[sotnos]

I would love some ideas of what other people pack for a their busy toddlers when they know there will be waiting times, for us in hospital waiting rooms, where the wait can be up to an hour,Thanks for any suggestions

[Fossy]

Plenty of drinks and snacks
books including photos (dd spends hours looking at photos!)
we have a mini etch a sketch type thing which is great
iPad with games/shows
pencils and colouring books
doll and blanket
Puzzles

We have used this in waiting rooms and planes with success! Good luck.

[cassoweary]

- Those 'i spy' type books - like wheres wally but for littlies..
- Colouring in books
- books that have in-built puzzles

[Silver Girl]

- Books (ones with lots of detailed pictures
- Flash cards
- A couple of Thomas trains; under chairs can be tunnels and tables or seats are bridges. You can talk about which station the train's stopping at, who's getting on & off, where they're going etc;
- Toys for role play. Eg We have a little teddy who we pretend is a mechanic fixing a Matchbox car. It takes a while to go through scenarios (changing the tyres, oil change, fix gears etc).
- Snacks!

[tibs]

leappad and stickerbooks were my DD's fave at that age

[kpingitquiet]

Books that we keep in her backpack so she doesn't see them often. A pack of crayons and a small sketchbook. Toddler Lock on our phones, when desperate!

[sotnos]

Thanks for the ideas, i will have to look into the leap pad i think, i know there is a lot of 2nd hand ones about.

[Carmen02]

ipod has been our sanity saver lately we have alot of appointments lately and our busy DS sits still for once lol

[CrazySingleMum]

books and a couple of matchbox cars, or a spiderman action figure type thing

[noi'mnot]

Paper, crayons (washable, so if something gets drawn on then wipes will remove it!), stickers, books. A few apps on my phone for desparate situations.

We have a few toys - puzzles and such - that are kept aside for this kind of thing, so that they're a bit more special and new and exciting.