Working Moms

Entertaining Toddler on Weekend Mornings

This may be silly but how do you guys entertain your toddlers during the mornings on weekends?

DS1 typically gets up at 7am and before we had DS2, DH and I would take turns getting up with him. However now that I am up at night with DS2 and working during the week, DH gets up on both mornings with DS1 so that I can sleep in. I appreciate him doing so but he always puts on Bubble Guppies for DS1 to watch all morning long and I think it's too much TV for him. DS1 has toys in the living room (where the TV is) but he seems to prefer just watching TV.

Do you actively play with your kids or do they play independently? Do they play with toys or do you play other games with them? I will probably start switching off weekend morning duties again with DH so that DS1 gets at least one morning on the weekend without the TV constantly being on. I'm just trying to get ideas of activities we can do in the mornings especially since it's too cold right now to play outside or do anything active outside the house.

Thanks in advance!

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Re: Entertaining Toddler on Weekend Mornings

  • Usually, I do the same thing we do on weekdays, only slower and more laid back.  The kids get up and play and usually I get breakfast made.  I make omlettes or waffles a lot on weekend mornings.  Then I don't know, usually the baby needs fed, dishes need done, beds need made, a load of laundry needs thrown in.  That's the time I try to teach the kids how to do that stuff, so it takes forever. 

  • We try for very little screen time too (cut the cable a few years ago), but I admit that DS watches more now that we have DD than before, however we try to be really cognizant about it.

    My DS loves playdoh, painting (brushes, fingerpaint, matchbox cars), books and playing on his train table or with his dinosaurs.  I also got a few work books that have stickers that he loves to do.

    Sometimes I'll lay one or two things out on his little table the night before to make it easy for us when we are still just trying to wake up ...
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  • KayteeGee said:
    We try for very little screen time too (cut the cable a few years ago), but I admit that DS watches more now that we have DD than before, however we try to be really cognizant about it.

    My DS loves playdoh, painting (brushes, fingerpaint, matchbox cars), books and playing on his train table or with his dinosaurs.  I also got a few work books that have stickers that he loves to do.

    Sometimes I'll lay one or two things out on his little table the night before to make it easy for us when we are still just trying to wake up ...
    These are great ideas! Thank you! 

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  • I don't think a little TV in the morning is that big of a deal.  Just like I want to relax with a cup of coffee first thing in the morning and gear up for my day, DS (DD isn't interested in TV yet) wants to lay of the couch with his blanket and relax.  Now, he doesn't get hours on end.  Usually it is just 1-2 Disney Junior shows while I drink my coffee and make breakfast.  Then we eat and get ready for the day which usually ends up with us leaving to run some errands.
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  • My pleasure!

    I'm a HUGE fan of the really big box of playdoh (I think it's like 32 colors for $20 on Amazon) and some generic "tools." If your DS loves trucks/cars, playdoh has a line of construction trucks.  We now have a few of those and they keep him well occupied, just as often though he plays with the generic playdoh "tools" and his little toy dinosaurs - "making footprints."

    The other thing that's been SUPER useful is a BIG role of brown paper... i just tear off a big sheet and let him paint/stamp/color.  He really does love "making tracks" with his various matchbox cars.

    I'm not "crafty" so I was kind of relieved to find he enjoys just creating things with simple supplies. 

    Workbooks are also awesome.  DS LOVES to do a worksheet... little mazes, matching pictures, working on his letters etc... You can find them at Dollar Tree.
  • jlaOK said:
    I don't think a little TV in the morning is that big of a deal.  Just like I want to relax with a cup of coffee first thing in the morning and gear up for my day, DS (DD isn't interested in TV yet) wants to lay of the couch with his blanket and relax.  Now, he doesn't get hours on end.  Usually it is just 1-2 Disney Junior shows while I drink my coffee and make breakfast.  Then we eat and get ready for the day which usually ends up with us leaving to run some errands.
    @jlaOK, honestly it's more than a little TV. It's usually 2-3 hours in the morning and then sometimes a few more hours later in the day. We are one of those families that has the TV on constantly and over this past long weekend, I insisted that we don't play Bubble Guppies all day and DS1 just started watching whatever was on, which wasn't always appropriate. It did force him to play more with his toys though since his show wasn't on. We might have to start experimenting with keeping the TV off for some portion of the day. 

