Hellobee Boards

So does that mean you don't get to watch tv either? lol. My don't turn on tv for my LO but I do watch netflix (she doesn't care/doesn't pay any attention to it so far at 1.5). I don't watch it a LOT at this point but usually like 2 shows/day. Our routine:

wakeup
breakfast
downstairs free play with toys
change into clothes for the day, snack in the car on the way to run errands or go to a park to play or an indoor play space or i'm not above just wandering around target for half an hour to get us out of the house
home and play for like 30 min
make and eat lunch
usually a show (for me) between lunch and nap time while we are still sitting on the floor playing
nap
up and snack
errands or chores (laundry, clean kitchen, vacuum, etc)
play until daddy gets home (sometimes another show in here if we didn't have many errands/chores to do)
dad takes LO while i fix dinner, eat dinner
hang out for an 30 min-hour after dinner

ETA: I am also worried about winter since we go out so much now. I think I'm going to ask for a membership to the local science center for christmas. And I might enroll LO in gymboree and/or get a membership to a play cafe.

My LO watches a half hour show in the morning so I can get ready, but for the rest of the morning the tv is usually off. Otherwise our day looks a lot like @Mae:'s. Get up, play, breakfast, get ready (she watches 30 minutes of TV), get her dressed, go out for the morning. We have some kind of activity pretty much every morning, whether it's an actual class or play date, or children's museum or park, or just errands. We never stay in all morning unless the weather is awful or she is sick- otherwise we both go crazy. Then it's lunch, nap.

After nap it varies, usually we meet local friends at a park until dinner, then play and bedtime. We live in the city so walk to the park now.

It's definitely going to be a lot harder this winter! And sometimes she does get more TV after nap if I need more downtime.

@Oxana: I'm also a SAHM and my husband and I share a car as well, so I don't have a car Monday-Thursday. He is able to work from home on Fridays, so I'm able to go to my MOPS group, errands, play dates, etc on Fridays.

My DD is 21 months and we go to the park almost every day. I've made several mom friends just from going to the park a lot to increase chances of meeting someone, lol. We do play dates a lot at my house and they will sometimes pick me and DD up and we'll go to story time or something. I know a few people from church in my area too, so that helps.

Staying at home without a car is so hard! Admittedly, we watch 1 show in the afternoon while waiting for my husband to get home because I'm over it by that point, lol. We watch Signing Time on Netflix which my DD loves and it's actually pretty interactive and educational. We sit together and to the signs together so at least it's interactive and not passive screen time.

I'd definitely look and see if there's any mom groups or groups at the library. Grab people's numbers when you can so you can ask them for play dates later.

I don't think you need more preschool-like structure. I know it can be hard to have a 2yo and no other source of "entertainment" than you, especially if you feel stuck inside. But rather than buying a preschool curriculum (or making your own from other sources like Pinterest), I would think about starting a project/hobby/creative endeavor (or a few of them!) that you can do with your child.

In my experience, little children want to do whatever you want to do, and it's fine--probably even preferable--if it's not specifically aimed at toddlers/preschoolers. They rise to the challenge. Incidentally, my husband and I have applied this general philosophy to pretty much everything, with generally good results (insofar as I can judge from my current vantage point of having a 5yo). I usually read him a book that I wanted to read (during playtime/nursing/drifting off for a nap; we read picture books at other times); we listened to music that we like; when we started watching movies, they were documentaries and classic films that my husband and I wanted to see, etc. And we did activities that weren't necessarily targeted at little children (nature walks, museum visits, lectures/demonstrations, farmer's markets, etc.), but that I knew he could generally handle, even if he didn't always understand everything that was going on.

A few projects I had to modify a bit to let him in on. For example, I'm not particularly crafty, but I do like to paint wooden Christmas ornaments in December, so I had LO help with that. (The results were shipped to adoring grandparents.) I also rather enjoy putting together Lego sets once and a while, so when he was between 2 and 3 and no longer putting anything in his mouth, I bought the space shuttle and assembled it while he watched. I sort of doubted he would be interested in watching me do something, but he loved it and asked to work on it every day. He helped with some of the bigger pieces and then played with it when it was done. We still do complicated sets together, but they're an expensive habit, so we don't always have one going on. We also took lots of walks, regardless of the weather (ours is hot and humid in the summer and everyone hides inside during the middle of the day), and did little things like identify birds, butterflies and plants. I checked out bird/butterfly/plant guidebooks from the library and we looked things up as we went. We still do this!

I also think it's okay for children to have some time during the day when they have to figure out what to do on their own. My son's free time is much, much longer now, but it's okay to let a 2yo figure out how to occupy him/herself for a few minutes or longer, if they'll tolerate it.

And when all else fails, it's always a good idea to have an impromptu dance party. Instant mood-lifter for everyone.

We don't have a TV and my LOs get very minimal screen time (ipad/phone). Screen time just isn't really a part of their lives. I don't think every moment needs to be structured and my LOs do a lot of independent play. I try to have them help with chores or appropriate cooking activities and we try to get out a lot. Can you walk places or take public transit? Or are you really stuck at home?