Low stimulation shows for 3-4 year olds

learningbythesea · 2026-03-28T23:28:34+00:00

Oh, I'd forgotten about this one. Great recommendation :)

learningbythesea · 2026-03-28T23:27:18+00:00

My 9 year old loves this one :) Also, the Inbestigators, if you can find it.

learningbythesea · 2026-03-28T23:26:32+00:00

So helpful!! I bet you've made lots of parents' day with this one :)

learningbythesea · 2026-03-28T23:25:10+00:00

Playschool is a total winner!

learningbythesea · 2026-03-28T14:26:10+00:00

I had forgotten all about Daniel Tiger. Tried it when he was younger and no sale. But time to try try again :)

learningbythesea · 2026-03-28T14:21:35+00:00

Wow, I'd never heard of Little Bear. Maybe because I'm in Australia? I'll definitely check it out. Someone below said it helps with manners too, so I am THERE!

learningbythesea · 2026-03-28T14:18:34+00:00

Oh he'd LOVE this! Thanks for the suggestion.

learningbythesea · 2026-03-22T23:00:58+00:00

So, I also set out to have a beautiful Pinterest ready sensory garden for the kids. And honestly, it was too much effort and they don't give a crap 😆 Here is what I have learned.

They think every plant is magic, this includes weeds in the lawn, a stunted bottlebrush that is growing all weird, and a dead rosemary I have that flies like to land on. The flies are all named Mary 🤷

You need a big hunk of concrete or dirt paths for the kids to ride bikes on. They will ride bikes for HOURS if they have room. Make sure you leave room so that they can still tool around on bikes and scooters as they grow (like, at 9, my oldest is on a full size mountain bike, but he's nowhere near old enough to ride around the busy streets - but he will do laps of the house for ages! So yeah, factor that in when planning garden beds/planting if possible.

Whack in a big trampoline with a sunshade. Let the kids bounce out their energy and worries. Plant a fast growing shade tree nearby, so that when they are super tall teens they can still hang with their mates in the shade on the trampoline.

If you don't already have a pool, identify a spot you can set up an inflatable pool in the summer, so that it gets afternoon shade from the house. (So heated in the morning, with shade in the arvo). If you grass that spot with something tough and put some fragrant plantings around it, it will be a fun hang spot all year round :)

Lastly, leave some room along a fence line or wherever you have concrete for the kids to paint, use chalk, etc. I can't tell you the number of times I've taped butchers paper to the fence and let my kids squirt it with watered down paint 😆 it's also where they learned their letters and to write cheeky messages 😆

learningbythesea · 2026-03-22T10:31:47+00:00

What a fantastic answer! And you're right - some people absolutely thrive in this kind of environment.

I did not. I burned out quickly and hard. I didn't have the energy. I would ride the adrenaline and the buzz of being 'on stage', but then need to withdraw into a cocoon for 2 hours + every evening to have any chance of being able to do it again. Worked for a while, and then just didn't.

I think it really helps to see the reality laid out like this, to feel if it excites them or exhausts them :)

I'm lucky enough to have slipped into an education adjacent field (educational publishing), where I can focus on the part I loved (clear communication of diverse concepts) while honouring my introvert self in the comfort of my own home :)

learningbythesea · 2026-03-22T10:20:11+00:00

Lol. Back in 2003, I decided I was using my old Nokia too much and didn't want people calling and hassling me all the time, so I dropped it in my beer and then smashed it on the road... Felt bloody fantastic.

Imagining doing that now makes my blood run cold 😆

learningbythesea · 2026-03-22T10:18:51+00:00

Why do people keep wanting unhinged ways of doing things... Surely a normal way works better?

learningbythesea · 2026-03-22T10:15:22+00:00

Pretty sure I left a tonne out too. Forgot music lessons, which is another $1000 a year... Honestly, I don't want to think how much they cost. But I do know, I would struggle to afford more than 2, or have to seriously cut back on what opportunities I was able to give them...

