Tips for making things slow down!

[thisbetheverse]

The days are going so quickly and my toddler is growing up too fast. I get a few days off a week with her which I’m so grateful for, but even then it feels like weeks are flying by and I’m scared it’s all going to be over in the blink of an eye. I often feel guilty like I’m on my phone too much or didn’t do enough memory making things with her.

has anyone any tips for making more of your time together and appreciating it whilst it’s happening? I’ve started journalling a few positives from each day which has helped but it still feels like time is running away and I’m feeling quite sad about it. I think it’s likely as I’ve realised she will be my only child so I know I won’t ever get these moments again!

I don't think anything will stop the feeling in years to come of "it all flew by so fast."

My son is 2 and I'm trying to focus on slowing down moments in each day. Taking time over breakfast together, letting him help. Leaving for nursery together in plenty time so that the ten minute walk can take half an hour if he wants to stop at every puddle. Enjoying simple little days out on non nursery days: a walk to the pond to feed the ducks, a walk to the shops to get ingredients for something to make together, a trip to the beach to throw stones in the water.

I also print photos and put in little albums for him. He likes to look through them almost every day and talk about all the things we've done together.

It's hard. Life isn't all peaceful little moments. Be conscious of the nice times and don't be hard on yourself when it's difficult. When things have been tough, I always make sure to end the day happy and peaceful at bedtime and remember that tomorrow is a new day.

@Geraldneedsasecondclassstamp ahh such lovely ideas thank you - especially love the photo album idea!! My daughter loves looking at her baby photos on my phone so I bet she’d love this 😊

I think simple days out is something we need to do more of, I often over worry that she’s not getting to do as much fun/paid for stuff as we can’t afford at the moment but actually she loves the park or just a walk. Thank you ❤️

I buy little a4 sized albums as they're easy for him to look through by himself. He often chooses them instead of a bedtime book to "read" together. When he's a little older I had an idea to print a strip of paper with a simple sentence about the photo and put it at the bottom of the pocket to help with reading.

I'm all for slowing down and simplifying activities. He does a few days at nursery which I feel is plenty stimulation. Definitely save your money and stick to simple days out. We fed the ducks at the pond last week and it was frozen over. He was happy for nearly an hour just throwing stones on the ice to hear it crack. He still has a box full of acorns he collected from the park in autumn that he brings out to inspect regularly.

Every Christmas we do a photobook with all the photos for the year for the grandparents. It's lovely to sit and view and remember all the individual moments that blur into one and to appreciate the growth and development over the year.

At the opposite it end when we are doing something together and I'm not taking photos I'm in that moment so much more and that day holds more weight in my mind and this slows the blur of day a little bit. We had a lot of duplicates as me and partner both had copies of our favourite photos but we only had 500 photos to sort through for the photo book so probably 300 in total with 3 or 4 photos per activity.

I think when they get to school age it speeds up even more! I have tried to limit the amount of clubs so they actually get some time at home, only do swimming once a week and that's it.