Tell me about your 2 year olds routine

[jez]

So our current routine , in particular our evening routine is not working and I'm tired of the sleep time battles and arguments with DH over who is going to do what jobs
(i.e bathing, cook dinner, bedtime stories, tidying up, washing etc). DD is 2 years and 4 months old.

Myself and DH both work full time and DD goes to childcare 4 days a week and has Grandma day 1 day a week. DD needs to be up by 7.30am for us to get to work on time. We are usually get home about 4.30-5.30ish in the afternoons, it all depends on how busy my work day is. She usually has about a 1-1.5 hour day sleep at childcare and I have asked them to wake her up by 2pm or she is even harder to get to sleep at night.

Would love to know what works well for other families.

[Californication]

I'm at home and DH works. Our routine has been the same for ages, and DS set his bedtime about 12 months ago.

We do:

DH home between 5:30-6. We have dinner together just after 6, so he and DS play while I serve up.

DH gives DS a bath after dinner (around 7) and then he runs around like a mad child playing until 8:30 when it's brush teeth (DH job) and bed time (me).

I do the main bed bit, but DH comes in and says good night and helps if DS is being silly and not letting me put him in his Grobag!

Because I'm suffering with this pregnancy, DH does most of the clean up after dinner. If I am doing OK that night, I do it, but more often than not he does the dishes and tidies for me. He also helps with housework if I ask/need it which I appreciate (mainly the floors and kitchen as he won't do bathrooms or toilets!) on weekends and I do the rest in stages.

So we are different from you in that I'm not working, but it works for us. If I was working, I would expect more help from DH.

[hopefully2]

We both work too. I leave the house at 7am and DH at 7.15am, my mum comes every morning to get DD3 to daycare. I pick her up at 4.30pm. I mostly have dinner organised. I make everything double so one meal we eat and one we freeze. We all eat together at 5.30/ 6pm. DH baths or showers DD after dinner while I clear up. We then read stories. DD goes to toilet and then we do kisses and cuddles.

I have just started taking Fridays off so I can get a full day with DD. I missed her terribly. Have only worked f/t for 6 mths. I make it work by keeping meals simple making, pasta and sauces, slow cooker meals, bbq's.

Sorry on phone. Hard to type. Will get on computer tomorrow.

[MelandBen]

My dh works away for a week and back for 4 days so mainly it's my and DD's routine.
The routine has stayed the same though for a while (from about about a year)

Morning: up 6.00am - out the door at 6.30 to my parents or mil's (she has 2 days at mine and one at mil's)

She has breakfast at their house and goes to bed at 12 after lunch. With a bottle of milk.
Up at 2pm, even if she wakes earlier she knows she has to stay in bed till 2, so she can sleep, play whatever- as long as it's in bed.
I pick her up at 5pm, home by 6pm for dinner with me- we watch the night garden together.
Brush teeth, wash face, go to the toilet, and to bed with me reading a book or two.

This happens every day - I work 3 days a week.

I must say when daddy's home she does try to push the boundaries, so I try to keep the routine just to myself doing it and getting dh to do things like cook dinner and clean up whilst I do that. But that is because dh isnt home every night.

They will try to push you at this age, just work out what your true core wants are(like bed by 7pm)- and the other stuff you can bend a little on (like 3 books instead of 2) try to have a little by of flexibility.

Pick your battles, if they think they won't get a reaction from you that generally stop doing it.

And always remember you will have a couple of good months, and then some bad ones, and then you'll be back to good again.

Good luck!

[LibranTwin]

I totally agree with the few good months and then few bad months, DD1 was like that at that age. She is now 3 and her bed times have really seemed to settle down from about 2 1/2, when she dropped her day sleep.

We have dinner together around 6, I bath the girls at 6.30 and DH gets DD1 ready for bed and reads two books then it's lights out and straight to sleep!

When she used to have a day sleep or occasionally does it's much harder at night. At 2- 2 1/2 there were some nights we had put her straight back to bed for half an hour or more till she stayed there and went to sleep. So frustrating!

[mum2bubba]

Dinner at 5:30, bath at 6pm, play time (quiet time) at 6:15, story and in bed by 6:30 or 7pm if the girls have swimming or whatever.

[faroutbrusselsprout]

Dinner at 5:30, bath at 6pm, play time (quiet time) at 6:15, story and in bed by 6:30 or 7pm if the girls have swimming or whatever.

This is us too.
I'm home at nights without DH to help and with 3 kids, I find the earlier we do everything the better!
He can sometimes be awake for up to an hour chatting in his cot, but I think it's a great time for him to unwind and relax by himself.
I need him in bed at 6:30 becasue I'm so exhausted! lol.

[Blonde Assassin]

On average my 2 & 1 month year old's sleep/eating routines basically go like this:

8am Wake Up
11:30am Lunch
1:30pm Nap
5:30pm Dinner
8pm Bath
8:30pm Bed


DH works full time & I work part time so DS is in kindy 2 days a week plus 1 day with his grandparents. We don't like him in kindy for any more than 10 hours a day, so DH drops him off in the morning after I've started work & then I pick him up. I finish work around 4pm so its good that he doesn't have to be in care too late.

We don't want him to be in bed any earlier, otherwise DH misses out on playing with him after work.

[jez]

Thanks everyone . We are going to try dinner at 6.30ish then bath then cuddles and stories then bed . One of us bathing DD whilst one of us cleans up from dinner. Previously we were doing bath then dinner but she has started to eat her dinner at a snails pace because she knows when's she finishes it's bedtime . Also hoping the bath before bed will help to calm her and relax her before bed and make it easier for her to go to sleep