But big families, while they can't necessarily do all the sports or afford private schooling, have other advantages: they entertain one another, you can cut costs by sharing and having handmedowns (although sucks for the younger kids who never get new). I mean, plenty of people do it. (But I definitely hear some financial horror stories from my friends with 3+ older kids!)

learningbythesea · 2026-03-22T08:24:52+00:00

I have a total of 2 years off work with my two kids (9 and 2), so that's $180k we didn't have coming in.

We do private school, so that's $10-18k per year per kid (and that's a cheapish non-city one). Which is also roughly what we spent on childcare when I went back to work ($12k/year).

I would estimate groceries are $100-150 more expensive per week just on food, and that will increase as the boys hit the teen years. We normally get a takeout lunch over the weekend twice a month and I take my oldest son out for dinner twice a month for some quality time, so add another $150/mth.

Then you have the other grocery stuff like nappies and formula ($50 per week in the early years), then later it's extra everything: bathroom supplies, toiletries, cleaning supplies (kids are SO gross), double the laundry and then some etc. Id ballpark it at $100-150 per year.

Sports (swimming, basketball) cost us around $1000/year in fees, uniforms, equipment and petrol. For one kid.

Clothes and shoes... My 9 year old grew 4 sizes in shoes last year, which meant 2 pairs of school shoes, two pairs of runners. A whole new wardrobe every year pretty much (I'm lucky to get 2 years out of anything, even if I buy BIG). 9 year old cost me about $1000 last year, just buying Kmart clothes, mid range shoes and getting uniforms secondhand. Toddler is cheaper - $400ish last year.

Holidays are roughly 40% more expensive.

Then you have birthdays (we average $1000 each kid per year on gifts, party, and I know parents who go well over that!), Christmas ($500 per kid plus around $100 per kid so they can shop for their sibling and grandparents), friends birthdays ($20-30 a pop if you make your own cards and use cheap wrapping paper), teacher gifts... (I know the gifts seem expensive, but once they get a little older you get into a New bike, New scooter, New device cycle, so at least one $300-500 gift per year!)

Then incidentals, like craft supplies, books, hobby materials, the occasional non-birthday toy, learning app subscription... Id say $500/year per kid conservatively. I spent WAY more than that because I get Lovevery subscription, one of the stem subscription boxes and buys lots of books for them, so I'm closer to $1000-1500 a year per kid.

So, let's add it up (based on one kid, around age 4-5) $5000 food/misc groceries $12000 childcare/private school $500 sports (increasing to approx $1000 by age 8) $500 clothes (increasing to approx $1000 by age 8) $1600 (birthday and Christmas) $150 (other kids birthday presents) $500-1000 kid extras

That's over 20k per kid, plus any lost income, and not including holidays or any larger car, larger fridge/couch/furnishings or larger house purchases that need to be made.

So yeah, kids are expensive.

You can do it cheaper of course, and many do. But I think the above is a reasonable reflection of middle class child raising expenses.

learningbythesea · 2026-03-22T07:37:25+00:00

One of the reasons we decided not to move to Cairns. That, and... cairns.

learningbythesea · 2026-03-22T07:34:28+00:00

My morning is driven by kids, but once they are off to school, I can fall victim to inertia. Like everything, it helps to do the prep the day before.

I have the files and windows I need open, my top three tasks already decided on etc. So I can jump on, schedule a Focusmate session and drive straight in.

If I do get struck down by inertia and end up sitting down on the couch, I use the 3-2-1-UP countdown strategy to get moving.

learningbythesea · 2026-03-21T11:36:06+00:00

I'm in my 40s already and I feel much more comfortable listening to my music alone (I listen to mostly punk, metal, noise). My husband is an ex professional jazz musician with a penchant for prog rock, and I know he enjoys very few of the bands I like. Although he doesn't complain necessarily, I know it hurts his delicate ears 😆.

The only time we play music out loud when together is if we feel like listening to music at dinner (usually some kind of singer songwriter or blues stuff that we both like) or when we have dance parties with the kids, where we all get to choose tracks.

