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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
At the end of the day...how do you deal with your toddler?
At the end of the day after we pick DD up from daycare, she's usually exhausted and fussy, which of course leads to meltdowns while we're trying to prepare (as quickly as possible) dinner at night.
Dh and I tend to disagree about how to deal with DD during these times. And I really haven't found any solid parenting advice...other than to try to avoid creating a situation where your child might have a meltdown (which is impossible to do since she's exhausted from being at daycare all day). We always give her a snack on the drive home, but I know that it's been a long day for her and she's really tired.
Any tips on how you handle end-of-the day exhaustion?
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Re: At the end of the day...how do you deal with your toddler?
Children Photography Photo Credit: Heather Barta Photography
What time does she go to sleep at night? I am reading The No-Cry Sleep Solution and she recommends slowly working up to an earlier bedtime if you deal with tantrums, which we absolutely were. She wasn't going to bed until about 8:30 or 9 at night because we thought she wasn't tired before that. Apparently she was just getting over-tired and seemed awake, and we were missing that "sweet spot" sleepy time at around 7 at night.
It turns out, once we started trying to get her to bed around 6:30 or 7 she was sleeping better at night and actually staying asleep longer in the morning. And though she still fusses a little at night, it is MUCH better.
ETA: I meant to add, this has actually changed her whole dynamic during the day as well. She is happier when I pick her up for the sitter, she doesn't want to nurse when we get home, she actually wants to play and she eats dinner better.
This helps a lot with DD. We have to have some cuddle time in the morning, too (she will freak if I try to get her dressed right away or anything). She just needs a little time to transition and get some one-on-one time, then she's good to go after that.
I've heard the same. They need to decompress at the end of a long day, just like adults.
Due to a big change in our routine DS hasn't been taking his second daily nap. So he only naps for about 1.5 hours and he also has been very cranky in the afternoons.
Afternoons have been rough. I have just been trying to put him to bed early. Last night he was out by 7:15.
I agree with this. I put DS to sleep at 7 last night and he slept so good! He slept all night long and didn't wake up until 7. 12 hours straight!
This is us too. I try to make sure I am up and ready when she gets up because she really likes my undivided attention in the morning. She used to eat breakfast at daycare, but now I have been getting up earlier and having breakfast with her, which she really seems to like. Also, when I get home at night, I usually have a snack with her and read to her before I start getting dinner ready...or I will let her "help" me with dinner..That seems to work pretty well so far
We have this same issue. I've started feeding DD dinner at 5 PM and DH and I both sit at the table with her, although she's the only one eating. Typically, she gets leftovers from the night before, a pancake and an egg w/ some yogurt or one of the Gerber graduate meals. I'd like to do family dinners, but there's no way that DH and I can have a meal prepared and be ready to eat at 5 PM. If I tried to feed DD after 5 PM, she won't eat. Then it's a little bit of play time, bath and bed. She's in bed by 6:30 and typically, DH is cooking dinner for us while I do through DD's routine. Occasionally dinner doesn't even get started till after DD is in bed.
As she gets older, she will be able to handle the exhaustion of daycare better and I'm also hoping things will get better at her daycare. Right now, she's in a weird room and they keep putting the babies down for one nap, at 10 AM!! I am very frustrated since DD only naps for about 45-60 minutes, at daycare, (she'll nap for 2.5-3 hours at home) and so by the time I pick her up, she's been awake, for close to 6 hours.
We get home from work at 5:45 and DD goes to bed around 6:45pm...that's the earliest we can get dinner finished and get her into bed.
we get home around 430 and she immediately runs to her high chair and whines so i get her in it and give her a snack (mum mums) while i make her dinner which is ALWAYS something that can be ready to be eaten within minutes (frozen meatballs or chicken nuggets with frozen veggies; tuna fish with mayo and pickle relish and crackers; pasta; french toast, etc).
she eats dinner while i change and then clean the kitchen.
then i turn the TV on Sprout or Nick Jr and sit with her or play with her or read books, etc until it's time for her bath or bed.
bedtime is 630 during the week (she has to be up by 530).
she was having complete meltdowns every day there for awhile because i was trying to postpone feeding her right away. now that i've given in to just feeding her at 430-445 (and letting her watch some TV), things are fantastic. seriously.
click the pic (blog)
Now that the weather is starting to get a bit better here (no more snow) here's what our routine looks like. Note that Oliver is already months deep in the terrible twos at only 21 months, so I totally get what you're saying!
4:45 - pick up from daycare
5:00 - stop at the park a block away from our house on the way home and give him 20 minutes to play. We go on the swings for a few minutes, then he just wants to go down the slides and have me chase him
5:30 - we're home, I ask him what he wants to drink, water or juice, and I give him a sippy with that along with a light snack, some apple slices or a piece or cheese or something.
5:40 - I start prepping dinner, Oliver eats his snack and plays with his toys
6 / 6:15 - meltdowns usually start around this time. If I'm lucky and dinner is something that bakes in the oven, I'll try and distract him by giving him a bath before we eat. If it's something I need to monitor at the stove, I either turn on the tv for a half hour, or I pull out some paper and crayons or markers for him to see if that'll make him happy
6:30 / 7 - we eat dinner depending on when DH gets home. After that he gets a bath if he hasn't had one and needs one, then he has some milk while he cuddles on the couch with DH and I
8 - bedtime
If he starts throwing fits right when we get home, I cook him something quick, like nuggets or fish or pasta, then cook dinner for DH and I after. Some nights there's just nothing I can do but wait him out. Like last night, a 30 minute tantrum because I wouldn't let him run around holding a pen.