Sunday, December 23, 2007

Advice sought RE: toddlers and house projects

I know that some of you have one or more small children. How on earth do you do it? There are two of us and only one of our 19m granddaughter, and she isn't even with us full time (mostly all weekends though), but it just seems impossible to get much of any consequence done while she's here -- everything either has to be a one-person job, or it has to be doable while she's asleep (so much for my plans to install new shelves in the linen closet just outside of her room today...), or doable within the time span that she'll be content staying confined (crib, high-chair, playpen) which, needless to say, isn't long at all.


Anyway, I'd love to hear some feedback and tricks that folks with small children use to get things done. There's a chance that she'll be coming to live with us full-time for a while, and I can't see how we're going to get anything accomplished!! But I know there just has to be a way, there just HAS to be...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

To get anything accomplished with small children around it pretty much happens just like you said, when they are sleeping, when someone else is watching them, when they are preoccupied, etc.

The only other suggestion I have for you is have her "help". If you're painting for example give her a paint brush. Let her paint an area you haven't gotten to yet. If you're cleaning give her a rag let her help you clean (my 4yo still loves to help me clean).

Jodi said...

I have 7 kids ranging in age from 12 to 1.

It sounds like you are doing it the way we do. We plan work time around nap time and we try to get the kids off doing something else while we work. Our 1 year old just joined our family in July though so we are reajusting to that. I have paid my 12 year old to watch him for an afternoon so we can get work done. Since you don't have an older kid how about hiring a teenager for a day? That way not only do you get a babysitter but you have a guaranteed time to work on the house. :)

Leslie said...

SEVEN! Wow, ok I'll stop complaining about our 1 or 2 grandkids that we get on the weekends! Our older granddaughter is 12, but not only is she often not here, we've also been trying to not hold her responsible for her baby sister while she's here, since she's too often been expected to have parental-level responsibilities for her at home. However, now that she has a pay-as-you-go cell phone, I think we may be able to negotiate paying for some minutes in exchange for babysitting.