What do yo do with your toddler when cooking/getting ready in the morning?

[HoneyJarvis]

I'm subject to total Mum guilt, I end up putting my toddler in front of the TV in his highchair when I have a shower and get ready or when cooking otherwise he ends up hanging off my leg which is dangerous with hot pots and pans about and he escapes from the bathroom when I'm showering. I'm keen to reduce his Exposire to TV and was wondering. What everyone else does with their 2yr olds at these times? I hate him watching too much TV but at a loss what else to do to ensure he's safe when I can't watch him. He won't sit quietly and look at a book, etc if I'm there and my husband often works so on my own some morning and evenings (otherwise he would look after him).

My two year old tends to just potter around and play while I'm in the shower/ cooking. I have a year old too so that helps. The tv is always on (we live in a flat) but I don't feel guilty about that at all...

*4 year old

I do exactly the same. My ds is a climber and will climb on anything and everything the high chair is the only safe place I can put him whilst I get dressed/ready for work. Also it's quicker if I'm by myself to get ready rather than chasing a toddler round at the same time. I wouldn't worry about too much tv exposure as long as they aren't stuck in front of it all day long 10 minutes here and there whilst you do something quickly is not going to harm

I do the same. She ( DD, almost 3) gets the iPad when I really need to do something like wash or cook. I do feel vaguely guilty about it however the TV is rarely on at other times. I think for me all areas of parenting have your ideal way of doing things, and then the survival way. We do lots of activities inside and outside of the house though so in my head that offsets it!

I am about to have number 2 so I imagine my TV thresholds are about to change

I used to leave DD in front of tv or YouTube in the mornings and while cooking but I noticed that it was having a really negative effect on her behaviour. She didn't want it turned off and screamed or whined for ages afterwards. Now she's 3 and I try to do no tv before 4pm. She does colouring/ stickers/playdoh in the mornings and sits quietly paying attention to the tv while I cook dinner now instead of wanting it on as background noise.

I just lock DS 1 in the bathroom with me when I shower. He plays with his Duplo or watches me shower.
He plays with his toys in the kitchen when I'm cooking, but we have a big kitchen so he doesn't really get in the way.
Could you give him something else to do in the highchair, eg drawing? Would that keep him occupied?

Mine has an ipad (one of our old ones) with (mostly) educational apps that I leave him with. Wifi is disabled so he can't watch iplayer.

I shower before my DH leaves for work or I just have a bath in the morning with my DD, cooking I generally save for her naps, but she's only 18 months and still has a two hour nap. I always cook with the pans on the back hob when she's pottering. We've bought her a kitchen for Christmas so hoping she can copy me....

My 16 month old goes in her cot with a few books plus something on ipad whilst in my the shower. She's in the climbing phase at the moment so needs to be contained and is a pain to have in bathroom with me whilst I shower. Once of of the shower she just potters around upstairs whilst I get ready/bounces on my bed

I either shower in the evening when DD is asleep or get up 20min before her so I can have a shower and stick some makeup on. If need be I strap her into the bouncer with a toy while I shower, as we have a walk-in shower which I'm not sure she'd stay out of!

When cooking she has a drawer full of Tupperware to empty out or I give her some dried pasta and a bowl to play with. I also get her to set the table by giving her one item at a time to carry to the dining room 😄We do have the odd meltdown though where she's overtired and wants to be held while I cook in which case dinner gets abandoned in favour of sandwiches!

Have showers and baths in the evening after he's in bed.

When cooking he usually comes and sits up on the work surface and "helps" (I give him cucumber / peppers & a blunt knife and he hacks them up and eats bits)

Mine gets tv once a day, normally after dinner before bed. If my partner isn't around in the morning I set alarm and make sure I'm up and showered before toddler wakes up. Cooking dinner, I generally cook the night before after toddler is in bed so I only have to reheat stuff for dinner. While I do that I tend to chat to him / set him up with something to play with / ignore him while he lies on the floor in protest.

I have a quick bath while dh is still here in the mornings so he looks after ds who is 16 months. We don't have a shower. Ds is up at 5 mostly and DH leaves at 7 so it gives me plenty of time. He wanders about upstairs while I get ready, ripping loo roll up and scattering toys, towels etc.

He stays in his highchair after breakfast while I wash up etc.

He's in bed when I cook generally, he's asleep by 6.30 most nights and we eat after that

We don't have TV in thekitchen or diner, and he refuses to watch it mores the pity.

Since about 18m DD has been put on a chair in the kitchen sink to play washing up or 'help' cook, she's quite proficient in helping now in the kitchen.

I get washed before DH gets up as otherwise it'd never happen.

Sat in high chair with pens and toys for cooking. In bathroom when little or wake up before them for showering. Occasional iPad videos

I always got up early to shower and cooked for the evening meal while they napped.

My 2 year old just potters about.

I have a bath or shower while DP is here. For meals DS2 empties a cupboard full of pans if I'm making something like a sandwich. If the hob/oven is on he goes in his highchair and throws every toy I give him on the floor.
He does watch a bit of tv, he watches an episode of Bing while I get ready for work in the morning and then another when I first get in so I can have a sit down.

Sorry to say that I use the tv more than I should. However this is largely because Standards have slipped since ds2 came along 5 months ago. Ds1 is 22 months and will rarely sit still with a book or do an activity such as drawing and I'm hoping this is partly due to his age and it will change when he's older. Tv is definitely required when feeding baby.

I shower before dh leaves house as I'd have no chance if I waited til he left. Cooking is done in The evenings and toddler is saved portions suitable for his meals.

My toddler gets up around 4 and DP works shifts so unless I can get him back down for a nap in half an hour which is a possibility then Postman Pat will be on in the background while he plays in the living room while i sort things out for the day.
I really can't get up half an hour before him and then teach all day. I'd have to start going to bed at about 7 to manage that.
I don't feel guilty as he only 'watches' about 5 minutes before getting on with playing.

I keep separate toys in the bathroom to occupy my one if I want to have a shower, or download episodes of peppa pig to phone and let him watch that.

Using the tv is fine! So long as it's not all day and all you do with them. I wouldn't leave in a high chair whilst I showered though mine would topple it.

Generally I leave him to wander round and play, if I have to shower when I'm alone with him I shut him in the bathroom with me with some toys. But my eldest would have had to have the iPad, he wouldn't entertain himself with toys till he was about 3.

If tv is working and it's how you manage to get things done then I would stick with doing that!

Personally I wouldn't have the TV on in the background - if it's on it's because we're watching it. I'd worry it would harm a child's attention span.

Interesting article here: www.urbanchildinstitute.org/articles/policy-briefs/infants-toddlers-and-television

Thanks for all the feedback! My little one is up and about by 6.30am we're working hard to get him to bed by 7.30 but most nights is still wide awake gone 8pm so I struggle to get up before or cook and eat after, but more so as we like to eat together at the table. What times are everyone's children getting up/going to bed?