A day in the life of a 1 year old...I'm shattered!

[felicity10]

My dd is VERY active, just walking, very strong and very tall. She snatches and jostles with 2 year olds at playgroup and has no fear!

We often go to a playgroup in the mornings and then we come home for lunch and a nap which is an hour and quarter if I am very lucky. She is then up but clearly still tired. I've tried putting her back down about 3.30 and sometimes it works, but more often than not she doesn't! As a result we have a number of tantrums before she has dinner and crashes out at 6pm.

Do other people's 1 year olds have more than 1 nap? I really can't complain,she sleeps through the night, but I wish she would just give in and sleep a little more at lunch so that she could enjoy the afternoon.

Any ideas other than playing with toys, of things we can do in the afternoons - these winter afternoons are dragging aren't they! There aren't many afternoon activities around here - heaven knows why.

many thanks, sorry for slight rambling, am shattered!

She probably needs a morning nap - that's what DS does. So wakes at 6, naps for 45 mins at half 8/9 ish then 90 min nap at half 12/1 ish. That works really well for him and he's very active!

Oh read rest of your post. In the afternoons I take DS out to the park if its not raining. If it is, we do "chores" together, we go out shopping or play with toys or a bit of art (DS just makes a mess really!)

She used to do that until a few weeks ago, now she wakes at 7 but when i try and put her down again at 9 or so she just shouts for half an hour, by which time we generally need to go out

• I guess I could try a bit harder on that nap and put her down a bit later but then we miss out on getting to playgroups.

It's a bit of a vicious circle because if I don't wear her out at playgroup then she's got waaay too much energy!

A bit of art...tell me more!! I have managed to get DD handy with a duster!

Agree with Iggly.

Try for a slightly later first nap, and maybe later second nap.

13 m.o. DS has just dropped to one nap, but before that, he would be up at 6.30, sleep for 30 mins at 9.30, then again at 1.30pm. Shorten the second nap when bedtime starts becoming later and/or switch to one nap then (often it takes a few weeks of alternating between the two).

DS loves going to the library, pulling all the toddler books out of the shelves and throwing them on the floor. He'll happily spend an hour doing it.

'Sorting' the laundry is always good fun here, as is playing with running water in the sink (he stands on the loo).

I'm interested in the 'art' too, Iggly. Someone on a home ed thread talked about doing drawing with crayons with their 14 m.o. - but my DS would eat them if I tried it.

Haha yes Angel DS used to eat the crayons but not so much now. He'll put them in his mouth for a reaction

I got him a plastic table from the ELC and a load of paints, fingers paints, stickers, paint brushes, glue, feathers and cardboard straws. Plus a floor protector and sleeved bib.

We basically squeeze out paint on paper (you can buy rolls of easel paper) and rub our hands in it. Also squeeze paint in a shoe box lid, stick DS's hands in it and make hand prints. And squeeze out the glue on paper and chuck on feathers/straws etc. Stickers get stuck everywhere! We only do it for 10/15 mins at a time then make a big thing about washing our hands - that's part of the fun, so stuck DS on a chair in the bathroom.

As he gets older he has a longer attention span so will do it for longer. He also doesn't put quite so much in his mouth.

With the crayons, I draw and he "copies"!

Felicity - it's worth seeing if you've got a local children and family centre as they tend to have afternoon things on.