Am I doing this wrong?

[gisele]

I have a question  for all of you moms out there 
I stay at home with my daughter Isabella (she is 2 now). Sometimes I feel bad because I am worried that she gets bored.
I have lots to do while I am at home, and cannot dedicate too much time for playing with her etc. I tried to take her to the park or somewhere nice once  a  day, but it is not always possible.

I feel guilty and I guess I am not sure how to feel about this.  I like to play with Isabella, paint, etc, but I can't do that for too long everyday.
For example today was raining outside, and we spent the entire morning inside the house (just the two of us). She wants me to play with her all the time and I feel horrible that I can't.

Please let me know what you think, and what you do with your toddlers. I really need the help to know if I am doing this all wrong...

Thank you so much!

Gisele

[Mum to cool dude]

You may both benefit from joining a local class, play group, etc. so that your DD can practice mixing with other children and so that you can enjoy a conversation that has nothing to do with Dora for a change  . You might also like to plan your week in advance so that you have planned outings/activitis to look forward to (the pool, the library, a play date ...). There is no such thing as the Right Routine, there are only ways of organising your time with your DD so that you enjoy each other's company and your time together.

[speechie]

Hi Gisele- I too struggle with this with my spirited LO. I really don't get a chance to do much work about the house and he's not the best independent player. So, I echo what pp has said- we try to do one outside activity a day. For example, my weeks are like this:
Monday: gymnastics class 45 mins
Tuesday: 9:30-11:00 community playgroup (mostly chasing after Nick and guiding him to play with the other kids, he's not had much experience as he's my only one and not in daycare).
Wednesday: Grandpa Bob day- he comes to visit and play. If he's not there, then visiting we go.
Thursday: library time 9:30-10:30
Friday: food shopping.
That way he gets out, has some time with other kids, gets some structured playtime, learns how to behave in stores. Then the PM nap 12:30-2:30 and play at home till DH comes home.

It has worked for us, but I still find myself trying to keep LO occupied safely and encouraging independent play. I've come to the conclusion that some LOs are just naturally more independent than others and mine needs to work at it a bit. I've got a friend whose LO is 14 mos and will play alone for 1.5 hours. I've NEVER had that. I'm lucky if he'll go 15 mins. But, I keep at it anyway.

[gisele]

Thank you so much for your responses! Really I feel better now. Maybe I should have told you what we normally do.
I take her to Gymboree (play class) on Wed morning. 1 day a week we go to visit a little friend and they can play together at his house. Another day we also do grocery shopping, another morning we go to the library fro 45 min. and sometimes we go to the park.

I liked the idea of organizing the week in advance. I need to do that, as it would make me feel more in control too. I think it will still be difficult for the hours we'll have to stay here at the house alone.. but it will make it more manageable.

Thank you!!!

Gisele