What does your day look like with you toddler, if you stay at home!

[Mydreamcametrue]

My son is 21 mos. old.  I have been staying at home with him since he was 9 mos. old.  I sometimes feel like we need more structure in our days.  Should I have a strict schedule that we follow or just do different things each day.

Here is what our typical day looks like:

Wake: 7:00/7:30
Breakfast
He plays in my room while I shower I and get ready
9:00/9:30:  He is begging to GO... He is like pushing me out the door (I guess because we have always gone somewhere in the mornings)
- Out we go to run errands, play group, etc.
Home by 11:30 at the latest
Lunch
12:00/12:30 Nap
Wake: Milk and Snack
- Outside
- I have to get him back inside around 4:00/4:30 so that I can start dinner, but by this time he is fussing and just wants to be outside.
5:00: Dinner
Back outside until 7:00/7:30
7:30/8:00: Bath
Snack and Milk
9:00/9:30  BED (uh.. that is another issue I posted about).

So should I have structured Craft time, etc.  What does your toddler's day look like?  Are there days when you never leave the house?

Thanks, Wendy

[binxyboo]

Wake between 7-8, laze in bed until he wants up!
Then he plays cars etc while I get ready, and then we have breakfast. Plays a bit more while I dress him.

9am: We go down to the office (seperate building in the complex) and he plays while I return phonecalls etc. Then into his stroller for a walk around the property to check on everything.

In the office, he has special toys like Legos, musical toys etc that he can play by himself while I get some work done. He also loves playing outside in the courtyard while I work at the door watching him (yay for great weather!). We also read a ton of books when the day is quiet and he is also interested in drawing pictures with me, he loves this actually.

11:30: Lunch time

12-12:30 : Nap begins (1.5-2 hours usually, sometimes longer although I am limiting this)

2:30: Craft time like playdoh, some sensory activity.
3:30-4: I finish work and we go out for a walk to the stores or the botanical gardens, park etc.

5:30: Dinner time

6: Bath time

7pm milk and winddown for bed

Times are approximate, but that's more or less our days Mon-Fri.

Weekends, we do more stuff as a family.

[binxyboo]

Oh, Riley adores the outdoors, it is really where he is happiest, but I find if he plays outside after dinner he gets too wound up to sleep easily. I don't know if maybe Zach might be a bit the same

[janelle]

When my dd was around that age our day looked something like this:
7-8am wake up
8 -9am breakfast, dressed etc
9 - 11:30ish outings - playgroup, music, library, shops etc
12ish - lunch
12:30 - 2:30/3 - Nap
After nap was a planned craft activity for about an hour]
Then a walk to the park or play outside
5:30 tea
6:30 bath
7pm bed

Now I have two we are lucky to get out of the house and planned craft activities just don't happen with a 1 year old around

[Mydreamcametrue]

Good point Michelle, I never thought of that.  I am always struggling to get him inside. 
I thought maybe being outside would make him really tired, but does not seem to be that.

I think tonight we will have outside time until 7:00 and see how that goes.

[binxyboo]

Am I reading your routine wrong, I thought that's what you did already?

I also know that on days our bath time runs past 6pm, that I just skip it altogether as it would run on too late and interfere with winddown. Does Zach like being read to, or being sung to? We do this for at least a half hour every night, it really settles him down, he gets all snuggly on my lap.

I hope more people post, this is interesting!
I remember seeing another thread before, "what does your toddlers day look like?" or something like that.

[Mydreamcametrue]

Well crap, no you are right that is the time we do come in.  I was thinking it was later for some reason.

Zach does love to be read to and loves for me to sing to him.  His favorite thing to do is sit on the couch with his picture book and ask "What's this" with every picture.  So cute!

I do remember seeing that post, I will have to check that out.

I will let you know how tonight goes!

[Mom to M&M]

We don't have too much structure in terms of activities/craft time, etc but our days usually look like:

Wake between 7-8 (usually much closer to 7) and play in bed until she's ready to get up (usually 15-20 minutes)
Milk and cuddles on couch
Play for a while and then breakfast
Play and get dressed and head outside either to run errands or to a class or playgroup
Home and play a little more and then watch Dora while I make her lunch
Lunch and then nap
After nap we play inside for a while and then weather permitting go to a playground for an hour or so (DH meets us there).
Watches Play with Me Sesame while I finish dinner and DH changes
Dinner
Play inside or stroller walk outside
Bath (most nights)
Bed between 8 and 8:30

Like Michele I find if DD plays outside after dinner she's too wound up to fall asleep easily. So we usually either play inside then or go for a stroller walk outside. Often in the morning she likes to read and color as part of her play time and at the playground she often plays with chalk as well. Starting June 5 we have a mini camp at the local Y for ages 17 months-3.5 years (I attend as well) 3 mornings a week from 9-10:50

[ks6]

12 lunch and play, wait for poop!
12:45-3 nap, or ummmm play in dark in crib.  He doesnt come out till 3, not unless house sets on fire

LOL    That's about what our afternoon looks like!

