Firs Time SAHM Needs Help to Entertain 15 Months Old Baby

I joined the moms club. mine is called moms club of deland, but I think if you go to moms club you can narrow it down.

Sounds like you are doing great and Yes, their attention span is pretty short. My grandaughter and I would watch music videos together and she would dance and sing most of the time. You can take her on short walks or on her stroller, where you can start talking to her about colors, shapes etc. If there is a park nearby, use it. And having her close by banging the pots with a spoon will keep her busy too.

What about joining a play group? we (me and my girls) are members of Jacksonville Friends with Strollers (on www.meetup.com). It's a great group with about 55 moms and we do all kinds of fun play dates. Great way for the kids to interact and play together.
Good Luck!

When my daughter was at that age, she loved non-toy stuff. Especially measuring cups and these plastic stackable drawers. She loved putting things in the drawers and then changing what was in them. She has these three different bouncy balls and loves to kick and bounce them back and forth to me and her dad. Walks were and still are her favorite. I think all kids love the park and especially watching bigger kids play. A playgroup is an excellent idea, or one of those Mommy-and-me classes. My daughter is 18 months and shows no interest in coloring or painting, but I guess it depends on the child. I agree with all the other mamas, they have great ideas. But I do allow her one Baby Einstien program a day in her playpen. She has "special toys" that she only gets in her play pen so she is excited to see them. She used to intently watch the programs and learned a few baby signs but now barely even notices them, although it helps me to keep a time limit on her little playpen break. I use the time to myself to read or something (Moms need breaks too!) Good luck and cherish all this extra time with her. She's a lucky girl to have her Mama all to herself all day.

Hi P.! Oh boy...I remember that age. I have stayed home with my daughter from birth, but I remember feeling like that age 12+ months was pretty hard. During that time, I found the key was to get out of the house every day. We would go to parks, library, beach, museum, even window shopping at the mall..whatever. All of your ideas are great ones....but the day will go by much faster (in a good way), if you just get out...AND it will not be as messy at the end of the day! And take heart...it will get easier! My daughter is now 2 1/2, and I welcome a whole day at home b/c she can get really engrossed in her art projects, and although I do play with her a ton, when I have to get something done, she can either help, or play independently for pretty good stretches of time (in her dollhouse, kitchen, etc.). I am sorry you lost your job...but the good side is all this new time that you get to spend with your daughter! Good luck!

check out the libraries in your area - they have great story times for kids of all ages.

My first thought when I read this was... since when did it become a parent's job to entertain their children ALL day? Sure you want to interact with them, play with them, stimulate them, but you're not some kind of performer there to entertain someone all the time. Give her time to just play or find something to do herself. Her attention span is short, it's going to be short like that for a bit more time. She's going to want to switch activities. So try and keep them short.
Get some simple household things and make musical instruments and "play" them with her for a little while. Read a little bit. At this age, I rarely actually read the books because they wanted to turn the pages quickly and look at all the pictures. So we would turn the pages and I would point to a picture and we'd talk about what was going on in the picture, or what color or shape it is.
As the other moms said, get outside. Just feel the sunshine, breeze, etc. Dig in the dirt, collect leaves or sticks. Find some ladybugs or frogs or lizards.
Go to the zoo or aquarium. Or gymboree.
There's lots to do, but try not to get down on yourself that you can't occupy every minute of her day.

Hey P.,

Being a SAHM can be just as challanging as being a working mom can't it. You sound like you are doing great. You've gotten a lot of good advice, so I will just add the word balance. We need to spend time with our children playing and training them up to be what God has called them to be. However, it really is true that if you feel that you must entertain her every min. of the day, then she will come to expect that, not only from you, but also from others. You sound like a wonderful mom and your question is a good one. I got some ideas myself from your responese. Hang in there and give her some free time to do her own thing and you do yours too. She may cry and pull at you, but if she is doing that all the time, then that is a good sign that you are already allowing her to take all your time. If my 20 month old is pulling on me too much during the day and crying for every min. of my attention, I just put him in his bed for about ten min. to give him (and me) a break. It works almost always to calm him down and let him play alone. I also put some books and stuffed animals in his bed when I am giving him a break. This is not a "time out" as I am not disciplining him, but sometimes kids and moms just need a little break.
Hope this helps!
T.

