help me keep this lot entertained before i go mad !

[bubblepop]

please.....!! on my own a lot now as dh working shifts and very tired inbetween..

ive got four, 2 ds aged 10 and 8, and two dd age 3 and nearly 2 yrs. the older two are really good mostly, sometimes play out with friends in the hols but they arent allowed to go far from the house. but now its getting colder and darker near winter, ive found that theyre indoors a lot and i feel like im neglecting them because the younger two are so demanding. i feel like im not dividing myself up equally.

the result is that the older two spend far too much time on their playstations,computer etc,whilst i run around like a headless chicken with the two toddlers completely ruling the roost. no help from grandparents/relatives. i feel like im going mad. even a simple trip to the park is too much of a facing,someone will be havin a tantrum or playing me up. has anyone got any ideas to help keep them entertained whilst its weekends/holidays? what do other parents do with large families or big age gaps between children?

[juuule]

Don't the 10 and 8 year olds play games with the toddlers? Mine like playing things like shop or school. They will play things like this for hours with occassional intervention from me. My younger ones have always been interested in watching what the older ones are doing on the computer and the older ones would find simple computer games that they could have a go at.
What videos do they like watching? After watching some videos mines would act out their favourite characters and 'do a show'
I think it's good that they are left to get bored at times as they then start to look at what they might like to do.
Do you have any board games? On and off they are quite popular in our house.

[ghoulmoonfiend]

When i babysit my neighbour's boys (3 and 5) my 2 boys (aged 7 and 9) can be persauded to do things like biscuit decorating with icing etc.
Another favourite is let the older ones build a den for the younger ones, especially if they can eat snacks in there)

They ca sometimes be persuaded to play 'Preschool' where the older ones read books to the younger ones and then play a simple jigsaw game or whatever. They get a kick out of imparting their knowledge and rpetending to be teachers.

Maybe only works because it's only one a week, rather then all the time though...