I have a 1.5 year old and a 2.5 year old. How can I do something that involves knives, boiling water and fire for 20 minutes without one of the 3 of us crying?

[padboz]

If I leave them unattended in front of the telly while I cook the dinner someone will end up bumped or bruised. If I take one with me, someones feelings will get hurt. If I take them both into the kitchen - which is precisely this big - [] - then someone will get bumped or bruised and they will try and climb up my legs to see the exciting fire, sharp knife, cauldron action. Has anyone solved this because I think we have had a screaming fit around 5pm every day for months.

hmmm 1.5 is quite young..

I know I really shouldn't say it, as 1.5 is quite young but....

Tellytubby video. 1 episode only lasts 20 mins. Quite entrancing. imvho the tubbies are even more mesmerising for the very young that night garden.

Might save you a trip to A&E.

I have no advice sorry, I just want to commiserate.I have the same problem with my 2.4 and 10 month olds, in partic now the little one is crawling.I have to wait till they are in bed before I make dinner-hence we dont eat till about 8.30.Otherwise all hell breaks loose and/or injuries are incurred/and/or someone gets strapped into the high chair to keep them from harms way and then cries for half an hour non stop.

do they nap during the day?
if so could you then prepare dinner and do oven based things (eg pasta bake) that involve not much prep before eating?

It is a nightmare. All i did was make dinner when they were having their nap and just bung in the oven for tea time.

The twins used to nap in the morning (earlyish) so i could be found frying up mince or whatever at 10 in the morning

Works though, that and slow cookers. If i had not managed to then it would be pasta or fishfingers that took no prep and minimal time to cook.

For me and dh we ate after they had gone to bed.

a toy kitchen. they can do pretend cooking whilst you cook

playpen?

TV?

prepare meals the night before and slow cooker or micro on the day?

I would never normally suggest TV, BUT 5pm is just absolutely bloody awful. Two small people usually have gone beyond being entertained (by themselves) by anything at that time, and you are tying to prepare food.

I resorted to tubbies.

Sometimes I strap the younger one into his highchair and distract him with a biscuit or milk. Sometimes I let him play in the recycling box (having hopefully remembered to remove the tin cans first).

I think tbh I tend to think of bumping and bruising as an acceptable risk, while scalding, cutting and bruising are unacceptable risks, and plan accordingly.

Don't really have a magic answer.... this is a difficult moment in our house too. For this reason, I tend to give dcs either something very simple indeed (like fish fingers and peas or beans on toast) for dinner, or else feed them leftovers from the night before which just need warming in microwave. Then I start preparing grown-up dinner while they are having theirs, or else either dh or I does it while the other one is putting dcs to bed.

I prepped at lunchtime when they napped

then cooked when dh came home

OR

tv on and lots of me screeching that I have HOT PANS and THE OVEN IS ON and GET OUT!!!!!

sorry, that should have read 'scalding, cutting and burning'

They are at hard work ages! What about sitting them at a little table and chairs in the doorway of the kitchen with some playdough and cutters so they can make some "dinner", you can watch them and get on with cooking safely?

Tubbies is another EXCELLENT suggestion. My two used to go into a trance!

Strap thenm in a pushchair for 20 minutes while you do the donkey work. Let them watch night garden, teletubbies, or you, or sit and look at books.

also The Bag Of Tat works in this house

the BOT is a bag of, er, tat

McDonalds toys, free stuff from magazines, party toys etc etc etc

bascially, plastic tat

but together as a collection, tipped out onto the floor, well, you can easily get 2 chopped onions, a garlic crushed and some frying done whilst they ooooh and ahhhhh

(obv take out small bits for baby)

it still works now and they are 5 and 3

tip it out, run off, easily get 15-20 mins until they realise they have been fobbed off

I try and do things that involve chopping and more prep during the daytime sleep too, then it's easy to put in the oven or heat up. Sometimes I have my 15 month old sat on the work surface next to me, not ideal I know but I can't stand him screaming round my ankles.

Waves back at largegandt..

I do do my cooking at work at lunchtimes sometimes then take dinner home with me to warm up.But im lucky as we have a kitchen at work so may not work for OP.

Or in desperation the kids have sandwiches and other cold bits for tea to avoid the potential for injury all together..we have alot of 'carpet picnics'

Thanks for all the suggestiogns. I work part time 3 days a week so I miss all the naps - I pick them up at 3 and DH gets in at 7 - these 4 hours are supposed to be my precious time with my LO's but by the time I get them home and play a bit, its time to start making tea. They're by this time desperate for mummy attention and any time behind the stair gate on the kitchen door away from them causes howls of anguish - this doesn't happen on my days off....

Can you do some bulk cooking on your days off and then freeze it?

I like the bag-of-tat and 'carpet picnics'...
Actually they sound like MN'rs

I used to hate the hour before teatime - we were all tired and grouchy - the kids least likely to entertain themselves and me trying to cook.

That is the time we used videos - we restricted them to that time so they were a real novelty for the kids and kept them engrossed long enough for me to cook tea - and saved my sanity.

Now they are older (youngest 5) it isn't a problem any more thankfully.

oh, I work 3 days too and I agree, Mummy Magnets the pair of them on work days

on days I work, we eat at different times, girls at 5ish, us at 7pm

they have: pasta one night, pitta + veggies etc one night, and chicken with potatoes + veggies the next

stuff that takes minutes, shove in the oven, forget about it. Maybe a picnic tea on the rug?

I do a big cook in at weekends, chilli, bolog, etc etc, for me and dh, defrost in morning, reheat at night

DO NOT COOK IF YOU DO NOT HAVE TO!

New potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower take a lot less prep than carrots and mash. Just 5 minute's chopping.

Oh, the other thing I find is that if I give dd a "very important" job to do sometimes she can get engrossed in that, eg, putting the carrot peelings in a paper bag.... it helps if it is a job where she can secretly put things in her mouth....

Do you have a worksurface where a "me too" chair could screw on? www.philandteds.com/nz/metoo_07_1.htm

or two?

Then they can "help" you or do stickers or drawing or something..