Amused at the unwarranted advice. We mums can't win sometimes. I do agree with the sentiment though having been through that tough period of having a young baby and a jealous toddler and ensuring little girl didn't feel pushed out. But nothing wrong with thinking of ways to entertain your toddler so you can get things done.
I bought a garish pink Hello Kitty cd player from argos a few months ago which is a huge hit with my 4 year old daughter (and her toddler brother).

I agree with you gruffalo's dad that toddlers can and should learn to wait a minute - I'm just saying that some of the time, they could be told "why don't you play with a toy" rather than just "wait a minute". Gradually they will get the idea that they can and should entertain themselves but that's not going to happen overnight.

Margaret8's post seems to be saying the opposite to you. On my reading, she is suggesting the toddler should never be asked to play with a toy OR wait a minute but should always be given just as much attention as they were given before number 2 arrived. Which I think is frankly impossible. Perhaps I have misread her, if so apologies.

Regarding poor parenting - I think it's a bit of a leap to go from distracting your toddler while dealing with the baby, to tolerating biting or pushing! Not the same thing at all.

I agree with MargaretB's post. And I speak from experience of having two children with an age gap of only 18 months.

pie81: You post is a perfect example of what is wrong with parenting. It is good for children to learn to wait a minute and that they have to wait and occupy themselves while they wait rather than expecting that if they have to wait then some toy/distraction must be provided.

As my children get older I see so many examples of poor parenting. Now unfortunately my eldest is in nursery having to interact with the products of this poor parenting, e.g. having her fingers bitten or being pushed over.

Good lord MargaretB - what an extraordinary post.

She's not suggesting the baby is going to get "all the attention", I'm not sure where you got that from. Your post reads as if she's said the toddler is going to be locked in a cupboard!

Of course there will be times when she has to take care of the baby without being able to involve the toddler. The same will be true in reverse, sometimes she will need to put the baby somewhere while she takes care of the toddler.

And of course we all have to try to ensure that our first child doesn't feel left out or rejected when the second comes along, but that doesn't mean we can't use things to keep the toddler occupied some of the time. In fact I'd say that's part of ensuring they don't feel rejected, by ensuring they are happily occupied rather than being told to "wait a minute".

First_timemum- I have found the CD player and accompanying nursery rhyme/ audio books to be a brilliant way of spending time with my toddler whilst I feed my baby. He loves sitting next to me and requesting various singalongs, or for us to enjoy the audio books together, turning the pages, discussing the pictures etc. It has been an unexpected godsend and he actively looks forward to baby feeding time now.

Good Luck first_timemum - I am surprised - even shocked - that anyone would want to distract their 2+ year old child, who is used to getting all of the attention, in this way whilst the new baby gets all the attention, even if only for feeding/changing the baby.

Instead of trying to distract your 2.5 year old with a player (which won't work for long!) I suggest that you involve her/him as much as possible in the care of your new baby - or risk an eventual, possibly serious, case of sibling jealousy, rejection of the baby and future behavioural difficulties.
Even a 2.5 year old is not that stupid - they know when they are being 'sidelined' and, just as an adult would, they will react against it eventually.

The Chad valley My First singalong is a BIG hit with my just turned two year old. We bought ours in Argos.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a small portable cd player that would be suitable for a two and a half year old? I'd like to get one for my daughter - we have a new addition to the family and I have visions of my toddler sitting quietly listening to nursery rhymes while I take care of the baby...