Spin-off of playroom topic

We don't have a playroom, so my living room is over-run with toys. My living room and dining room are one large room. Despite the fact that it is as child-proof as a living/dining room can be, I dread leaving my two-year-olds alone for even 15 minutes. Someone inevitably ends up crying, knocking something over, or destroying something. Because of this, I feel like I never get anything done around the house. I can't leave to go clean in other areas of the house and cleaning the LR/DR is pointless when their toys are just going to be all over the floor again in two minutes. Don't even get me started on how behind my laundry is since I have to go to the basement to do it.

I've thought about putting them in their room for periods of time while I go clean and such. Their bedroom is better as far as baby-proof, but very small. I'd have to put only a few toys in there and I'm afraid they will jump on their beds (Ian currently has a black eye from doing just that). Plus, I am afraid of the same crying/destroying issues if I leave them. So, do you all really leave your kids alone to play for extended periods of time or do you sit in the playroom with them? If you do leave them, for how long?

I really need to change something. The way things are I never get anything done and I spend most of my time sitting on my butt watching them play. Help!

 

We do have a playroom and I do leave them alone. I do have to relate a somewhat funny story...

Last week they were up there alone and I was getting ready to start dinner. Everything was too quiet. So I run up the stairs and I find my children with the toilet brush in hand and the carpet is wet. Turns out they were trying to clean the cat with the toilet brush and toilet water. Needless to say I was quite upset, as was the poor cat.

So yes I leave them alone, but now I make sure that the bathroom door is closed. :laughing:

 

At 2.5, they really are old enough to leave in the LR/DR for periods of time. Also, it is good for them to start learning how to settle things on their own. You can start by leaving them for 10 min, then gradually increase the time. It will get to where you can pop in to check and then finish what you are doing.

 

Yep, I do. But our playroom is on our first level so I am always on that level too. But I do leave them alone to play. I think they need the time by themselves to learn to play together and alone.

 

We have no playroom and our LR is toddler central. I leave them alone in there when I have stuff to do, and usually they are fine for a while. Eventually either they fight over something or they decide they miss me and come running into the kitchen/office/wherever I am. Same thing with their room - they play in there a lot in the mornings while I am getting moving. Sometimes they shut the door on me. Once I actually opened it, they looked up at me, and closed it in my face.

I still don't get a ton done, but I manage some laundry, load/unload the dishwasher, take a shower, etc.

 

Our entire first floor is open (no doors) and the entire upstairs landing is open to the downstairs, so I feel okay leaving them for a while. I will go upstairs and fold clothes, clean rooms, get ready ,etc and leave them downstairs to play.
I know they are up to no good if I can't hear ANYTHING, quiet=into no good!!!!

 

Our family room is 3 steps down from the rest of the house. I leave them down there to play or in their bedroom to play. I've been doing that for maybe 6 months or so. I can hear what is going on, but still can get some stuff done, too.

Trish, that poor cat!! :laughing:

 

Our house is all one floor. The entire one end of the house is the kids "wing". All three of their bedrooms are on that end and there is an activity room between the bedrooms. Our oldest two dd's have door knob protectors on their doors since the little two have figured out how to open doors. We also have those on the bathroom door and the twin's closet door. There is a mounted baby gate at the opening into the playroom. The activity room and the twin's bedroom is completely baby proof. I let them run amok in there for the most part. I can at least get my dishes done and do laundry. I can see into the activity room from the dining room table and the kitchen. I can hear them from all over the house. If I didn't have that end for the kids, my house would be taken over by baby stuff. Not to mention all the big kid stuff that seems to drift out into our "public" spaces. The biggest bonus for me with this set up is that I can have people drop in and not be too worried about the mess.

 

My LR is our toddler room. It is as baby proofed as any room can get. One problem, my 2 are always climbing and the minute I get up to even pee, they climb on the couch, then to the table, then there goes the lamp and the phone. So while I'd like to be able to leave mine for a few minutes, I just can't.

 

We leave them alone in their playroom, because we babyproofed the crap out of it!! Corners are all covered, furniture is all bolted to the walls, blinds are all up and cords are up too, there is nothing for them to climb on that is high enough for them to get hurt (seriously anyway) if they fall, and there's nothing that climbing can get them to. We will leave them alone to play there, but only when we're on the same level of the house and can hear them (or not hear them....it's when they're quiet that we check on them!). I'm not comfortable leaving them alone in any other rooms....even though we've babyproofed as much as we can in the other rooms, I don't think it's possible to remove all hazards in a room like the living room (it has to have at least one lamp, kwim?).