    With the new baby, TV has just become the new coping mechanism for us but since the baby is now a little older, I'm determined to try and start better habits. :) 

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  • My DS is the king of stalling so on weekends, when we let him take his time getting dressed, brush his teeth etc., that process alone takes an hour. That's when we usually let him work on dressing himself and on other little "chores" (like putting his dirty clothes in the laundry hamper). We are usually reading to him during that time. Then we let him "help" make breakfast and that takes another half hour to an hour. So by then, which ever one of us was sleeping in is up and showered.

    DS also loves puzzles so we do a lot of that. Sometimes we'd also take him for a walk to get Starbucks for the sleeping spouse. It's a nice treat to wake up to a fresh latte :)
  • We started having DD help with breakfast at around 2.  She started just measuring/dumping what we measured (we usually do pancakes on weekends) and has moved up to cracking eggs. I figure at this rate she should be serving us breakfast in bed by 6 or 7 ;) 
    Just a tip:  2 y/o's need to crack eggs in their own, separate bowl.  It's easier to fish out eggshells from a little bowl with just one egg than from your big bowl of pancake batter.  Unless, of course, you like your pancakes a little crunchy :)
  • Yes. Ditto the museums and classes for later in the day.

    DS has soccer and swim each wknd in the late mornings (indoor right now) and used to also do Gymboree.

    After nap we hit a park or museum. We live "downtown" so we are close to children's, natural history and our state museums so we have annual passes to all and make much use of them.

    We are also frequent fliers at the library. DS loves it - the books and puzzles alone. Plus they have story times and sing alongs, too. We pop in every weekend at some point. I highly recommend checking your local library - I'm shocked at how much ours offers
  • Thanks everyone for all your suggestions! I will definitely look into some of these - very helpful! :)

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  • Well I'm not much help here because most mornings I turn on the TV and let DD watch Max and Ruby for 1-1.5 hours while I drink coffee and talk to my mom or sister on the phone. I need some downtime, especially in the morning when I'm wondering WTF just happened to my dreams of sleeping in.

  • DD plays independently a ton. She has little people (the farm and the pirate ship), crayons and books and paper, a magnadoodle, and tons of musical instruments. She's had this https://www.target.com/p/b-parum-pum-pum-drum/-/A-12026425 for a year and a half and still plays with it every day.
  • I typically save TV for the afternoon when I am worn out and need to couch and recover for an hour or so.  

    Mornings we are out of the house!  I take DD to the barn.  We can meet friends at the zoo.  Go for a hike.  In the summer we'll get in the pool.  DD has LOTS of toys and she can now play independently for maybe 30 minutes: kitchen, baby doll, puzzles, books, crayons...  I found that I can show her something new with her doll and she'll be fascinated and will play by herself.  Eventually she'll ask me to play with her, so I will.  And she loves to help so the more I involve her in chores the better for both of us.

    What I found with DH is that if I give him solid ideas of what to do with DD he is less likely to rely on the TV.  I've sent them off to the CHildren's museum which is loads of fun.  And while I try not to be controlling, the more specific the direction the more successful their day.  For example: "give DD a snack at 10 o'clock and remember to take her to the potty.  There is X, Y and Z available to take for snacks. Her water bottle is here..."  Just this past weekend DH offered to take 2.5 year old DD to the library - I was thrilled!  But he said that she only wanted to run around and he didn't take her to the children's books section.  Umm....not sure what he was expecting her to do at a library while he looked up is engineering stuff.  Seriously.  He text me that the library was a "fail" so I text him back to take her to the park and let her run off some energy.  I'm still stumped as to why he would take a toddler to the library and not head straight for the children's section.  Seriously stumped.
  • While you got good ideas, the issue isn't things to do, it is breaking the habit for both your DS and DH. I used to be really good about 1 Disney jr. show a day but between the second kid and various other life things the kids are watching more tv then I would like. Simple solution is to turn it off. They will find something to do.

