mother of 2...so hard and so boring....

[justgaveup]

having a bad day and just wanted some reasurrance....

have got a 4yr old (starts school in Sept) and a 17mth old and they are utterly exhausting me. The 4yr old just NEVER stops talking and mithering and wanting to play and climbing on me and the 17mth old is lovely but just needs watching all the time and is going through a real 'carry me, carry me' phase (he can't talk just shouts till I pick him up)

I work part time, have LOADS of help from grandparents and hubby. I just have 2 days on my own with them through the week and I can't cope with them. By 3pm today I was going bonkers with boredom and desperate for 5mins peace.

I think some of the problem is that I can't entertain the 4yr old, she's bouncing off the walls with energy ALL the time and I feel I can't play with her properly cos of little one wanting to join in/run off/be picked up.

Is this normal for the summer before they start school, I am so desperate for her to go to school, think she'll be much happier there but feel so guilty and bad that I'm wishing her away.

having a real crap mother day today

[maidamess]

Take her to the park, where there are lots of other kids. Take a book. Smile, wave and nod. She'll be happy, you'll be happy.

[Janni]

Forget the guilt. It's hard, it's tedious, no one else notices. They do get older though, that's the good thing and the stages change. Hang in there and take any help available. Sometimes having another CALM child of your daughter's age around might help, if they could play together, in the hope that she could go off to play at the other girl's house too!!

[LadyPercy]

If you feel you aren't coping well you should really go talk to your GP or HV. I know we all have bad days but if your having more of them than not, you could find yourself slipping into PND and it's sooo much easier to beat if you manage to nip it in the bud. Good luck.

[micci25]

i have a one year old and very active energetic four year old i find very hard to cope with at times!

encourage games that they can play together with you! we have elefun dd1 loves it and dd2 giggles her little head off at all the buterflies flying all over the place!! while im doing anything that dd2 cant join in with she is either safely in a playpen (i have one that doubles as a travel cot) with building blocks or her baby laptop!

'quiet time' is my savior with dd1. my quiet time involves us reading together, dd1 drawing, dora pc games, dd1 'reading' to dd2 and i also agree with the park, go out on walks collecting leaves and sticks etc to use later in crafts! i have a dog we take to a field to run dd1 throws the ball the dog ignores it so dd1 chases it both the dog and dd1 come back knackered!!

my dd1 i find is much worse after anything with food colouring in or excessive amounts of sugar so i limit all these foods to partys and days out!

[BasementBear]

I feel your pain! It is very hard until the second one catches up and they can both run around together. My two are 20 months apart and it was so difficult to entertain them both at times. Now they are 6 and 4.5 and play well together.

Maybe you can get together with other mums with 4 year olds so you can take them to the playground together, your eldest will be happy and you will be able to keep an eye on the youngest while other mum supervises the older ones.

[oneplusone]

I felt the same as you last summer, before DD started school in September. I have DD who is now nearly 5 and DS who is 2 but they are at very differnt stages and it is very hard to find things they can both do together. It is just a phase and it will pass. And I know about the sheer BOREDOM, that's how i feel for the vast majority of my time at home especially when DD wants to play schools where she is the teacher, i do it for about 30 seconds and then have to get up and escape. I have learnt to live with it and look forward to when they are both older and we can do stuff i will find interesting as well. Once your DD starts school things will improve for you I promise!

[Elibean]

Mine exactly same age, only difference being they are both girls and will play together with similar toys quite often (or watch same DVD).

Sympathies, and yes, I think the summer before starting school is hard - my 4.5 yr old is frustrated and bored, at the same time she senses the change coming and is sad/anxious (will be losing pre-school friends and security) so driving me nuts atm. She is soo ready for school.

Don't feel guilty if you can possibly help it!