How do you handle getting dinner ready?

[juliajaj]

I'd love to find out your tips/suggestions for getting dinner on the table and at the same time entertaining a toddler.

I work from 7:15-4:30, and then pick up Olivia (19-month old) from daycare (usually getting home at around 5). She's pretty good at playing in the familyroom while I'm preparing dinner in the kitchen (the kitchen & familyroom open up to each other, so I can see her at all times). I get nervous when she starts exploring the different rooms when I'm not close by, so I usually stop what I'm doing & try to get her to come back into the familyroom. This usually works, but I have the same problem 10 minutes later. A couple of times I've had to put her in her highchair with some books & a small snack so I could get dinner ready. I feel guilty for doing this because I know she's rather be exploring or playing. DH typically works until 5, but there are nights that he works later. Sometimes he'll run an errand or 2 on his way home.

Yesterday I asked if he could start getting home by 5:30, so this would give me time to finish getting dinner ready so we could eat by 6. Or, if he knows he won't be home by 5:30, to please call me by 5 so I can hold off on preparing dinner. At 1st I think he felt like I was angry with him, which part of me was (he didn't get home until 6:10 last night, called me at 5:40). He said maybe I need to start preparing less involved meals. Honestly, I'm not preparing anything fancy, but even small things like making a salad, heating up bread, boiling noodles, heating sauce, chopping, setting the table etc. take time (I'd say an average of 1/2 hour from start to finish). I told him it's very important to me that we sit down to dinner as a family & not have sandwiches each night. All of us need a balanced diet, and both of us were brought up that you ate dinner together as a family. He's not discounting the importance of this, I just don't think he realizes everything involved in getting dinner on the table each night.

I try to plan my menu a week ahead of time so there aren't any last minute trips to the grocery store. We're going to buy a deepfreeze, so I can do more cooking/freezing in batches, so this will cut down on dinner prep time. Also, I have a crockpot, so I need to get back in the swing of using it. Friday's aren't a big issue because I usually work 1/2 day & I can get most of dinner prepared ahead of time while Olivia naps. The weekends aren't an issues since we usually go out to eat on Saturday or have leftovers & Sunday we usually have pizza. My challenge is mainly Monday - Thursday.

Sorry if I rambled. Hope to hear some great suggestions.

Julie

[Hallie_D]

Hi Julie,
I have the same problem as you because I also work all day. DH and I commute together, so usually one of us is available to entertain Elijah while the other cooks, but since we just moved it seems like I am making dinner every night and DH is fixing/installing/painting something, which means I have to entertain Elijah while cooking.

I have found a few things that really work. The first is that the only two drawers/cabinets which are not childproofed in the kitchen contain tupperware/lids and other plastic bowls. Elijah loves to open the drawer/cabinet and take everything out, stack things, put things away, take them out again, etc. This will easily entertain him for 10 minutes.

When he is bored with that, I usually seat him on the floor with a heavy bowl and a big wooden spoon, and he "helps" me cook dinner by stirring the air in the bowl. If he needs more, I'll give him measuring cups as well. This is another ten minutes on a good day.

We also keep an assortment of books and balls in the kitchen/dining/livingroom area, so he can play or read nearby. But I have also used the book/snack in the high chair trick--whatever works!

Of course, my tricks work for me because I don't mind keeping "dirty" tupperware in the drawer and then washing what I need right before I use it. Otherwise, it would create quite a bit of extra dishwashing every night!

HTH,

[Karenn]

Getting dinner ready is often the most challenging part of my day! My mom always made it look so easy! I'm looking forward to hearing other ideas too! Here's a couple of things that work for me:

*If he hasn't watched any other videos that day, I'm not at all opposed to putting one in while I cook. It keeps him busy and he's had the whole rest of the day to play.

*Often I bring his favorite toys or books into the kitchen. He's more likely to stay in one place and stay busy if I sort of set up a special play space for him with his favorite toys. If he just has access to his toys in the usual set up, he's a little more distractable.

*I'm finding that it's easier to cook meals that I can stick in the oven rather than meals that require a lot of stove top prep. While the chicken or whatever is in the oven, I can make the bread and veggies and it seems to take less time over all. If I have to attend to something on the stove I have more trouble pulling it all together.

[mamahill]

This probably won't help since Ainsleigh is kind of weird this way, but Ainsleigh "cooks" with me. Granted, she's older than Olivia, but she has been hanging out in the kitchen with me for about a year now. Sometimes I do have to put her in her high chair, but for the most part, she brings toys into the kitchen and I just step around them. That, or she'll stand on a small stool and watch every move I make. I took some teaching to have her learn she could stand on the stool at the counter but not at the stove/oven. Now, though, when dinner-making rolls around I say, "I'm going to go cook now, do you want to cook?" Sometimes she'll stay in the family room and play, but most of the time she says, "See-see cook!" (she can't say her own name yet)

Ainsleigh has a drawer where I put old wooden spoons, whisks, funnels, etc. Sometimes I give her a bowl and she pretends to cook as well. Or, you might try putting Olivia in the high chair with paper and crayon. This way, she's still exploring, just other ways. If you can get dinner ready faster this way, then she can get down and go back to exploring faster.

Good luck - it's a 3-ring circus sometimes, but it can be fun!

[August Mom]

Let her watch/help! :) DS (also 19 months) loves to do this. He'll stand on a chair next to me and I'll give him a cooking demonstration. I identify each ingredient that I'm using, what I'm doing with it, etc. It's like a cooking show for DS. I'll also let him help me stir or pick up an item and put it into another container.

I also agree that oven meals are easier with a toddler than stovetop ones. Crockpot meals are the easiest.

If the cooking show doesn't work for some reason (or I'm making a stovetop meal that requires my attention) then the Wiggles sometimes help me out. :)

One other thought that may help is to do the prep work the night before.

HTH

[lukkykatt]

Alot of times, my boys play together, which makes things easier...

But sometimes I set my younger son up with a coloring book and crayons while I am cooking - he loves that. Or I let him play with the tupperware.

[american_mama]

My daughter is 24 months, and she has lately started to really act up when I am cooking in dinner. She is a little jealous of the fact that I am otherwise occupied, and my husband is almost never home at that hour to provide other entertainment.

I don't have great solutions, but just some ideas of what used to work. Frankly, nothing is working right now! As others have said, I sometimes let her watch a video. I sometimes pour a little water into a toy dish she has and let her wash it or pour it. It always ends up on the floor or her, but if I use only a tiny bit of water, it's not a huge problem. Also, my daughter likes her high chair, and I have no problem putting her in it with crayons and papers for her to color. I also don't mind her wandering, although we live in a small, one floor apartment, so it's very easy to keep track of her even when she's not in sight.

If your child can't safely stand in a chair or stool by themselves, you can still let them watch the action by forming a sort of human gate around the chair or stool. Just raise one of your legs and rest it on the chair or stool to keep it from scooting backwards. If it's a chair with a back, position the back to the side, your leg at your child's back, your body on the other side, and the counter in front. Now your child can't fall, although you can't move much either.