 

their room is gated and it's where all their toys are. It's pretty well babyproofed, so we leave them in there, always with an ear. And our house isn't that big that if there is a problem (like becca getting stuck in her bucket) we are there pretty quickly.

 

Our living room is their playroom and is open to the kitchen so I can keep an eye/ear on them while cooking. I duck out to do "quick" cleans, like clean the bathroom sink, run to check on them, clean the bathroom mirror, run to check on them... We're pretty well babyproofed and I know where the trouble spots are (litter box, cat food) but like everyone else you know where they are by the sounds, and if there are no sounds, well, you better investigate!

 

My downstairs is pretty open. Sometime they play in one of the rooms while I'm in another room but they are all open to another. I can do laudry, but not bring it upstairs.
I have tried to let them play in their room while I put away laundry, but they want to be in the room I am in. Usually that means I leave a pile of cloth on the bed.

 

We were told by Early Intervention that they need to start playing by themselves starting at 12 months. Our entire upstairs is mostly babyproofed - but as another said, it's almost impossible to get it all perfect. (or at least for me it is. ha ha)
My DH leaves them alone up there every time he has them alone (about once a month); I leave them alone here and there. But I do fold laundry, clean dishes, attempt to cook, make the bed, etc. while they are in the room. I have too much to do and can't fit it all in when they are asleep.
Best of luck!

 

We have a basement-level family room and playroom that is all theirs. They do occasionally find things to get into that I hadn't thought of (like pull all the tissues out of the box) but nothing that can hurt them. I will leave them for 10-15 minutes, but always within earshot. I do let them settle some disputes on their own, like fighting over toys. If it starts getting physical, then I intervene.

 

I will occasionally leave the three little ones long enough to go to the bathroom or throw in a load of laundry (same floor). I won't do anything that takes me out of earshot. I can't wait for the day I can take a shower while they are awake! When I had one two year old, I could leave her to watch a show while I showered. With two two year olds and a three year old, I have to be able to get to them FAST! So my house is a mess, clean laundry stays piled up much longer than I'd like, but I'd rather make sure they don't kill each other. I have a plenty of homework to do so I spend a lot of time at the computer so I'm getting something done, but I'm available to them to referee or to play. Of course there's some TS time in there too! I figure as they grow, especially when Erick and Kayci can hold full blown conversations, I'll be able to leave them longer and longer.

 

QUOTE(summerfun @ Mar 13 2008, 07:55 PM) [snapback]667675[/snapback]
Yep, I do. But our playroom is on our first level so I am always on that level too. But I do leave them alone to play. I think they need the time by themselves to learn to play together and alone.


Ditto. We are usually downstairs where the playroom is all day except nap time. I can see them but I do try to let them play without me right in there.

 

QUOTE(sharongl @ Mar 13 2008, 03:43 PM) [snapback]667649[/snapback]
At 2.5, they really are old enough to leave in the LR/DR for periods of time. Also, it is good for them to start learning how to settle things on their own. You can start by leaving them for 10 min, then gradually increase the time. It will get to where you can pop in to check and then finish what you are doing.


Just to clarify my OP a little - I do leave them for short periods of time (15 min or so) when I have to. I just dread doing it and never leave them for much longer. I also am able to do stuff in the kitchen because it shares an opening with the dining room (gated since I don't have cabinets and everything is on open, free-standing shelves. I'd hate to see what they would do with my flour!).

When I do leave them it seems to never fail that they get hurt or do something they aren't supposed to. I can no longer leave my salt and pepper shakers on the table because, no matter how many times we have told them not to and disciplined them for it, they go straight for them and empty them all over. I also can't have tissues in the LR/DR. I've had them climb on a chair and tip it numerous times. They have knocked an end table over. I've come back into the room several times to find them standing on a couch arm looking out a window. And I have basically really good kids!

It just seems impossible to leave them for extended periods of time in a room that can never be completely child-proof. After all, we have to live in it, too! The only other option is their bedroom. Because of their history of jumping on the bed and the possibility that they will climb on top of the changing table, I'm just scared to walk out of hearing distance. Since their room is at the far end of the house, that means only going in my bedroom across the hall.

Perhaps I am just being a little overprotective and need to give them more chances. I'm just afraid that what is a black eye from jumping on the bed this time will be a broken neck from jumping off the changing table next. The squabbles are annoying, but I expect them and know that they need to learn from them. It is their safety that really concerns me.