-doh and markers stay at the table. Also, some things just need to be supervised activities. It doesn't mean you have to tell them how to do it, but you do need to be nearby and keep an eye on them (not be trying to cook dinner or something) while they do it. (This is still the case with painting in our house -- facilitating their painting activity is a full-time job for me.)

But there are plenty of things they can do without direct supervision, once they get the hang of the basic rules. Yes, it may end in tears the first several times you take the crayons away because they're walking around the house with them. But eventually they'll remember.

You could also try loosening up the rule as much as possible, while still having a rule -- for instance, rather than saying they have to stay at the table, say they have to stay in the kitchen or something.

It also depends on their personalities and the particular kind of trouble they tend to get into. For instance, I've trusted my girls with scissors since they were 3 -- other people can't leave their kids alone with scissors at 6. But I never give them glue or glitter unless I'm standing right there!

Anyway, yes, it can be a hassle to do art activities with toddlers and small children. But I still think it's totally worth it. It's just not the go-to thing when I need them to occupy themselves and let me get something done.