Their attention span really is just that short so just plan several short timed activities throughout the day with some down time too. My daughter will spend the most time playing with me on the floor than any other planned activity. Try going outside & getting a pinecone, let her help put peanut butter & birdseed on it to make a bird feeder. They love the edible fun and then be sure to take her where she can see the birdies enjoy. What you are getting with the painting etc. lasting about 5 minutes is normal so just be prepared to move along with her and have fun!

at least you know your 15 month old is normal, 5 minutes is all they have for attention span. since you didn't mention this i am going to say go to the park. let her on the playground and especially around other kids. scout out when the other moms are there also, for you. and take her for a walk in her stroller. the libraries offer little actvities. and if you are a bank of america customer, the kids musuem in fort lauderdale supposedly gives free admission on the first weekend on the month. i have not tried it myself, but what a great deal/place.

My question is this: Why do you feel that your daughter needs to be busy non-stop? Why not let her choose what she wants to play or do? I've been a stay at home mother for 9 years for my three children and I've never felt that I needed to keep them busy all the time. Trust me, they find things to entertain themselves with and while they play, I will play with them but let them play alone too so I can get things done too. As for the DVD, I wouldn't suggest letting the Tv become the baby-sitter. I never let my children watch TV before their second birthday and when I did allow them to watch something, it was a few minutes of Barney and then the TV went off. The TV is a mindless activity for anyone at any age. I've heard mom's brag that Sesame Street taught their kid their ABC's. Why not take the credit for that instead of some silly program? I don't know...it's a personal choice but I don't see why your little one needs to be entertained non stop. Put a toy or two out in the room you will be in and interact with her by talking to her, singing to her...put some music on and when a good song comes on, pluck her up and dance! Put her down when the song is over and go back to whatever you were doing. Children do not need to be so busy.

Try to go somewhere to get out of the house once a day. I would actually take my kids to the toy store or to Target or WalMart to play in the toy section on days when the weather wasn't good enough for a park. At home, don't feel like you have to entertain her constantly or play with her all the time. Think about how her day was at school and how her classroom was set up. Chances are, they had some sort of circle time (you can read her a book, sing some songs, dance to any CD with kids music or even your own favorite music) and at her age for most of the day at school probably mostly what she did was just played with whatever toys were there. They probably had the classroom set up in centers and everything was on low shelves where she could reach whatever she wanted to play with. If you don't have one already, get one of those open bin shelf thingies-- they aren't very expensive. Or just get some clear bins with lids and let her pick what she wants to play with. Try putting some of her toys away in a closet and rotate them by changing every week what's in the closet and what is available daily so she doesn't get bored. And remember that sometimes non-toy stuff keep their attention the longest, like tupperware bowls and wooden spoons

Hi,

Your daughter is only 15 months old (bet you get exhausted!) It sounds like you are doing GREAT! I would add:

Be patient with yourself. Look for a play group in your area or other moms to share/co-op care. If you expect to be home for a while you might want to look into getting certified to provide child care -- there are courses available to teach you everything, including how to make money at this important job.

It sounds like you've got a super temperament, trying all those activities. You might visit the child care center where she went while you worked and get some ideas from them (such as recipes for edible play-dough, sand and/or water tables, setting up an assortment of temporary play centers/corners).

Hang in there! And be sure to remember "me time."

