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As I have mentioned before, I work from home.
I find it extremely challenging to juggle my two work-from-home jobs with everything else I need to do in a day. Having a plan for the little guy really helps.
At our house, also known as Landlocked HQ, Tuesday is usually shipping day. Although packaging and shipping product is very time-consuming, it’s one of my favorite work days because I don’t need the focused, heavy-duty-thinking environment that I do on writing days. This means that the Bosun’s Mate and I can hang out all day while I work!
To help the day go smoothly, and to give the little guy a predictable routine, he has these Shipping Day toys, also known as “Mama’s Workin'” toys. He likes to be in the same room with me while I work, which in this case is the dining room, where he usually doesn’t play with toys. However, he knows that when the boxes and the label makers and the rope items come out, these toys are coming out too.
Eventually, I’m sure we’ll have to switch these out for other new and exciting toys, but for now, these fascinate him. This time he quietly played on his own for a full 45 minutes, completely engrossed in the little animals. Some of them have legs that move, and he experimented with making them stand up on all four legs, on two legs, and on their bottoms. A few times he cried out in frustration but he never looked to me for help. He did his experiments, he lamented, he tried it a different way, he moved on.
After awhile he decided to ride his fire truck around the house, and then it was lunch time.
Last week on Shipping Day he played with his “Mama’s Workin'” toys and then he asked to sit at the table and write. I wrote (and taped and tied and stickered and sealed), and he wrote too. And then he took some of my paper scraps to the recycling box, and then it was lunch time.
I’ve been focusing on working with my son’s developmental stage–he turned two a couple of weeks ago, and he is in full-fledged “me too” mode. He wants to do what I’m doing. I’m doing what I can to nurture that desire while empowering him to experience self-directed play.
I’m not stepping into the role of entertainer and playmate.
Yes, I do play with my son.
I also work, and read, and occasionally I take a long, hot bath.
If you’d like to explore the idea of fostering self-directed play in your toddler, no matter how much of a “side-kick” he or she is, check out this post on Janet Lansbury’s blog Elevating Childcare: Stop Entertaining Your Toddler (In 3 Easy Steps)
What do you find most challenging when you’re trying to get things done with a little one around? Let me know in the comments.