More 1 nap questions

Question One:
So how do you keep your kids amused for that long? 2.5 hours in the morning was hard work but 4.5 is REALLY hard work. For example, Elle has dozens of books but reads them so carefully that she gets bored of them. She makes piles of the ones she's read and looks for new ones to read.

Ashleigh generally has her sleep from 11 til 1ish. In the morning shes up around 7 so she has brekkie and mucks around. At 8.30 til 9.30 she watches telly, Blues Clues and In the Night Garden etc while I have my shower/get organised. If we are going out then we will go then and I try and be home by 11 so she can go to bed. If we are at home then as long as she can get outside then she is generally happy. She has always been good at entertaining herself. If she is grumpy then we go for a wander down the road and she picks flowers. In the afternoon we may go out or if at home then again she is happy if she is in the backyard playing. I bought a cheap sprinkler and we have been playing under that most days while it is hot which she enjoys. She normally turns a bit feral while I am trying to cook her dinner so I normally put a wiggles dvd on which calms her down.

You could also do painting or play with playdoh etc if she enjoys that kind of thing?

Question Two:
How many times a day do you go out? We now have to go out twice or Elle would be so bored!

Normally only once but just depends if I have things to do.

Question Three:
Do you do lunch before the long midday nap or afterwards?

I've tried giving her lunch before her sleep but she wouldn't eat it so she now has a proper morning tea around 10/10.30 and has her lunch when she wakes.

FionaS wrote: Question One: So how do you keep your kids amused for that long? 2.5 hours in the morning was hard work but 4.5 is REALLY hard work. For example, Elle has dozens of books but reads them so carefully that she gets bored of them. She makes piles of the ones she's read and looks for new ones to read. Question Two: How many times a day do you go out? We now have to go out twice or Elle would be so bored! Question Three: Do you do lunch before the long midday nap or afterwards

We're on one sleep a day too from 11:30am - 2:30pm (sometimes as late as 3). Michaela's up from 5:30am so it's a 6 hour stint in the morning and she goes to bed at 7pm so it's 4.5 hours in the afternoon.

1)How do we keep her amused....
** Between 5:30 - 6:30 she gets a bottle and two breakfasts (first cereal and fruit then toast) while we wake up.
** We try and integrate her into the morning housework, more hindrance than help.
** If the weathers good enough we'll set up toys outside or give her a bucket to collect stones in.
** I count dancing to the wiggles as part of my aerobics exercise routine so we often put on a DVD and dance together.
** On weekdays DH often takes her for a long walk (her walking) or my sister and her kids take her out.
** She has dolls, puzzles, books, toy tools, music instruments etc so lots to keep her amused without supervision necessary and we also have plenty of drawing supplies.
** 11am is lunch and we start getting that ready early so she can help.
** We also rotate her toys, she has some in her wardrobe, some in a cupboard in the lounge and some in her room. When she's getting bored of the ones in the lounge they get moved and the ones in the wardrobe come out.

2) During weekdays DH brings Michaela into town to meet me at 3:30 so she always goes out at least once per day. Sometimes she goes out in the morning too but since we moved to a bigger house with a fully fenced yard we've found we don't have to.

3) Lunch is always at 11am. She gets breakfast at 6am, morning tea at about 9am, lunch at 11am, afternoon tea as soon as she wakes up and dinner at 5:30pm. I think giving her lunch first helps her sleep longer (i.e. not woken by hunger)

It doesn't actually seem like much but we manage to keep our day full. We also utilise our wiggles DVD's and playhouse disney for times when she's sick of her toys and we are busy. I think as long as it's not on too much the TV is a great tool and many shows are now designed to help kids learn instead of just switch off (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, her favourite, is on every night at 5pm so dinner is always at 5:30pm because that's when I can go and prepare it and know she's safe and not getting into mischief).

Good luck

FionaS wrote: Wow The_Stuarts! 5.30am start.

Michaela's never been a long sleeper (as a new born I never got more than 2 hours out of her at a go, day or night) but we've learned to adjust and now I start work at 7:15am so I can spend a decent block of time with her in the afternoon.

I heard mainly music is great and lots of people I know use the toy library. We go to GYMBAROO together every Saturday morning and highly recommend it (www.gymbaroo.co.nz). We've only done 1 term so far but we love it and have signed up for the next one and are counting down the days until it starts again. It's at 9am for Michaela's age group so great time for her and it means if we're quiet enough in the morning daddy can stay asleep until after we get home (he works till 10pm so needs all the rest he can get).

I'm also thinking of starting swim lessons soon. I figure a few outings per week will mean she appreciates home time more and won't get as much chance to get bored of her toys. I'll let you know how that works for us

Today Elle slept 11.30 to 1.30 but by 4 I could absolutely not do anything with her and she had to go to bed again and slept until 6pm. Whooopsy. So she has just gone to bed now! Oh dear.

1 - how do you keep your kids amused for that long?
This is really a big stage IMO of teaching a child a new activity and then letting them play with it for a while by themselves, so that they develop an selection of things they can play with by themselves. Have you tried:
puzzles, library books, water play (pouring things with a bucket of water), finger painting, crayons, rotating the toys in the toy box so they don't get too boring?

2 - How many times a day do you go out?
0 or 1 - usually once every second (or third) day. In a week we'd visit the park, groceries, other shopping errands in town, a friend's place (with other kid/s), another park or the library or a puzzle library, music motion group

3 -Do you do lunch before the long midday nap or afterwards?
Usually a nap straight after lunch but this sometimes means lunch at 11.30 so the child is not too tired to eat.

My daughter is usually up at 7am ish and sometimes doesn't have her nap until 2pm, although sometimes she will go earlier around 1pm - lunch can fall anywhere between 11:30-12:30 depending on how hungry she is. I love to play "with" her although she is pretty much in charge of what activity it is she wants to do! She loves to read, play with blocks, do puzzles (basic animal and shape type ones), and I will often put on a In The Night Garden/Sesame Street/The Fairies DVD on for her if she asks for one. Morning tea is a great distraction, as is going out mid morning even just to run errands. On the weekends my husband and I often take her out to a park with a big playground and she loves it - anything she can climb she will climb! If the weather is no good my DD also loves more tactile activities like colouring / scribbling, playdoh, or fingerpainting - we bought a big roll of brown paper to use just for this.

Oh sorry - she does spend heaps of time playing on her own...about 4 hours this morning in fact :) It's more during this nap transition as it's hard to keep her awake at home :)