You're cooking dinner and they're underfoot and crying...

Discussion in 'The Toddler Years(1-3)' started by Minette, Feb 8, 2007.

  1. Minette

    Minette Well-Known Member

    ...what do you do?

    I feel guilty just ignoring them, because I know they are hungry and tired. But if I try to soothe them right that minute, they will never get any food, which is actually what they need. So I try to talk soothingly to them while stepping over them and evading their grasping little hands.

    I guess I'm just looking for moral support!
     
  2. Minette

    Minette Well-Known Member

    ...what do you do?

    I feel guilty just ignoring them, because I know they are hungry and tired. But if I try to soothe them right that minute, they will never get any food, which is actually what they need. So I try to talk soothingly to them while stepping over them and evading their grasping little hands.

    I guess I'm just looking for moral support!
     
  3. *Lori*

    *Lori* Well-Known Member

    Mine watch Curious George while i prepare dinner. I also hold off on their second milk of the day till I am preparing dinner. I give it to them when it gets annoying. Also i chop up some veggies and give those out when they are begging. even with all this i get it at least 5 times a week. Also if my boys want to be whiny they are allowed to do that on their bed only. They are in toddler beds so they are free to join us whenever they are done whining. Mine are older so i am not sure if that would work for u. And one more thing i see yours are 15 months. That was a very trying timeand i basically wasnt allowed to step foot in the kitchen without being screamed at. i hated it. I was prego and it would make me cry by the end of the day.
     
  4. KatrinaS

    KatrinaS Well-Known Member

    That's usually when I bring out the bowls, spoons, measuring cups and colanders for them to play with. HTH
     
  5. twinzmom2b

    twinzmom2b Well-Known Member

    It doesn't even have to be meal time in our house and they drive me nuts in the kitchen. I can be putting dishes away, putting food in the crockpot, etc...I don't know what it is but they are under me and crying for attention. It does get old.

    What I've been doing recently is giving them a spatula or wooden mixing spoon to play with. They even have one drawer which has my pot lids and trivets in it that thye are allowed to get into. So, that has been occupying them here recently. I feel your pain on this one.
     
  6. Sue1968

    Sue1968 Well-Known Member

    I do a lot of the cooking during their afternoon nap and store it in the fridge. Then, at dinnertime I just zap it in the microwave for a few seconds and dinner is served. I'll do as much as possible during their nap such as cooking meat, steaming rice (reheats nicely), or even boiling spaghetti (mix in sauce after draining and it won't get sticky in the fridge). I'll even pre-chop veggies and then steam them right before dinner (I don't like to cook those ahead of time).
     
  7. mbcrox

    mbcrox Well-Known Member

    Hi - my twins are about the same age as yours! I know exactly what you mean! I usually put them up in their chairs and give them an "appetizer" (cut up veggies, or something they can eat themselves) They usually keep each other entertained too. Good Luck - Mary
     
  8. Nancy H-J

    Nancy H-J Well-Known Member

    I set them up in their high chairs with papers, stickers and crayons. That works if they don't eat the crayons and don't need help with the stickers. [​IMG]
     
  9. twoin2005

    twoin2005 Well-Known Member

    It is hard, isn't it?!!! Nothing that we do is foolproof, but over time it has gotten better. They are slowly getting into the routine of letting me cook!

    Here are some things that we do:

    1) Put on a movie.
    2) Pull our play kitchen into the real kitchen so that they can cook along with me (we have a small one, so this is an easy task).
    3) I give them spoons and pots to play with.
    4) I cook during naptime (like Sue suggested) and then reheat during the evening.
    5) Let them watch (we have step stools for the kids and they stand near the counter, away from the oven, and watch).
     
  10. kma13

    kma13 Well-Known Member

    I work outside the house full time so they cooking during naps is not an option! This is what sometimes works for me...

    Kitchen tools to 'cook' with on the floor...

    A tall stool to sit on and watch and spice jars to shake while they 'help'...

    Signing time!

    Snack!

    But sometimes they both end up crying while I cook and then I need a glass of wine at dinner [​IMG]
     
  11. Angelasbabes

    Angelasbabes Well-Known Member

    Is it possible to start dinner sooner? Or give them a snack a little later to time them over to dinner time?

    Those might help more than finding them something to do.

    Although, I can tell you I've got some good kitchen drummers! [​IMG]
     
  12. greatexpectations

    greatexpectations Well-Known Member

    I bought fridge magnets thinking they would help, and frankly, at this age, they do not. But, they love playing with them! What happens, though, is that scatter all over the floor and then I slip/trip on them, making matters worse. My girls haven't figured out how to put them back on the fridge. I can't wait for that day.

    I also have a cabinet that they can use that has some "kitchen" uts in it, and all they do is dump them on the floor, again in my way.

    So, I just try and work around them or when really feeling the pinch, I gate them in their playroom, which is right next to the kitchen. Sure, it's FILLED to the brim with toys, but they hate being in there unless I'm in there, too. Argh. We aren't resorting to movies, yet, but it's an idea down the road.