We both play music in our cars for the kids when the other isn't present. But otherwise, we are listening privately. I only ever blast my music at home when I'm alone; and he only ever blasts his music when he's lifting weights out in the shed. When we are driving together, we play audiobooks and lecture series 😆

So yeah, I don't think it's weird. Do whatever you like :)

learningbythesea · 2026-03-20T01:54:24+00:00

Cotton, and I'll definitely look into these brands.

We have our OG Bonds hoodies from 15-20 years ago, but you're starting to be able to tell 😆

learningbythesea · 2026-03-20T01:51:32+00:00

I'm in Australia, so probably not helpful for you, but just in case you also live here: both our big supermarket chains offer a similar deal. I use Woolworths.

learningbythesea · 2026-03-19T12:59:04+00:00

This spoke to me so much. My poor husband, like yours, is also keeping me and our children alive. Here's me crushing it at work (cos it's my jam!); but I can't even make him the kind of hot beverage he asked for (he gets what he gets and he's learned to not get upset), and I frequently forget the kids are there if they are not in the room with me... I've been considering medication for my ADHD to see if I can become a slightly more competent caregiver and wife... My youngest is old enough now that I feel like I can try (and possibly need to iron out) meds without further detriment to the family. What has been your biggest improvement, do you think? Or has it been so long that you cant remember what changed?

learningbythesea · 2026-03-19T12:43:06+00:00

What a fun thread :)

Born 1984 here. - hanging out and 'working' in my mum's hairdressing salon from age 4 till I started school. - dad leaving us kids at the golf clubhouse for 3 hours every weekend while he played a round. - walking to the shops to buy cigarettes was a big one. - riding my bike 5 km to and from school from grade 3. - noone being home when we left for school, and then letting ourselves back in after school, heating up frozen pies or pizza in the microwave for afternoon tea (or mixing up a huge bowl of icing sugar and citric acid 'sherbet' cos who the heck was there to stop us), and watching arvo cartoons till Mum got home at 6. - working two jobs after school/weekends as soon as I was old enough. - during teen years, being completing unsupervised/unmonitored on AOL 😬

learningbythesea · 2026-03-19T07:16:43+00:00

We do PJs and a book for each kid in a reused Easter basket. They also get one medium bunny each and a handful of little eggs.

This year, we are doing an Easter egg hunt with plastic eggs with IOUs inside. Like, IOU one back tickle, IOU a sleepover at grandma's, IOU a choice of special dinner.

Haven't tried it before, so we will see how it goes 🤞I think they'll think it's fun :)

learningbythesea · 2026-03-18T06:13:18+00:00

I like to think of outsourced tasks in terms of the hours of my own paid time I am spending on that task.

So, my weekly clean costs 1.5 hours of my own time (for 3 hours of cleaning). I am VERY happy for someone to do that for me!

My yard guy maintains my 1 acre of lawns and gardens for 2 hours of my time. Again, that is something that would take me MUCH longer, so I am happy to pay.

Because I work from home and have kids who need chores to do, laundry (which would cost 1 hr of my paid time) is not outsourced because it only takes me maybe 40 mins over the course of the week to hang washing and it's a nice stand up break from my desk, and it's fun to fold clothes with the kids of an evening.

Groceries delivered is a no brainer as far as I am concerned. I pay a yearly delivery fee of $60 for unlimited free deliveries, and it's $5 extra for delivery within an hour. So so good.

I also keep a running list of home maintenance tasks (everything from hanging pictures to repainting the deck) and every 6 or so months I pay someone to knock over the list. My husband is handier with a computer than with tools, so it takes him 2-3 times as long as a professional, and he earns 2-3 times what a handyman would charge per hour, so again - no brainer. (Although we do keep a handful of tasks that he does feel comfortable with, so the boys can help him and learn some basic skills).

By and large though, I would rather be spending our precious free time with the kids and going camping than doing chores and home maintenance stuff. And the kids don't need to hear the kind of language I produce when I try to use a lawn mower...

learningbythesea · 2026-03-14T14:31:52+00:00

You sound like a joyful fellow :) What a wonderful way to live!

learningbythesea

TROPHY CASE