SAHMs: How often do you take 16-month old out?

[thaihotmama]

I am sure we don't get out as often as most... And we usually have much better days when we DO get out, but it's simply not possible (or practical) every day. What's everybody doing to maintain sanity? What do you do in the winter? Museums, indoor play areas (malls, kiddie places).... other ideas? Screen time often works pretty well (as long as I sit with him), but I really don't want that as a crutch or habit...

When we are home, there are meltdowns, constant requests for nursing, clinginess, etc.... If we are out, he is usually pretty great, if a handful!

Thanks!

[CherryBombMama]

i tried to aim for twice a day. and its so hard if its raning. our options in the AM are the mall before the stores open (they have an indoor play area) target or walmart, a fast food place w/ a play area or my moms. in the PM, we do ikea, walk the mall again,library, barnes and noble. its tough.

[thaihotmama]

Wow!!!! Anxious to see if this is a common routine! I'm seriously impressed.

[jammomma]

We try to go out at least once a day, maybe to the park, or to gymboree, a hiking trail if his dad is home too ( I am too nervous to take him hiking alone.. what if I fall and break an ankle? ) sometimes we will go shopping, and once the weather starts getting colder here, we will hit up some museums and stuff.

But I find at least once a day we have to get out of the house. Sometimes we just play out in the yard too or I take him for a wagon ride to the nearby playground.

On the weekends, when my DH is home we all spend a lot more time away from home, and we do special things like going to the zoo or the pumpkin patch or swimming at the YMCA.

[swd12422]

Every day, at least in the morning. My goal (at that age) was to wear him out in the morning so he'd sleep all afternoon!

[nwatt]

My DD is almost 15 months. We go out at least once a day, more often twice a day. We run errands, go to the park, the children's museum, the local baby gym, the mall, the library, and Barnes and Nobles.

[sapphire_chan]

I found that outside time in general was good enough even if it wasn't anything special. So, with no car unless we drive dh to work, we'd bundle up and just go around the block or play in the lawn of the next building over if nothing else. If the sidewalk was passable, I'd pop her in the stroller and we'd head down to the children's museum or up to the park.

Now we've got a rarely-used baseball field behind our place, and can romp at will without the concern for cars that made our last apartment so difficult.

[Peony]

At least once a day, twice many a day. I have older children so there are many things that I have to do. DS is 18m and he loves going out most days, even it is just running around the waiting room while a sister is in gymnastics.

[Limabean1975]

Every day at least once for at least 2 hours...but normally I'm quite the homebody. Going out does me good, and makes life-with-kids easier, but I have a hard time making the transition. But now that DS is in school 4-5 days a week, DD and I have to go get him at 3:00 (DH takes him in in the morning). And he comes out of there with bundles of energy so we typically stay and play in the schoolyard for 1.5 -2 hours - DD (who is 17 months), LOVES it there (the playground, all the kids running around, parents who no longer have really little ones cooing at her...).

[red and lulu]

We go out everyday, as many as three times-- we run errands, go see friends, go for walks, to the park or library, over to grandma's. Sometimes we stay gone all day long if she falls asleep in the car. We live in a really tiny house and I get stir crazy and so does she.

Now that it's getting so cold I'm sure we'll change it up a bit...

[St. Margaret]

When DD was that age, probably at least once a day. It's nice weather here a lot so we are lucky. AP playgroups, the library (storytime and just hanging, it was nice and big), the botanical gardens, the grocery store... sometimes we'd go on an outing and then do the store after her nap. We would just go walk around the outdoor swanky shops and watch the fish, or do the bookstore

[Getz]

I had a 16 mos old and a 3 mos old. But we tried to leave the house at least once a day. Sometimes it was something small like a trip to the grocery store, or bigger like to the zoo.

My kids enjoy going out, they behave better and it is better for my own mental well being. Even a simple walk around the neighborhood counts as an outing for me! (because I usually try to brush my teeth before we leave. )

[dosergirl]

Just thought I would post with what we do, I try to strike a good balance. DD is 13.5 months so not quite the same age but...I try to get out at least once per day and we don't have a car but live in the city. I also try to have one day that we do nothing but stay home instead, as a break for both of us, cause let's face it no car means going out is pretty tiring for us via trains and buses. So monday we usually stay home. Tuesday we have a playgroup. Wednesday is the library for a few hours. Thursday and Friday are generally up in the air. I try to run errands on those days so things like Target and Post Office. We have memberships to the Museum of Science and Children's Museum so we change things up with visits there as well as our local children's consignment store where dd loves to run around and play while we shop.

[thaihotmama]

Aaah... Clearly, I suck. The mosquitoes are entirely unbearable and vicious on both the baby and me at least half the year where we live, so those months make going outside much TRULY awful. We've done a lot this fall - well comparatively speaking. I am such an environmentalist I cannot bring myself (yet) to just drive somewhere every day just to be doing it. I have no yard for play... So anyway... Did you all go out this much BEFORE having a baby or was necessity the mother of "invention" - err going out so much? For me, I have ALWAYS combined trips - groceries, Target, etc. once every week or two - that sort of thing. We RARELY go out to eat... and so on. So any going out we do will pretty much be for sanity. And I know he loves to go out, but I know my mom didn't take me out a lot and I turned out ok, I think. Big difference though... I grew up in the country and by a certain age, ROAMED...