Wendy--I get pushed out the door in the morning, too.  I say "mommy's taking a shower now", and Dave says "car first".   

Here's our schedule":

8:30 wake, dress, breakfast
9:00 play, watch Sesame Street, mommy showers
10:00 run errands, play outside, clean house, or play inside
12:00 lunch
1-3 nap (or party in the crib)
3:30 snack, run errands, go outside
5:00 possible dinner prep (ds hates this)
5:30 dinner
6:00 play outside or in
7:15 bath, snack
8:30 bedtime

Now that I've written it out, it looks really boring.    The only thing really structured is our morning activity.  Mon--library, Tues--park or toddler class, Wed--groceries, Thurs--clean, Fri--look bored at each other  , Sat--play outside while daddy mows lawn, Sun--play w/daddy.

[Mydreamcametrue]

Thanks for all the advice everyone.  Sometimes I think I try to get to much done in one day and then we both end up stressed.

I better start thinking about staying at home more because with a new baby coming in October, we want be out much.

[binxyboo]

Or get out while you still can

[Mydreamcametrue]

LOL.. GOOD POINT... 

[PeepersMom]

Good thread!  and makes me think PJ is with the norm with literally pushing me and yelling go go go, cah cah cah (car) and hanging on the door knob.  OMG sometimes it is as soon as we come downstairs!  Literallly this is why we started to watch Sesame at 8 am.  I had to find something to distract him!  Some days I don't need Sesame, somedays just playing with a "cah", "tuck", "too-too", or "baahhhsssssssth" is enough.    can you tell he is into transportation?

So our day:
630-7 am wake up - plays nicely in crib till we get him, never before 7 usually 7:15, then milk and cuddles
8am breakfast and sesame street I usually watch w/him and have my coffee or try to pick up a bit
9 shower me, dress both of us and decide what activity/errand to run.  Mostly a walk down the street to look at trucks, cars, etc.  Look at trees, bugs, flowers...you know
always home by 1130 for lunch, wait for the poop like Kaleb! ha
12-2 nap or crib time....
2 snack
out for errands  and always something for him like another walk, the park or pool, or play inside with coloring, books, etc.. I am excited to start doing more craft time stuff with him in the coming months.  He loves to do stickers...
430 always home to fix dinner
5 dinner for PJ and I usually have a little snack with him. we rarely go out after dinner, but if we do it is a stroller walk not a run around walk.  we might go out if he had a longer nap (rare) and I know we will looking at a later bedtime.
630/7 bath every night for those stinky feet!!
7/730 bedtime routine and crib falls asleep whenever he wants.

[Mydreamcametrue]

I think I might be getting it together.  I have decieded on days to to do certain things with Zach so he has something to look forward to. 

Monday:  I signed him up for a gymnastists, music class
Tuesday:  Pool
Weds.: Park
Thursday: Grocery Store
Friday: Playgroup

This is all in the mornings, after his nap we have craft time/play time inside and then dinner.  After dinner walk or outside in the backyard to play. 

This week was a great week.

[PeepersMom]

glad to hear your week worked so well for you!  that seems to be something like what we do.  In the mornings the activity we do is usually the same thing each week.  I had to do it that way starting when he was really young and I was a little crazy from sleep deprivation or else I would have really lost it. I needed something in my life to make sense.  So even when he was little and didn't participate I had things like Mon: Target Tues: grocery Thurs: dry cleaning... you know.  to keep my thoughts organized.

I also do the same simple rough routine w/chores. I am not rigid (wish I was) but loosely I do laundry on Mon, bathrooms on Wed/Sun, etc....

So.... what does your weekend look like?

Our weekends don't really have a schedule as I have DH home to help out and I try to do things as a family plus 1 or 2 errands alone during nap times.  Freedom feels good.

Meg

[Mydreamcametrue]

Uhh weekends.  Well, my DH works odd hours.  He works every other weekend.  If it is his weekend to work, then he is off 2 days during the week, which throws us off.  If he is off on the weekends then we try to do something as a family. 

I like your idea about doing certain chores on certain days.  I am a very organized person.  I also have to keep my thoughts organized.
I will have to do something like you are doing with the chores, so it does not feel like I am doing them all at once. 
Then again though, i am pregnant and sometimes don't feel like doing anything and then I will get a burst of energy and do 50 things at once.  Maybe I will start that once I have the baby.