how much time do you spend a day ....

actually playing with your toddler?

I feel like on the days when we are home...I run out of things to DO with her. She winds up watching more TV than I would like. I feel like I bad mommy that I dont know what else to do when we are home.

how much time do you actually spend in the day interacting and playing?

WHAT types of things do you do together when home?

how much TV in a day does your toddler watch?

sorry for all of the questions, TIA

Re: how much time do you spend a day ....

I (we) play with our toddler a LOT. I am off on a Monday and my Monday is dedicated to him having fun...we go to playgroup/indoor playground/playground. We kick a football around constantly, we sing, we play with puzzles, we talk to each other (unfortunately I can't understand what he is saying) and we are always entertaining each other. We have the TV on when we are at home, but Noah has little interest in it.

Re: how much time do you spend a day ....

We read, we color, we sing and dance, she likes to pretend to cook for me, she's big on follow the leader lately (she always has to be the leader). she likes to help me out around the house, so i'll let her "fold" the towels or whatever.

ETA: I leave the TV on all day b/c I need the noise. So sometimes we'll pretnd along with the Backyardigans or whatever and have our own version of the show in our playroom. I feel silly but they both seem to like it and I feel like it's getting their imaginations going.

Message edited 8/30/2007 10:47:00 AM.

Re: how much time do you spend a day ....

I feel like when I worked FT I actually spent more quality time with her. Now that I am home, I feel like I am always doing things around the house. And when we play, I feel like we play for 1/2 hour or whatever and then I run out of things to keep her inetrested. (she plays with each toy for like 3 or 4 min and thats it) Its okay when we are out...its just when we are home that I feel like Im not doing enough fun things with her. Im not a good SAHM I guess...

Re: how much time do you spend a day ....

Posted by dawnygirl25

I feel like when I worked FT I actually spent more quality time with her. Now that I am home, I feel like I am always doing things around the house. And when we play, I feel like we play for 1/2 hour or whatever and then I run out of things to keep her inetrested. (she plays with each toy for like 3 or 4 min and thats it) Its okay when we are out...its just when we are home that I feel like Im not doing enough fun things with her. Im not a good SAHM I guess...

Message edited 8/30/2007 10:57:07 AM.

Re: how much time do you spend a day ....

I work FT but I spend and hour with DS in the morning. I get him dressed then we go to the LR for a bottle and we play for a bit untill his nanny arrives and I go get ready for work. The TV is always on in my house so DS willl watch it while he is playing or relaxing in his PNP before a nap. I either have cartoons on for him or I have the music channels on.

When I come home from work I play/talk/sing to him while I prepare dinner, feed him, give him a bath, more play time in the LR and he is off to bed.

I try to spend as much of my free time with him. I guess my guilt for working FT. On the weekends my time is 100% devoted to him!

If I ever makes plans to go out with my friends ETC, I make sure it is after his bedtime otherwise I dont go.

Re: how much time do you spend a day ....

Posted by dawnygirl25

I feel like when I worked FT I actually spent more quality time with her. Now that I am home, I feel like I am always doing things around the house. And when we play, I feel like we play for 1/2 hour or whatever and then I run out of things to keep her inetrested. (she plays with each toy for like 3 or 4 min and thats it) Its okay when we are out...its just when we are home that I feel like Im not doing enough fun things with her. Im not a good SAHM I guess...

Re: how much time do you spend a day ....

Posted by ddunne2

Posted by dawnygirl25

I feel like when I worked FT I actually spent more quality time with her. Now that I am home, I feel like I am always doing things around the house. And when we play, I feel like we play for 1/2 hour or whatever and then I run out of things to keep her inetrested. (she plays with each toy for like 3 or 4 min and thats it) Its okay when we are out...its just when we are home that I feel like Im not doing enough fun things with her. Im not a good SAHM I guess...

I struggle with this everyday. My SAHM friends and I were talking about it yesterday. I can't possible play with a two year old and a 10 month old all day. I spend a lot of quality time on the floor playing trains, reading, puzzles, wrestling, etc. But when the day is 12 hours long with a two hour nap, that is 10 hours of time. I feel guilty that they watch TV throughout the day, but I don't know what else to do. The weather has been so hot that we can't go out. My kids are not the good "mall walkers" so we don't go shopping too often. We go to the library and musesums every so often, but I still feel like I don't know what to do with them. JAck will be starting school again next week, so I am relieved about that. I tell ya, this guilt works both ways....I'm a SAHM that feels guilty that I don't spend every moment of everyday with my kids. Ugh!!

Re: how much time do you spend a day ....

I take DS to my parents next door where all of his big toys are and we play on the floor. Then my Dad will take him for a ride around the block on his buddy quad. We go to the park sometimes or we go grocery shopping.

DS only watches tv if he is sitting down eating. Otherwise he is either crawling or walking around the house stalking the cat.

Some other stuff we do:
-I read books to him (Learning Books...he get's the storybooks at bedtime)
-Play with blocks

Sometimes I feel like I don't know what else to do with my 14 month old. There isn't much stuff around my neighborhood...

Message edited 8/30/2007 1:26:59 PM.

Re: how much time do you spend a day ....

It is so much harder then I ever figured it to be. The days are freaking long.

josh has no interest in TV at all.
we are up to 2 baths a day(the afternoon one, no soap)
we walk outside a lot.
I feel like I sing all day long.

He just follows me around the apt. If I am doing laundry, he plays with the hangers. If I am cooking, he is in his high chair banging utensils.

He is not good at independent playtime. He suc ks really bad at it actually. So I would say close to ever hour is playing, conventional educational fun play? probably not. Just something to keep him from whining? all day long.

Re: how much time do you spend a day ....

I play with her probably for a good two hours in the morning, then she plays on her own for about an hour, then naptime. We usually go out in the afternoon, then when we come home, she plays by herself while I get some chores done. Then, after dinner, it's all about her for the next hour-hour and a half.
So in total, I spend about 3-3.5 hours a day just playing with her. She doesn't really watch TV anymore. She's not interested, which is fine by me.

ETA: We do a lot of things, we play in her tent, we pretend to cook in her kitchen, we practice with the shape sorter, read books A LOT during the day, sing songs, dance to music, watch some tv, take a walk, she likes to kick a ball around the livingroom, play finger puppets, sometimes I pile all the pillows up off the bed and let her climb on them, go outside.....

Message edited 8/30/2007 4:13:38 PM.