We seem to be having some jam packed weekends lately, and during the week about 3 very busy days with lots of activity and playing.
On the other 2 days and sometimes 3 days depending on the week, we have incredibly lazy days. This is generally a result of my 2 year old son being extremely tired from the day before. He will take an early morning nap, and be generally difficult all day if we try to do much more than laze about, reading books and watching shows. All day.
The problem is, it's incredibly difficult to strike a balance with him. The way things are right now, he's on a good sleep schedule except for the early morning naps a few days a week which aren't totally consistent--but he does go to bed consistently at the same time every night and is predictable. If we try to do more sustained things throughout the week, not wear him out all at once, he is all over the board. Sometimes at night he'll be bouncing off the walls, and when that happens, sometimes he'll be a total pill the next day--sometimes he'll be surprisingly pleasant. Sometimes he'll go to bed on time, and sometimes he'll STILL be a pill the next day or he'll be totally cool.
So I feel a little guilty, honestly for letting him plant himself, mouth agape in front for the TV on our lazy days, not leaving the house--but I'm thinking it balances out with our crazy busy days. And mostly I feel like "hey, this works for us", he doesn't lay around like a lump 75% of the week, we all need some down time.
I'll give you an example of our weekend: We had friends come from out of town on Saturday with their 1.5 year old. We went out to the park, the boys played and wore themselves out. The friends left, we went to the splash pad. Yesterday we went out to breakfast, went to the park for a bike ride and a hike and swim.
Today, he barely lets me change his diaper without giving me hell. Tomorrow, we are going to the zoo in the morning and a play date in the afternoon at the park. Wednesday will probably be a quiet day but then Th Fri and the weekend are going to be hectic again.
So, I guess I'm just looking for some input and I'd like to know what you guys do? Am I totally screwing up that he's accruing all of his screen time in 1-2 days a week (he doesn't watch any other tv on other days and we do read and things)...but still. He's really too tired to play very much with toys, although he does here and there.,,,
THANKS!
Your schedule sounds EXACTLY like ours (it's just me and my 3 year old daughter all week while Dad's at work). I'm feeling a bit guilty right now as I'm on the laptop and my daughter is watching Word World... Haha. But as I was reading your post I'm thinking, "I think it's totally reasonable what she's doing with her son." So, I think if it works for us, we're good.
Sounds like your a bit overscheduled.
I think a full morning at the zoo is enough for a 2 yr old.
To go to the park and have him running around outside and wearing himself out, then taking him to the splash pad is too much.
He's exhausted. It's not just about sleep, it's about down time. His body is still growing so much. Basically you're exhausting him and then taking him out again. Even tho he's sleeping, his body is still deprived of rest. He needs down time to just recover from all that activity.
Try to slow him down a bit and do ONE THING for half of the day.
I know that this puts a crimp in your lifestyle, but that's part of parenting. Slowing down to adjust to your children's needs.
I don't think having a lazy day is a problem. Maybe try not to let him just sit in front of the tv for more than an hour or so. Play a game. Play house. Build a fort out of chairs and blankets. Just because you're having a day at home doesn't mean you have to do nothing.
It sounds like your working hard to have some fun with him and that's great. Maybe just try to slow it down a little bit and not cram so much into each day. That way your son will be better rested and both of you can enjoy each other's company more.
Best wishes!
way too much on your schedule....if you're feeling it, then think what your child is feeling!
Cut back to one activity per day.....at the most. Keep your child on the same schedule, allowing for naptime/bedtime to be somewhat set in stone......& you'll see most of your problems disappear.
& honestly, while the tv won't hurt him (well, I do have opinions on that!)....does it even really need to be turned on? Try some calming music & you might find that he's a happier child!
IME, that's just how it goes. Mine is now 8 and it's still kind of like that just to a lesser degree.
My philosophy is that "It's SUMMER!" and we're gonna go and do and run around like crazy having fun and fitting it all in....
I wouldn't worry about it and I tend to look more at the 'overall summer fun factor' big picture.
Kids need consistency and sometimes you have to stick to a schedule no matter what's going on. We get up early in the morning and do our "out and about" stuff so we can be home by 1 or 2 pm so our 2 year old can get his nap. Our 5 and 8 year old know he needs a nap and that when they were that age we did the same thing so they don't get upset. Perhaps you need to look at your activities and cut back a bit, that is unless your willing and able to deal with a crabby, unhealthy 2 year old.
TV isn't the culprit - its an unbalanced scheduled, like you said. His brain activity is either on or it isn't. If a child goes from one extreme to another on a daily basis, he is going to lose himself through these extremes, thus, metldowns, tantrums, and acting out.
If you are at the park or out and about - give him some down time, like having him sit w/you for 15 min spells or have him walk w/you and not just run around. If you are at home, do an activity w/him at least every hour for 15-20 mins - reading, playdoh, tearing out pages of an old magazine - anything!
We need to keep an eye on screen time, but the schedule sounds like summer to me. I think lazy days are necessary for both moms and kids to regroup, rest and give their brains a chance to process what all happened on the exciting days.
You could balance it out a little more by having one half day exciting activity on a day so that you get more balanced days, but I know that is not always possible.
