Mommy's please help. How do you keep your kids busy?

Question

I have a 9 month old and a 4yr old. How do you keep you kids busy so you can do things around the house like cleaning. Every time I get a mess cleaned up another one is made. My house is a total wreck. I can't seem to get anything done. Please help.

I have tried putting be baby in jumpers and different things but nothing seems to occupy her for very long. The 4yr old is in to everything and doesn't want to clean up his messes.

Cleaning tips or any other advice is appreciated. Thanks millions!

Answer 1

I have twins that are 3-1/2 now they went through a horrible stage of getting into everything . I found that puzzles kept them occupied as far as the not wanting to clean up after themselves  i just started taking the toys away if they didn't want to pick up then they didn't get to play with them until they had cleaned up something else or had good behavior. when tryin to clean i would do 10-15minutes at a time get them busy with play dough or something they were intrested in at the time and clean for a bit then check on them if they were starting to make a mess then i would switch to something else.  Hope this helps :)

Answer 2

Well, I have a 4 and a 3 year old. They occupy each other all day. And by the end of the day, they clean up all the toys. They will put their sheets in the washer, and help me clean the house. I suppose its a habit now, they know what is expected, and they know I sure as heck am not going to clean up their toys.

At 9 months old, they get bored very quickly. I would mention you could put the baby in a backpack, that will keep him/her ok for a while.

Around that age, I was able to put them in a playpen with some safe toys, and they would usually be fine, and then fall asleep on their own.  Moms are too scared to let their kids cry for a while. They eventually learn to calm themselves down, and occupy themselves. Otherwise, you will be totally worn out girl!

Answer 3

Well, when I need a break this is what I usually do...I just put them in our playroom. There's TV, video games, board games, toys, things for baby, things for the older kids, etc. That keeps them occupied. And there's really nothing that can injure them in there, although I'm sure they could find something. LOL. My twin girls [8 1/2 months] LOVE their swings..puts them right to sleep. For my 3 year old (almost 4) what she usually loves to do I color/paint. But if you do do that, make sure it's that invisible paint that you can only put on the paper. Learned my lesson there. Also, if you have a backyard, before you take your 'break' get him to run around in the backyard. Just ware him out. He'll sleep like a baby when he comes into the house. Also, don't be afraid to stick him in front the TV for a little bit. Trust me, even though it's taking the easy way out---it always gives me some time to take a break. Another thing you could do is put him in a really messy room and just let him play with his toys. It's already messy so he can't make it much worse. :P

Now, as for the nine month old...it's really hard to keep babies occupied. But don't be afraid to just let her cry. You can just put her in her crib [or bassinet] and you can let her cry. Babies need to know that they can't always get what they want by crying. Pacifiers usually work wonders on my twin girls. They love the paci and the swings---a combo that puts them right to sleep!

Good Luck to you!! :)

And every once and a while, get your husband or a friend to watch the kids for a day so you can get some mommy time---out of the hosue! =]

~Kate

Answer 4

I have an almost 1 year old and this is what I've discovered I had to do at about 9 months. My house was also a total mess. My daughter had to learn that she is not the center of attention. She would throw a fit if I was doing the dishes rather than play with her so I told her that I would pay attention and talk to her when she calmed down. Than I ignored her fits and did the dishes. I also had told her I had to clean the house. I did what I had to do and she calmed down after 45 minutes that first time (yes 45 minutes haha). She did it again the next day and I ignored her again after explaining that I had to clean and I would talk to her if she calmed down but not until than. She lasted 25-30 minutes. This whole time she was in a bouncer.

  You are the boss and though you love your child they have to learn at some point that they are not the absolute center of your world because dishes will not clean themselves, the carpet will not vacuum itself and  the laundry will not clean itself haha. GL!