    Obviously like everything else in life, much easier said than done. I would just have a talk with your DH and maybe agree to 1 show in the morning so he can have a few minutes to chill, then music is a great idea. I also think that a few months will make a big difference. At 4 and 2.5 I realized a few weeks ago that they play together/alone for long enough for me to make dinner and do my own things. It is glorious.

    DD Nov 2010 ~ DS June 2012
  • While you got good ideas, the issue isn't things to do, it is breaking the habit for both your DS and DH. I used to be really good about 1 Disney jr. show a day but between the second kid and various other life things the kids are watching more tv then I would like. Simple solution is to turn it off. They will find something to do.

    Obviously like everything else in life, much easier said than done. I would just have a talk with your DH and maybe agree to 1 show in the morning so he can have a few minutes to chill, then music is a great idea. I also think that a few months will make a big difference. At 4 and 2.5 I realized a few weeks ago that they play together/alone for long enough for me to make dinner and do my own things. It is glorious.

    @dashofreality, I completely agree that I need to talk to DH. However, especially now when he is waking up both weekend mornings so that I can sleep in, I feel bad taking away his "coping mechanism" (i.e. the TV). It's also hard for me to get him on board with the idea that DS1 is watching too much TV. Once we start trading off weekend mornings, I think I will have more leverage. 

    Getting him to take DS1 out of the house might be the key - we just need to start new habits with him since he's older and more likely to watch TV. Having the TV on during weekends wasn't an issue before because DS1 was too young to watch it.

    And you are completely right, once DS2 gets older, they will start playing together and this will be a moot issue. :) Thanks for the perspective, I knew that but hadn't really thought about it. 

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  • DS gets a bubble guppies or thomas in the morning when he wakes up. Then he usually plays cars or plays with his kitchen set while we make him breakfast. Then we get dressed. On Saturdays we have little gym at 9:50am so we leave the house by 930am (hes up around 7am). he comes home, eats lunch and goes right down for a nap until 2ish. I think there is nothing wrong with 1 show in the morning, but then turn the TV off  and get toys out. Hes 2, so he will be happy to bounce around and play all different things if the TV is off, hes just distracted when its on. 7am isnt that early in my opinion. He can watch tv until 730am, then its breakfast time and play time, then get out of the house to continue your day.
  • I would NOT give up sleeping in on the weekends so you can monitor or help rectify this situation.  Based on your follow up post, I would say you and your DH can agree to disagree on how much tv is acceptable, and compromise on one show or one hour (whatever you agree to) of screen time.  Then the tv goes off and it's time for an activity. 

    And so DH isn't stuck dealing with a screaming toddler who is POd that his show was turned off, have him make it something fun, like a toy that only comes out on Saturday mornings, or helping to make a special breakfast for Mommy, or a trip to pick up breakfast or to the playground or whatever.  It can be as involved as your DH wants it to be.

    Then everyone is happy and you still get your sleep.

     

  • *sparky* said:

    I would NOT give up sleeping in on the weekends so you can monitor or help rectify this situation.  Based on your follow up post, I would say you and your DH can agree to disagree on how much tv is acceptable, and compromise on one show or one hour (whatever you agree to) of screen time.  Then the tv goes off and it's time for an activity. 

    And so DH isn't stuck dealing with a screaming toddler who is POd that his show was turned off, have him make it something fun, like a toy that only comes out on Saturday mornings, or helping to make a special breakfast for Mommy, or a trip to pick up breakfast or to the playground or whatever.  It can be as involved as your DH wants it to be.

    Then everyone is happy and you still get your sleep.

    DS2 is finally in a good sleeping rhythm and waking up only once or twice a night which is why I am considering trading off weekend mornings again, not just because of DS1's screen time in the mornings. I did like your suggestions though and will chat with DH about them. 

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  • When I had my third child, DH would often get up with the older two on the weekends.  He would take them for a ride to the local donut shop or the grocery store, whatever.  I don't think a show or two when everyone first gets up is a bad thing.  Just because they are kids doesn't mean they don't need a few minutes to wake up and feel ready for the day. 
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