Ughhh.....where do I even start! My twins are just about 21 months and this is truly the worst they've ever been. They don't seem to have any enthusiasm for life at all!! They recently were very sick with a stomach virus and have basically had colds on and off since the beginning of fall. But for the moment there is no sickness, everyone is well. We have a house full of brand new toys from christmas that nobody plays with. If a toy presents the littlest challenge to them, instead of trying to figure it out they just get mad. If you try to explain it to them, they don't listen. Everyday, I sit and help them learn how to play with the new toys but they lose interest fast. Could it be that every single new toy is a dud??? They used to love to listen and dance to music, play on their Kangaroo climber, read books. Now all they do is mope around the house. They used to be good eaters. Now they put one piece of food in their mouth and chew it like just moving their mouth requires too much effort. I try so hard to be a good mom and entertain them all day, prepare meals that they usually like, make sure they get enough sleep. But nothing seems to make them happy(except tv or videos of course). It's horrible to say this but I don't look forward to being around them anymore. I wake up and dread the day ahead of me. I hate feeling this way and its definitely affecting my patience and attitude towards them. I can't help feeling that even at such a young age, they're so unappreciative of everything they have. They have tons of toys, different activities to do everyday, tons of attention as both me and their dad are home right now. When I was little I had no toys, no dad and my mom worked all the time so I never saw her!! What more can I possibly do? If anyone out there has the formula for happy kids, please let me in on it. I feel like a horrible mom and I don't know how much more of this I can take. Sorry so long.
It's quite possible that they are so overwhelmed that they don't know where to start. I know that with my 2, if they have too many choices they just shut down. I would put up quite abit of the toys, at least into toy storage bins or something where it's not just staring at them. I would then probably create a much more structured day with activities and specified playtimes. My kids look the boredest when they have the most unstructured time. About the food. That's the age when I started letting them help in the kitchen. You can move a bowl down onto a chair or even just sit on the floor and let them put stuff in your mixing bowl and letting them stir. I found that my two were much more interested in food when they helped with it. Marissa
Mine were also so overwhelmed by all their new toys they wouldn't play with any of them. I collected them all and just left one new one along with the old ones for them to play with. That has gotten them interested in it. slowly I will introduce the other games as well. Do you get out of the house with them? If not maybe that would be a good change of pace for all of you. :hug99: :hug99: :hug99:
thats why i only got my kids 2 toys.. well two kinds of toys.. i got them a kitchen and a boat load of food.. and i got them animals from ac moore/ michaels i keep the kitchen in 1 room and the animals in the other.. they play with both daily at different times. your kids are young.. put some toys away in a box i took all the toys from 1 aunt and put them in abox, then i took the toys from grandpa and put them in another box.. ill bring them out in afew wks but christmas is very overwhelming.. not only for us.. but for them too.. good luck.. m
You are not a horrible mom! Sorry you're having a rough time. I don't have any great advice about the general malaise -- but as far as the toys, I'd suggest hiding almost all of them. I've been amazed at how my kids are much more interested in their toys if there are only a few. If there are a ton, they get overwhelmed and don't play with anything. Ditto the suggestion about having a more structured day -- and also, get outside if you can, or if it's too cold where you are, go to a special place like the library, mall play area, etc. Also, it is really hard, but you could try going cold turkey on the TV and videos. I have such mixed feelings about those. My girls love them, and I use them when I really need to occupy them for a little while (or when they're sick and nothing else will make them happy) -- but for every day that I let them watch a video, I have to suffer through 3 or 4 days of them begging for it constantly. I generally won't let them watch again until they stop asking for it, because the more they watch, the more they beg. I'm not sure whether it is even worth the few minutes of peace that it buys me. And, they may be recovering from Christmas to some degree. If things were very busy and their schedules were out of whack and nothing was "as usual," that is stressful on toddlers. They especially need routine and structure now. Good luck!
I would store about 1/2 of their toys away. I read that the more they have, the less they'll play with. (I need this advice as well!!) So, give them only a few things to play with and they might surprise you! Also, I would mention this change in their enthusiasm to their pedi and maybe follow up on the illnesses. There could be another underlying reason.... :hug99:
:hug99: I agree that you should put some of the toys away. My girls are five and we still don't open up everything at once. Christmas comes right after their birthday so we get two waves of toys. It's overwhelming for me and them I think. We put some away and then little by little they get to open new things. This could help. I've felt like mine don't appreciate all that they have either. I've often had conversations with my DH about this and it is something that urks me. But, especially at 21 months, I don't think that they can really show appreciation for what is done for them or what they have. I do wonder if your kiddos still don't feel good. Maybe they aren't chewing right because they have ear aches or their throats hurt. If it continues maybe check in with your pedi.