[thaihotmama]

Originally Posted by dosergirl

Just thought I would post with what we do, I try to strike a good balance. DD is 13.5 months so not quite the same age but...

Oh - sounds much like us, actually. I meant to say I live in the big city... So subway, buses, etc... I know that routine! And I really feel like we SHOULDN'T go out every day - like that's not a practical expectation in my household anyway. I don't mean we can't go around the block - just that going to a museum or shopping or play dates every day seems unrealistic and just not our lifestyle. Still, I know we're both happier when we get out... I guess it really seems like every other kid is getting out more though and I am really aiming to do better/more!

Thanks, everybody!

[colsxjack]

We live in a big city and do not own a car. But we rarely leave the neighbourhood and hop on transit unless it is a bigger outing or errands downtown.

That said, we usually go out twice a day for a couple of hours each time. No matter who is watching the DD, she gets out. In the morning she either goes to the drop in at the community centre down the street. Basically they have a baby/toddler room and story time and toys to play with. If she doesn't go there she can be found playing at the park down the street for a couple of hours.
Then it is back home for lunch and a nap.
After the nap is some play time at home, then it is off again usually to the park.

On rainy or cold or hot and humid days she will be taken to the mall a couple of blocks away, to the library or back to the drop in.

Then it is back home to make dinner where she plays while we cook. And then we eat, she plays some more, then it is time for the bedtime routine to start.

We live on a fairly busy residential street in the city. We do spend some times just letting her walk up and down the sidewalk and wave at people and look at flowers and point to things.

The days where she doesn't get out at all (very rare...maybe 1 in 10) or days where she only gets out once... she is much more testy and hard to handle. For our own sanity we get out.

Before kids, we didn't go out as much. We may spend a whole Sat. in our pj's reading the weekend edition newspaper, doing the crossword, napping etc. That ritual has become extinct with parenthood.

[colsxjack]

Oh yeah. We almost never ever go to a place like the zoo or museum or anything like that. DD has been to the zoo once, the museum never, never a gallery either. We have never stepped foot in a gymboree or anything like that.
We have taken her a couple of times to a large city outdoor park that has a spot with animals there and we are taking her to her first pumpkin patch this weekend.

[lookatreestar]

we usually go out twice a day. in the mornings we do our class then any errands. then if we go out in the evening we do dinner or we walk to the park.

[crunchy_mommy]

We go out at least once a day, more often twice a day. Even before having DS I preferred to be out & about but now it's NECESSARY. As you can see from my "I told DS to go away" thread (we didn't go out until late in the day yesterday!) I do combine trips as much as possible, so on the way to/from wherever we're going I will stop at the store or stop by work (I WAH) or whatever... we try not to make special trips out & stay close to home but I do feel like we're still in the car way more than I'd like -- our town just isn't even remotely walkable/bike-able.

I'm nervous about the winter, last winter I was still WAH full-time so we couldn't leave the house but I'm just part-time now & NEED to leave the house but the cold is physically painful to me!!

Anyway, some of our activities:

Outdoor -
Playground, hikes, zoo, farms, beach, walk around the block, play in the backyard

Indoor -
Playdates with my AP moms group, story hours (I have nearly every library schedule within a 20-mile radius lol plus there's Barnes & Noble), errands, go up & down the stairs & the escalator at the mall (not one of my favorite activities lol), museums if they have free days...

I really want to sign DS up for music/dance or gymnastics or something for the winter but they are so expensive!!

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by thaihotmama

Aaah... Clearly, I suck. The mosquitoes are entirely unbearable and vicious on both the baby and me at least half the year where we live, so those months make going outside much TRULY awful. We've done a lot this fall - well comparatively speaking. I am such an environmentalist I cannot bring myself (yet) to just drive somewhere every day just to be doing it. I have no yard for play... So anyway... Did you all go out this much BEFORE having a baby or was necessity the mother of "invention" - err going out so much? For me, I have ALWAYS combined trips - groceries, Target, etc. once every week or two - that sort of thing. We RARELY go out to eat... and so on. So any going out we do will pretty much be for sanity. And I know he loves to go out, but I know my mom didn't take me out a lot and I turned out ok, I think. Big difference though... I grew up in the country and by a certain age, ROAMED...

Motherhood was the necessity of invention. And I used to combine errands pre-baby, but she just can't handle too many stops without exploring.

With heat and mosquitoes, I'd open the windows that provide the most breeze and drape a play area with netting.

Most of the mamas answering are living in temperate climates, which does make a difference. But fresh air is important. In my climate, it's winter where we might just open a window for a bit, in a hotter climate, I'd expect you've got times when it's just too darned hot to go out.