L. D.
Happily married mom of three

The way daycares work is by a schedule. If your daughter got bored in school she would have to continue the activity anyway because there was a time for everything and things were done as a group. Make it fun, play teacher and make a schedule, set a time for coloring (they learn colors at this age in school) if you're doing the color yellow for example find different pictures online that are yellow and do that for a week, include the coloring, snack time, lunch time, nap time, time outside, dance time inside, etc. but give everything a start time and an end time and stick to the schedule that way your daughter gets use to a routine.

My son is just a few weeks older than your daughter and it is completely normal to behave as you have described. He switches tasks every few minutes...so many things to see and learn at this age! :)
Resist the urge to find TV shows that will babysit for you. That doesn't do any good down the road and you lose out on really enjoying this special age. If you must use the tv in this manner, limit yourself to one, 30 min, show per day. It's too easy for parents to rely on tv and just let that take care of a young child for hours per day...which raises the risk of a later diagnosis of ADHD and in general encourages inactivity later in life.
I agree about the parks or just getting outside. When we can't have outside time on certain days, you can definitely tell. My son is more irritable and doesn't sleep as well.
I also set up a large play yard in my living room and it has lots of his toys. He spends some time in that and plays on his own...switching between toys however frequently he wishes. It is nice because it teaches him to play by himself which I think is important. It also give me a spare moment to fix lunch or whatever.
I'm not sure where you live, but in Orlando we have tons of great parks that always have other moms with toddlers.

P.,
I am also a SAHM of a 14 month old boy. I have joined a play group which really keeps us busy. We have lots of fun with them & I have made some great friends as well.
I found mine on www.meetup.com...search for play groups & type in your zip code. Most of them are free or have a minimal annual charges (mine is $12/year). Good luck!
H.

This is a great opportunity to get your little one aclimated to new environments. And this is the best time of year to get out of the house! Orlando has so many playgrounds and parks- look for a new one to visit every week. Check with your local library to see when they offer free toddler storytelling. While you're there, check out a kid bopz or preschool songs CD and have a dance party in your living room. Go for walks. Go to a mall with an indoor playground if it's rainy (and treat yourself to a cup of coffee while you're there!) Even a trip to the grocery store can be fun (especially if you go to Publix and stop by the bakery for a free cookie for her!) This is also a great time to get her into new textures: try making homemade playdough (that way it's ok if she eats some!) Check with your church to see if there is a local playgroup for your daughter's age group- or a mom's day out program. Pick a few days each week to get out of the house, enjoy the weather and a change of scenery- it will do wonders for both of your moods! Good Luck!

It doesn't sound like so much like you can't keep her busy, but that you can't keep her at a single task for very long. It will take some adjusting on your part to learn to deal with what your day now entails. I went through it myself... from working full-time in a fast paced attorney's office where someone always needed to ask me something or needed my opinion or help, to sitting inside the same walls all day with NO adult interaction.. unless you count the Publix checkout clerk. I thought I would lose my mind! I love my kids, don't get me wrong. But staying on top of things every second like you have to do at that age is both tedious and brain numbing.

Is she walking yet? If so, take her outside for walks. You don't have to GO anywhere, just out in the yard. Let her lead. Follow along and talk about the leaves, the flowers, the birds, the bees, the butterflies, the pinecones and rocks... whatever you see.
You might try something similar inside... let HER choose what to do... follow her around, or drag out the blocks or dolls and sit back and observe, unless she asks you to do something. Personally, I would try to avoid going the DVD/TV route. Once she starts it is very hard to keep to a minimum and slowly starts to creep into everyday habit. Does she like to color? You could trace her feet, her hands, her whole body... then let her color or paint her eyes and hair on herself (the picture)... It probably won't look like an artist did it LOL, but it might be interesting for her.
Also, you could strap her into a stroller once a day and go for a power walk.
Try to remember that her attention at this age is very short. It does require a LOT of work on your part, but that's part of the job. Slowly, very slowly, she will be able to stay at one thing a little longer. In the meantime, don't try to read anything longer than a single article in a fluff magazine, because you won't get to finish otherwise! :))
Hang in there!