    I do the milk idea and the high chair idea, when possible, but our kitchen isn't very big so not enough room for both high chairs and me to cook. The dining room doesnt' give me a way to see them while they eat so that's out of the question, too.

    I'm not much help, but definitely empathizing ...
     
  13. Minette

    Minette Well-Known Member

    It's good to know I'm not alone. [​IMG]

    I work full-time too, so I can't cook at naptime (though I do try to make big batches of stuff on weekends) or feed them earlier. Fortunately I am not cooking dinner for DH and me while they are underfoot -- DH and I eat later. But it's always kind of nuts because we get home from work/daycare at 5:45 and they want to eat ASAP. I do as much as I can the night before.

    Last night I resorted to giving them their sippies before I put them in the high chairs. I don't want them to get in the habit of wandering around with cups of milk, but it definitely shut them up! [​IMG] I guess I could put them in the high chairs with the milk, but then they expect food too....

    greatexpectations, if you are looking for a fridge toy, we got one for Christmas that the girls love -- it's made by LeapFrog and is called something like "Learning Farm." The magnets are really easy to grasp and they love to move them all over the fridge (as well as use them in the actual toy). The only problem is that if they are playing at the fridge while I'm cooking... well, 2 problems actually: 1) they get annoyed when I open the fridge; 2) when I open the fridge, they are close enough to get in there almost immediately and start taking all the condiments out of the door.

    Aren't toddlers fun? [​IMG]
     
  14. cabonnell

    cabonnell Well-Known Member

    Mine do the same thing, and I can recall doing similar things to my mom, and like my mom, I just keep on cooking. Like you said, you gotta get it done so just keep moving and try to be sympathetic to them while you're doing it.
     
  15. mnellson

    mnellson Well-Known Member

    My girls are just turned three and , unfortuantely, STILL drive me crazy while I'm trying to cook dinner.

    Here are a few more suggestions to add to your list:
    - Give them a special/ favorite toy to play with ONLY during the time that you're cooking dinner.

    - Sometimes I make a meal for DH and I one night and give them their share the next night. I just heat it up quickly and prepare dinner for the adults while they are eating.

    - For the fridge magnets, you can sit them in their high chairs or on the floor and they can stick the magnets on cookie sheets.

    - Play some fun music in the kitchen and encourage them to dance.

    - Put a few balls on the floor for them to roll aroung (but watch out that you dont' trip!)

    Geeze, I wish I could think of some more things!

    Good luck!
     
  16. p31heather

    p31heather Well-Known Member

    I totally know how you feel. i get the same thing at my house. I started doing something my friend recommended -- blanket time. I set up a blanket in the living room and give them 2-3 toys each and 2-3 books each and they have to sit there until the timer goes off. I started training them at 10 months for this. we started with 3 min on the timer then gradually worked our way up. Now they can sit there for 15 min or more. If they get off the blanket before the timer beeps/dings, then they get a consequence (usually a quick flick to the leg and I say no, stay on the blanket). Sometimes they fuss, but I will peek in there and they are usually playing too so I ignore them and quickly make whatever it is.

    I started doing this b/c it makes me really nervous to have hot food on the stove and them right under me. I actually accidentally poured boiling water on Alexis head once this summer b/c I didnt make her get on the blanket. Whenever possible, I do include them in kitchen food prep activities, even if it's playing with water and "scrubbing" potatoes (more like splashing), or "measuring" flour (more like eating). I also have them "set the table" which means they put everything by the correct chair just not "Perfect" since they can't really see the top of the table. I also give pieces of raw veggies for them to eat to sorta tide them over until dinner.

    I also do some cooking in the crock pot and advanced prep during naps. Sometimes I just pull something out of the freezer. Or we will have something easy like a bake potato for dinner since that can be done on timed bake in the oven.
     
  17. Lisa Cady

    Lisa Cady Well-Known Member

    I tried a lot of different things with my girls because I had the same problem. Magnets, special toys, wooden spoons...all the great suggestions listed above. I finally figured out that they just wanted to see what I was doing. I bought this wooden stool called the learning tower. It is just a stool that is enclosed so they can't fall off of it. And it also has and adjustable bottom so I can lower it as they grow. The stool was a little expensive, but in the long run it has come in REALLY handy so I guess it was worth the money. Once we got the stool, I still usually gave them some safe kitchen utensils to play with. But they loved the fact that they could just see what I was doing. And I would usually give the play by play on what I was doing, so they felt like they were apart of what was going on. We also used it for making sugar cookies this past Christmas and it worked out perfect. So if all else fails, maybe they are just interested in what is going on "up there".

    Hope you find something that works. I know how frusterating it can be!
     
  18. KYsweetheart

    KYsweetheart Well-Known Member

    That happens to me, just about every night that I cook dinner. I went on strike this past week, and we went out for the majority of the time.... grabbed a burger or something, LOL

    I told DH in order to expect dinner every night, he was going to have to start helping out, LOL
     
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