SAHMS help please... how do you keep your kids entertained all day and keep your sanity???

[MrsBojangles]

As of tomorrow I'm officially a sahm and partially dreading it because how am I going to keep the lo's entertained without going insane and get housework etc. done?

Tomorrow I'll only have ds (2.2) so it's going to be 'easy', drop dd (5 in a few days) at school, drag him to the park and run him ragged and hope he falls asleep on way back .

Once school is out I'm a bit stuck though as I can only do so much 'going to the park' iykwim and obviously they have totally different interests being of different ages.

Any suggestions, typical days etc highly appreciated

only have one so dont know much about age differences, dealing w/ two..
i involve him in housework - take this to laundry; help me load machine; press 'safe' buttons etc.. we do housework together and then we have cuppa and biscuit together..not too much telly as it drives me bonkers after a bit and he likes / needs time w/ toys on his own..lots of music and mad dancing..and books we love books and now repeating mad dr suess things back to me (we're ed, ned, ted and red when in bed!!)
good toddler group, fresh air, park, give him things to remember to get when we go out shopping esp. stuff he likes..he is cafe trained (take one or two cars equals peace to have a coffee)
and washing veg for soup or dinner, cracking eggs to scramble; making crumble / cakes..and now likes help juicing..

it may take a bit longer to get stuff done but he will end up knowing that to live in house you contribute to it and will teach him how to cook clean and look after himself, which was NOT what the men in my family ever had to do..

IpIl I was made redundand and dh took a job somewhere else so we'll be moving in February. Not much point of me trying to find a new job here I will eventually be going back to work but only part-time. Have had enough of the rat race

Suzycreamcheese my ds love to use the brush and pan already, but usually not when I ask him too

We have an 'outside the house' activity every day, either toddler group of some description or nursery.

'At home activities' tend to revolve around cooking or craft stuff because that's what I enjoy doing! Dh is better at riotous games and the whole running and jumping thing so I leave that for him to take care of.

We also do other stuff like going to local attractions we have season tickets for, visiting friends, the park if I'm nagged enough, dd is obsessed with visiting the pet shop atm (we really should pay admission to them), other chores like shopping keep her entertained as well. Sometimes I take her out for lunch or a cake mid afternoon or something. We have a fab, posh garden centre nearby which is good at this time of year, I've been taking her to look at the Xmas displays then into the coffee shop for a cake afterwards.

DD2 is due in March though so our cosy little routine will be out of the window!

Oh, DD1 is 2.8 btw.

Im a WAHM and I no longer have my sanity - said goodbye to it at the same time as my waistline and my pelvic floor!!

Why do they always have to shout loudly that they "want a poo" when you are on the phone to a customer!!!

Mine only one, I bought wooden building blocks and he stacks them, also he has a trolley that he pushes around the house and fill with anything from my underwear to tinned food. He also loves books and has a basket filled with board books and once a day we page through these one at a time. The other day he emptied a packet of rice on the kitchen floor, he drew in it, let it run through his fingers etc, kept him busy for half an hour. He also loves dancing to any music on TV. And then he likes packing and unpacking laundry in and out of the washing machine. Pretty much everyday things, he loves listening to me explaining in minute detail how appliances work, even if it is a hairdryer! I just make sure I discuss everything that I do while I'm doing it and that way get it done with him around, oh and he loves sweeping, so a broom is a good investment!

Just add the nearest child they're friendly with.

I have this problem, too. Went to Co-op and found a make-it-yourself Advent Calendar - they all did it together, although there was an argie about who should have the white, who should have the milk chocolate etc

Just wondering how many fives can go into three

H is working 'till Christmas Eve, so we're in the same boat!

littlebosheep-I'm a WAHM too, there I was thinking it was only my DS who did the whole needing a poo thing while I'm on important phone calle!

mum2funkydude you sound like a cool mum! I had a similar experience as the rice one when ds was one, except it was pasta we had everywhere. My friend was shocked that I just let ds play with it (she wasn't a mum!). It was great, it went into a container and we got it out loads of times for ds to play with so definately value for money!

Agree with other posters, don't fall into the trap of entertaining them constantly, they need to learn to play by themselves and entertain themselves for some of the day. Oh and agree about the whole getting out of the house at least once a day, even if it's just to walk down a few roads and back. It really makes so much difference.

Must get back to work now! (ds is playing happily on his own upstairs)

so far so good, well mostly, ds has been winging a lot today because I have been ignoring him on and off after lets say 30 mins play. Slowly his screaming fits get shorter ... I feel so mean, but guessing I need to break the habit of him being spoiled rotten with friends/carers at nursery the 'hard' way.

