Regular "Quiet Times"

[mamamanda]

I have a question. I nurse my 5 month old baby & he has become very distracted by every noise/activity in the last few weeks. I realize this is only a phase & it will pass, but it concerns me when I can't get him to eat during the day. I have a 2 year old & 3 3 year olds. Do you think it would be asking too much of them to have"quiet time" for 15 minutes a couple times a day? I was thinking like playdoh, story book on cd, coloring, or the like with a rule that we use our whisper voices and stay in our seats during this time? My son is a fast nurser & is done in under 10 minutes, but he just won't eat when he hears them laughing & sees them moving around. I feel torn b/c with anyone else's baby I would just say group care isn't a good fit right now, but I obviously have to meet my child's needs as well as the group's. Anyone else dealt with this?

[Thriftylady]

You could try it for a couple of days. I think as long as you are giving them something to do it might work out. Even something like stringing beads I would try to really mix up the activities each time or they may get bored.

[Leigh]

I have a question. I nurse my 5 month old baby & he has become very distracted by every noise/activity in the last few weeks. I realize this is only a phase & it will pass, but it concerns me when I can't get him to eat during the day. I have a 2 year old & 3 3 year olds. Do you think it would be asking too much of them to have"quiet time" for 15 minutes a couple times a day? I was thinking like playdoh, story book on cd, coloring, or the like with a rule that we use our whisper voices and stay in our seats during this time? My son is a fast nurser & is done in under 10 minutes, but he just won't eat when he hears them laughing & sees them moving around. I feel torn b/c with anyone else's baby I would just say group care isn't a good fit right now, but I obviously have to meet my child's needs as well as the group's. Anyone else dealt with this?

I see nothing wrong with kids having to play quietly for 15 minutes at a time several times a day. As long as you are able to properly supervise them, it should be no problem.

[Controlled Chaos]

When I was nursing I did that. Mainly for safety and convenience as it was easier to sit with them while they did playdoh or coloring than worrying about someone throwing a block at someone else on the other side of the playroom while I was settled in. I actually do something similar when feeding dck infant. I take that time to read them a book or sit with them doing a quieter activity. It is easier to manage everyone that way for me.

[Kabob]

It's like having a bottle fed baby that is easily distracted...just give the other kiddos an activity to work on while feeding. This is also to make sure no one is acting up and within reach when feeding...

It's tough but everyone will adjust. My own dd never nurses while the kiddos are awake...too much excitement. She is old enough now where it is no big deal but when she was a couple months old it meant she made up for missed meals at night...so glad we're past that!

[daycare]

when we are having a crazy day I put on sen music and everyone is required to sit and breathe deep. I have kids from 17months to 6 years old who do this for a good 15-20 minutes...really however long it takes them to chill out.

we just whisper and do lots of stretching during this time, hand and arm movements, breathing deep and learning to relax. we lay down and close our eyes and dream, all while being quiet....

we have does this for years and it works like a charm....we do it at least two times a week.

we do it mostly on monday's after the crazy weekend and on Fridays at the end of the week. the middle of the week the kids seem to be ok.

we have done it as many as 4 times in one day to bring the level down.

the kids love it...

[Josiegirl]

I see nothing wrong with it at all! Our normal day consists of rise and falls of activity levels. As long as you're there with them, sure!
You can put on some soft music to keep it all quieter, talk softly with them. It seems like every time I have an infant in the house(it has been awhile though) I always stress a quieter environment to the dcks. It seems to work and I avoid some of the chaos that can come during a regular day.