I guess this question is for parents who don't have older kids whose routines supersede the younger kids'. So for you parents with one or two kids who are pretty young, I often wonder, "What is your schedule like?"
Some days I feel like I'm just making it all up as I go along and I wonder if we had more of a set routine if Jane would like that. Do you have activities that your kids do at certain times of the day? Like a "crafts" time or an "outside play" time? Do you have certain things you do on certain days of the week, like classes or visiting family members?
I buy the parenting books for my library, and if the number of toddler-activity books out there are any indication, I'm not the only parent scratching her head and wondering what to do with this silly kid. What are some of your toddler's favorite activities? For Jane, it's coloring and reading. We have an aqua-doodle, a magna-doodle, and lots of crayons, and she will use them all in one day, probably more than once. She also loves reading and being read to. So what about your kids?
2 comments:
You are not the only one going "WTF do I do with this crazy kid all day long!" Phyn LOVES coloring, playing the piano (I will catch her over there playing several times a day), reading, playing princesses/toys and we do some learning stuff like "where are your eyes? Where are mommy's eyes" Things like that. We just bought her a 1.99 watercolor set from target and she is absolutely 100% in love with that. She loves to help me make her lunch, pour her juice, get ice from the freezer, bake cookies, vacuum, sweep etc. I think just showing her stuff that is hands on is how they learn the best anyway. When mommy needs a minute we put on Buzz or another show and let her unwind or wake up which ever time of day it is.
The only real schedule we have for her is meals and nap time. She wakes up when she is ready, usually between 8-9, she has lunch between 11-12, naps between 12-2 for 1-3 hours depending on how tired she is, Then we eat dinner when dad gets home. She takes a bath, reads a book, and snuggles with us on the couch before going to bed. We are still transitioning her to her own room since she co-slept with us from day 1. She has her own bed in our room that she sleeps in every night. That's about it for our schedule. LOL.
Other moms are very strict and rigid, but that has never worked for Phynley. The fight wasn't worth it when we tried telling her she's tired because the clock says so.. you know? Even "quiet time" wasn't happening.
Sounds like you are doing the right things to me. Jane is further along vocally than Phynley is (according to your posts) and they are close in age.
I know you don't need ideas from moms with crazy kids but I did start with just one. When it was just Dallin and I we took a music class that was once a week for 30 min. I really enjoyed getting out of the house and having somewhere to go that felt geared towards his interests. After we moved and I made friends with moms that had kids the same age we started play groups once a week and rotated houses. That was so wonderful.
But daily schedules were kind of like yours. It depended on the day and the sun and errands, etc. But all my kids love to be outside as much as possible when the weather permits. I even have pictures of us taking Dallin sledding (we dragged him in the sled over some snow). He loved it.
Good luck. It's challenging but it will all change with the next baby. One day they will entertain each other and you'll sit back and put your feet up and call it heaven.
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