Now that dd is home they're wreaking havoc in the living room and I leave them to it ;). Total chaos but I can clear that up just before dh gets home

Could't be a WAHM... ds would constantly be vying for my attention. I swear he's got radar built in... as soon as I try and make a phone call or write an email he comes and finds me!

I have DD1 (nearly 3.11 years) and DD2 (2.6)plus another due in early May.
Only gave up work in June so being a SAHM was a bit of a shock at first. The summer was relatively plain sailing as we were outside most of the time but now it's colder it's a bit harder to keep them entertainined. DD2 will watch tv all day if she could, DD1 just doesn't 'get' tv, prefering to 'do' something instead.
DD1 goes to preschool 4 mornings a week so DD2 and I go to a couple of playgroups a week and she enjoys Music Bugs (a music and singing group for toddlers in my area). I try to make it to the gym for a swim once a week and DD2 will spend an hour in the creche there.
Both go to nursery for a full day once a week which gives me time to blitz the house and do the sort of chores that are best done without pre-schooler in tow.
Afternoons are spent baking or sticking stuff (the thought of allowing both DDs loose with paint in the house brings me out in a rash so we avoid really messy craft activities - best left to pre-school and playgroup). Both girls love books and are allowed limited tv when I need to get one with something (such as mumsnet!!! or making telephone calls)
I also have a network of friends with children who we visit or entertain here. This is espicially useful during school holidays when the ususal acitivies are closed. And the adult chat keeps me sane.If all else fails we brave the weather or go to the local softplay for an hour or so.
Good luck. I gave up part time work in June and definitly made the right decision.
Lx

I have 4, though only one i pre-school age. Dh abroad and dd only at pre-school for 2 mornings atthe moment.
Mornings are mad as I have 2 school runs at 7.30 and 8.30, and dd goes straight on to pre-school 2 days. I use the time to drink over-priced coffee and read a paper or look at shoes as I get very little child free time at the moment and refuse to spend it doing chore. We have at least one full day out a week - shopping, outdoor place, seaside etc, and dd helps with food shopping, cooking etc. Also loves PlayDoh, singing and books. We tend to chill on Fridays together ready for the weekend - lots of cuddles and OwlBabies 50 times. It's very lonely sometimes - probably better if you are near a town or village. No Tumbletots or decent music class with a 40 min drive of our house.

floatinginmoonlitsky..aw shucks thanks..i like making it like our team and hey, I know enough useless lazy males in the world..got to try to even up the score..

LOL @ onion chopping non-skills

oh and another question... will the incessent 'mama' ever stop?

I'm the curt 'yes' or 'what now' type LOL it's soooo irritating I think this morning was a record of mama every 20 seconds

I only have one 21 month old so having 2 is probably quite different. I quite like a structure to my day so i sort of see my sahm stuff a bit like a job - but in a good way. Housework etc is not my day job so it takes second place but i am able to do minor stuff like load/unload the dishwasher with my DD around. In fact, the more i involve her in stuff that I do need to do, the better it is. It might take 30 mins to hang the washing out instead of 10 mins but we have fun doing it. Sweeping the floor is a bit 2 steps forward, 1 step back but we get there in the end. She helps unpack the shopping. I have to relocate everything afterwards but she enjoys doing it. Mornings are laid back. Milk and tea in bed with lots of books. Breakfast can take up to an hour - we watch the slide show on the computer in the corner of the room and talk about all the pictures and people. I do usually try to do one structured activity in the morning, like swimming or playgroup otherwise it is too easy not to ever leave the house. On a rainy morning in IKEA (which is 5 mins way) counts as an activity. We play in the childrens dept, then have some lunch (not necessarily bought there altough for kids it is only a quid) and play in the resaurant. If you can get through the day and have dressed, fed, put smiles on their face and kept them safe then that is a job well done. Anything else is a bonus in my book.

I expect if I ever manage to have another one it won't all be so gorgeous and I will spend lots of time shouting and sitting them in front of the TV though.

Oh to live 5 mins from Ikea on a rainy morning!!

my day so far today... I have
set up ds's trainset and played with him whislt playing Memory with dd (needless to say I lost ),
bob the builder dominoes with ds, well sort of picture matching than anything
rough and toumble with both
making felt finger puppets (pre cut set I'm not THAT good or committed LOL) with both of them
got out the playdoh
and now I'm letting them wreak havoc with water because I'm shattered and it's only lunchtimish.

How am I giong to survive until school is back on???

Who ever said you should stay sane Its way tooooooooooooooooooo over-rated.

oh sanity went out the window when school broke up. I'm self medicating with brandied mince pies as we speak