in a typical week, what do you do with your DCs?

[asur]

I'm fed up of the daily "what will we do today?" decision. Do you have set things for every day or do you just decide on the day? Currently only planned thing we have is toddler group 2 mornings a week. Can't decide if it's worth joining another toddler group or if I should designate a day "softplay day" etc or will this just make the weeks even more repetitive?

[posieflump]

life is more bearable when we have something planned every day but today we have nothing on and both dcs are playing upstairs quite hapily (for now)
I try to have in mind a general plan - ie Monday park, tues toddler group, wed library etc

[thebecster]

I have a plan - DS senses indecision and starts playing up otherwise! But it isn't set things on particular days - I decide the night before, if there isn't something particular in the diary. In a typical week DS is at nursery 2.5 days. On the other days, we'll go swimming three times, library to change books/read stories once a week, park at least once a day but often twice, and the rest of the time is 'helping' me with housework, doing various 'artistic' projects involving pasta and poster paints and playing together. And we veg out in front of CBeebies quite a bit too! But I do always plan a schedule in advance for the day. Then I'm one jump ahead of him when he's starting to get bored and whingey. I don't take him to toddler group at all. He goes to nursery so that gives him a bit of social life. I took him to toddler group once, and never again...

[asur]

I don't particularly enjoy toddler group but it is good for DS1 to socialise, he doesn't go to nursery.

Planning the night before makes sense. I think I'll have to plan something and that will motivate me to get going - and will save me from putting on CBeebies and leaving it on while I bf DS3 and MN!

[thebecster]

You are very good to take him to toddler group - am sure it's good for him! Am lucky that I can rationalise my way out of it I have his friends over for playdates sometimes. But no groups. I don't do groups, or classes (except swimming lessons, but that's practical not 'organised fun'!)

I must admit I print out the CBeebies schedule from their website, so that our telly time is at a time when his favourite stuff is on. That stops me from just leaving it on in the background, which I caught myself doing in the past.

[asur]

I have generally never done groups - I went back to work when DS1 was 5months old and left DH to be SAHD so I could avoid groups... But now that we have 2 kids at home, I'm off again and DH is working. DS1 doesn't have any friends though so he needs to go to a group to socialise - don't want him ending up anti-social like me!

Good idea about the schedule though - might have to do that so I can have set allowable tv time coz I am guilty of having background CBeebies.

[ajm200]

We do a couple of playgroups where the other mums are very friendly so it's a nice social event for both of us.

We go to storytime at the library once a week and change the library books while we are there.

Shopping another morning -one of my sons favourite outings at the moment thank goodness but I know it won't last

An hour in the park on the other days weather permitting or some messy play at home or we have his friends over to play while we mums have a coffee morning.

We do TV until 9am while Mummy gets dressed, cleans up after breakfast etc as he's a menace and would be climbing and emptying drawers without the distraction. 30 mins of disney channel before bath, milk and bed at night.

Other than that he's in the garden playing with his toys and chasing the chickens.