How much down time do you have?

[HalyardHitch]

I can't even begin to think about down time. Just curious, how much do you have if you have preschoolers? I'd be interested to have something to compare to

Maybe an hour a day between 9 and 10pm

About three hours a week. Usually if I get home from a shift early & DH has the kids in bed. Never at weekends as we spend it together if we’re not working

I'm a SAHM with an 11 month old. I get about 1 or 2 hours to myself during the day when he naps and I put him to bed for 7 so a little time in the evening.
Sometimes he sleeps well and sometimes he is up throughout the night with teething, and sometimes my day starts at 5am, so I'm generally in bed by 8.30 or 9pm as by that point I'm so tired I can hardly think straight. He is a very, very energetic child that literally cannot sit still so my days with him are very hectic.

I should probably add mine...

I get up at 5.45 so I can go to the gym. Get home at 7 so I can take over the kids. Then I have the kids until I go to work at 4. Get home at 9pm. Then I have the boys solo two weekends a month.

I feel that I need more down time. My therapist says I need more down time..I just don't know how.

Boys are one and two

Sahm I get evenings after 7.30pm. Mine are 2 and 4. And my youngest just started nursery 2 mornings a week last week, so now I’ll get those 2 x 3 hours, which is amazing! Oldest one goes 5 mornings a week.

That sounds extremely hard. To be honest if I was working evenings then I’d pay for some nursery hours. Even though you aren’t actually working while they’re at nursery.

I would consider going to the gym as down time. However, could you cut down on that so you could lay in bed and read instead? Could your dc go to nursery one/two days a week?

Work full time with a 2 year old- my down time is my hr commute twice a day to catch up on my downloaded shows and then once my LO goes down at 7.30- until I go to bed at 10.30. I’m not entirely sure I’d call it down time, I clean, I wash, I iron etc.
Sometimes I will go have dinner with friends or lunch at the - 3 times a month maybe
Tbh I cancelled my gym pretty early on after having my LO, any down time and I’d want to relax.

One 2.5 year old DD, pretty much a SAHM. I have about 45 mins in the morning - I wake up at about 6.30 before she does around 7.15, have a coffee & browse mumsnet. Then she goes to bed around 7.45, so I have until DH and I go to bed at about 9.30.

She now goes to preschool 2 mornings a week which is fantastic as I get a decent chunk of time to catch up on house bits / general admin stuff and also have a bit of time to myself. I have realised that some time to myself, even just to walk the dog / potter in the house etc is really, really beneficial to my mental health.

My down time is Tuesday to Friday, 9-5, in my incredibly draining job. Lone parent, no real family support (too far away), no "mum friends", no baby group friends (spent mat leave caring for DS' terminally ill dad). All my actual friends are childfree.

I suppose if we don't count work then I have the 7 minute walk from the nursery to the office. So 14 minutes a day, plus an hour's lunch at work, four times a week.

About 20 mins when I quickly shower, brush my teeth and chuck on some clothes. I can’t guarantee I will always be by myself. I have a 3 yr and a 2 month old.

About 30-60 mins a day if/when they are both asleep and I’ve finished all the tidying up and chores for the evening. I’ve a 5mo and a 21 month old. No downtime at all during day as they don’t nap at same time, plus I go to bed really early (9ish) as I am up a lot at night (eldest rarely sleeps through). When I say “down time” I mean, having a shower then eating my tea in front of tv !

Isn't the gym downtime? Especially if you go every day. You could always just go three.mornings a week and have two of the same time slots to slob about?

What happens on the two weekends you don't have the dc solo?

I'm a SAHM,
DD2 is at nursery 5 mornings a week for three hours, I have DD2 still in that time but may get 30 minutes or so.
DD2 is a really bad sleeper so both me and DP spend from 6pm till 10pm rubbing up and down the stairs trying to settle her back to sleep. Then spend all through the night doing the same. (Very little sleep in this house)
As a couple absolutely zilch.
His family are not interested. My parents are but are very busy looking after elderly relative.

That should read DD1 is at nursery