How many crafts/activities should I be doing with one year old?

[Namepound]

I give my head a wobble that all mums get mum guilt and there’s always room for improvement but there’s only so many hours in the day…

DD is 13 months old and I feel very lucky to be in the position to be a SAHP for the next couple of years.

DD is a happy, confident, inquisitive little girl. She ticked everything off the 12 month review but I’m slightly worried that she’s going to fall behind those who go to nursery as she’s just hanging out with me every day. I mean, we go to a lot of groups/classes/play dates/toddler cafes/day trips/out the house but in the house (during the day) she just hangs out with me

I’ve looked on Pinterest/Instagram for inspiration but even spending the whole day in the house I struggle to find time to set up crafts/bespoke diy activities - things like painting ice cubes/wrapping toys in tinfoil/digger in cheerios/printing out an outline of a sheep, putting it in a ziplock bag, putting shaving foam on top then pretending to shave the sheep.

We very rarely have the tv on and she’s on the go from the minute she wakes up until bedtime. Every task I do in the house seems to take 5x longer, which I don’t mind as her joining in seems to keep her entertained. We do the normal 1-2-1 activities like singing/reading/building blocks/puzzles/playing with toys and as I said, we do go out a lot. She keeps herself busy with her various interests… rearranging the shoe rack, misting the patio door, finding things that fits between the stair railing, piling her bath toys on the toilet seat, moving all the pots and pans, sliding the table mats under the sofa (that was just this afternoon!)

I do give her on the spot activities to keep her busy I.E. had her washing potatoes earlier but nothing organised in advanced. The idea now she’s gone to bed to start setting up activities i.E. painting egg cartons feels a little excessive. If I had any energy I’d do some ironing that I never get the time to do anymore.

I’m yabbering on, when do toddlers need structured activities?

They don't. Nursey is just trying to replace exactly what you are doing. Enjoy your time with her x

It sounds like you’re being a fab mama :-)

You sound like an amazing mum and she is lucky that you already do so much for her! I'm not sure what else you could be doing. Read into Montessori education and 'practical life', I think she will get a lot out of doing things around the house and learning how things work - more so than instagram DIYs! I tried a few of those with mine when he was younger and he was never interested, I used to get so frustrated when I'd spent absolutely ages setting things up!

Ah man you're doing an amazing job. Don't doubt yourself. It's hard but she's getting lots out of her days/experiences. Personally I've always had trouble with the structured activities, nearly always end in tears even with my DS who is now 7. Just hanging out with you will be enough for her, she won't be falling behind as long as you're engaging her and talking to her as it sounds like you are. With mine, it was always the sensory stuff first so how the paints feel or mix together to make muddy green, and mooshing playdough...making playdough crumbs which is a joy for the carpet, rather than making a finished thing. Basically making an absolute mess to explore the materials eg we'd do stickers and my DS would unstick and restick stickers so the paper rips and at that age he was quite fine about it. Even though it's painful to watch them basically bodge stuff into a mess I think it's all part of the foundation. I believe it was about 3ish that DS began to do colouring in and we could talk about the drawing.

honestly I think just take step back. Forget huge activities! Just exist and eat regular meals and go out regularly together. Lower the bar!!! You will burn out and frankly are jumping the gun. Start crafting at 2, 3 or 4 if your child is motivated to do those types of activities! Meanwhile just do small bursts of low key activities and join some groups so your child sees other children.

I never did any structured activities with my child. He's 3 now and his little life so far has just been one long potter about.

His favourite things in the world to do are go to the beach, go out on his bike, feed the ducks, play in the garden, get a hot chocolate in a cafe, go to the park with some of his little pals, borrow books from the library, read books with me or his dad, build dens, and play with his train set at home. He loves to help out at home and enjoys putting clothes in the washing machine and so on.

He does structured activities at nursery. At home he does as he pleases.

You're doing brilliantly. I literally ran a messy play business when DC1 was a toddler and now DC3 is a toddler we do very few of those things 😬 they're very hard to do at home on your own. If you enjoy them, do them in a year or two (when she's got a longer attention span) but she's learning lots from everything you're already doing.

They absolutely learn the most by just being with you and doing day to day things! Even stuff like cooking and cleaning. Being outside is great for them and reading. No need for crafts but I love setting up and doing crafts with my nearly 3 year old but I'd never considered something he necessarily needs.
They definitely don't need nursery.

Agree with all of this.

She sounds like a happy busy little thing.
They don't really get into crafting much until they're about 2 really.

If you are talking and playing and singing then she's getting plenty of opportunities for communication. At her age even at nursery her attention span will be really short. You can make activities that last 5 minutes and put them away. There are lots of ideas online for fun and novel activities that cost little.

Do you read with her? Playing to point out the colours and shapes and the characters is all they do at nursery.
As far as I'm aware no intelligent child has been held back by their parent only doing traditional activities with them. Keep chatting, take them out and about if you can, but mostly, enjoy your baby and worry less.