Managing your time can be tough, more so if you have babies or toddlers to care for. Here are some tips for busy moms on how to manage time with a toddler.
How to manage time as a stay at home mom
Home management can be a challenging task to say the least for moms, especially a stay at home mom. The challenge increases when you have a toddler who can’t help much, but need a lot of your attention and time. So, what does one do? Ignore the pile of laundry in the living room while you play with your toddler? Or let the television be babysitter while you catch up on chores? Actually, neither. With a bit of planning and some smart thinking, you can easily manage your time with your toddler and keep an organized and well-managed home.
Here are some tips for managing a home with toddlers!
Time management with a toddler: Home Management Priorities
How do you manage time with toddler? First things first, you need to know your priorities when it comes to managing home. Take ten to fifteen minutes to create a list of everything that is home-related and important to your family. Healthy meals? Put meal planning down as a priority. Clean clothes means laundry is a must. Evaluate each priority carefully to ensure that it really is a priority and not just something you think you have to do. For example, dusting everyday is not a priority unless someone suffers from an allergy to dust.
Delegate and Downgrade
Having a toddler around the house means you need to spend time with them, recharge yourself, and take care of the house as well. So, you need to get real and let something go. Delegating some chores frees up your time while still getting things done. Moreover, you don’t always have to delegate to a family member. How about a neighbour or a friend? Or even the babysitter? Alternatively, you can just stop doing something that isn’t essential to your family’s health and happiness. For instance, organizing the bathroom cabinet or the spice rack every fortnight.
Make a weekly shopping list
Shopping can be simplified in a huge way just by planning your trip and having a list of what you need. Try sorting your list based on where each item is located in the store so you don’t have to waste time going back and forth in the store with your toddler. Shopping with a list will cut a lot of time and frustration!
Schedule Weekly and Monthly Planning
Planning is key to a well-managed home. There are several home management apps as well as websites and eBooks available to help a mom menu plan and organize cleaning schedules. Spend half an hour each week and at the end of the month to plan your meals and home management projects so that you know what you need to focus on.
Manage Time with a toddler: Grocery shopping
How to manage time with a toddler while grocery shopping may be a task just barely above scrubbing the toilet on a mom’s list of things to do, but there is usually no way around it. There are ways to simplify the process and have you and your toddler in and out of the grocery store. It just requires a bit of planning!
Make grocery shopping fun for your toddler
Get your toddler excited about visiting the grocery store by having a toy shopping cart to your pretend play area. Let your toddler fill the shopping cart with empty food boxes or toy food. This will help your toddler to understand what happens at the grocery store and manage your time better while at the store.
Toddlers do not enjoy sitting still for long periods of time. Giving them something to do with their hands will keep them occupied far longer than simply sitting in the cart. Occupy your toddler by allowing to hold some of the food or help put a few items into the shopping cart. If you have a list your toddler may enjoy holding a piece of paper just like mom has. Small toys that can attach to the cart handle will entertain your toddler without getting lost in the store.
Bring a well fed toddler
Toddlers are not content to quietly sit in the cart when they are surrounded by so many things they want to eat. This will have a negative impact on not being able to manage time with your toddler at the store. It could mean having to leave the store due to a tantrum and having to come back at another time. Make sure your toddler has a good meal before going to the grocery store. It may help to have some snacks in your diaper bag that you can feed to you toddler in the event that they decide that they are still hungry while you are shopping.
Keep your toddler comfortable
Diaper padding only goes so far. Those hard shopping cart seats can be irritating to some toddlers. Consider making or buying a shopping cart cover to keep your toddler comfortable while shopping and. This will have the added benefit of preventing your toddler from being exposed to the myriad of germs that can be found on the shopping cart. Make sure to wash it after each use.
Go after naptime
Tired toddlers are not patient and this can make for a very frustrating shopping experience. Be sure that you are not planning your grocery shopping during your toddler’s normal naptime. It is best to go after your toddler has had a nap and had a chance to wake up for a few minutes. You can use the time after they wake up from a nap to feed them a quick snack before you go to the store.
Now that we share our tips on how to manage time with a toddler, it does not have to be overwhelming and exhausting. With a bit of planning and some careful evaluation, you can easily put together a list of must-dos for the house and grocery shopping, and then, kick back and enjoy playtime with your little one.
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