How do you interact with your kids?

MrsSpratt

Also, yoga! I play yoga for kids videos on youtube and we all do them together. They love it.

cararq

Hmmm...I also have three kids, but they aren't as close in age as your's. Mine are now 10, 8 and 6. I homeschool them, so I interact with them during the day differently than I do during our afternoons/evenings.

When they were all younger than school age I remember doing little projects with them, and allowing them to do different parts of the project--whatever they could handle at their age. This time of year we spent a lot of time playing in leaves. I think kids at any age love it.

Do you allow them to "help" with chores in your house? My girls have always loved when I ask them to do a little task. And they enjoy the praise when they finish--whether it was done as neatly as I do it or not. Washing the bathroom sink, folding washcloths, etc.

Iwillshyne

If you are able to take them to the park or outside in the yard and run, chase, play, throw, ect with them. This way everyone is interacting with one another; no one is left out.

Try letting them take turns helping you prepare lunch: one gets the bread out, the other passes the jam, the other get the juice boxes ect. This teaches team work and trust me, they are never too young to start learning responsibility!
my Kids love to help; they fight over whose the best helper.

Turn on some fun music and dance around the house with them. Have a talent show with them: the person who can show me their best "silliest" dance will win a prize.

Have a pillow (gentle) fight.
DONT JUDGE US but We have food fights OUTSIDE on the patio of course. Pudding, whip cream, and water fights are sooo much fun! My motto: let kids be kids.

kikio79

Wow, Momma...that is hard. But here are some suggestions. Dance Time - Turn on some music and let them get out all that energy. Craft time should only happen when the two little ones are sleeping or in a highchair/booster seat, so that they cannot get to things they shouldn't. Always do craft time with lots of thinking involved. Have something for the little ones to keep their hands busy while doing a craft with the 3 yr old. Google fun inside activities for toddlers and see what you get. I could list a ton, but don't know what you are looking for.

Ex Daycare/Preschool Teacher

wickedcricket

I have stair-step kids. They're adults now but I remember how challenging it can be - here are a few suggestions. Make crafts with food, like stringing popcorn for decorations at christmas or popcorn balls - these are easy to make & safe for the little ones to taste. (they put everything in their mouths) mix equal parts flour & water, add about a 1/2 cup of corn starch and food dye and you can make edible finger paints - even a baby can play with this and again, won't hurt if they get it in their mouths.
Kids like dress up. Can go to a thrift store & pick up funny outfits, let them dress up - even 'act' if they want to. As mine got older they would write 'plays' and act them out.
If & when they can play outside, take them 'creeking'. Go into the woods, near a creek if you can & just explore. Let THEM explore, learn different types of plants - flip over rocks - things you take for granted will be new & interesting if you look at them through your children's eyes. My kids brought home a praying mantis once, we put it in a terrarium- they're creepy but interesting. They can catch a fly in mid air.
Teach your kids to swim. This is a crucial skill and now is a perfect time for them to learn, before they are too afraid.
I also had 'ettiquette' classes. I taught my children manners, how to eat with silverware - etc. I've often gotten compliments on how well- mannered they are - even now as adults they still are polite to elders and hold doors for females.
Now days they have washable markers for windows - my grandkids LOVE these - they spend hours drawing on my sliding patio door any time of year - I challenge them to 'draw santa claus' or an easter bunny.
Can play 'beauty parlor' let them style you and do your makeup. (NOT with markers tho)
At this age, they are sponges for flash cards. I suggest getting lots of flash cards and use them- ONLY for a few minutes. For a few minutes, they'll be eager to play - if you make it too long, they'll get bored or frustrated so just do it briefly, put them away for another time- soon the kids will be asking for them & eventually play with them on their own.
Go to the library and get a BROWNIE craft book or something like that. These have TONS of simple craft ideas even young children can do.
This is a perfect time of year to start crafts for Christmas- my kids LOVED giving gifts they had made themselves and they still will often give me little cards or something they've made. Crafting promotes concentration, hand/eye coordination AND encourages them to think creatively. Stimulate their brains and you've won the game
More challenging but also rewarding is to teach them another language. Before age 5, kids can learn languages much more easily- now is a perfect time to teach them Spanish, French or Italian. Sign language is universal and the baby can use this to communicate with you before she can talk. To this day, I can scold my children without saying a word LOL
Most of all, have fun and enjoy them- they grow up SO fast, i know you feel overwhelmed at times now but these days are SO brief and you won't believe how deafening the silence can be when they're gone. So take a deep breath, hold them close & kiss their sweet little faces as much as you can.

curvygirl512

Take them to the park. Swings and slides are great fun for any age. Also, water play. My daughter and her friends still love splashing around in the kiddie pool, running through the sprinkler, etc. Ultimately, tire their little adorable bodies out, put them down for a nap, and give yourself a chance to catch your breath. Raising three young kids can't be a walk in the park (pun intended).

bonjour24

my kids are (just) 5 (girl), 3 (boy) and 11 months (girl). my baby walks around after the older 2 and pretty much entertains herself- as long as she's with others, she's happy. i figure she's doing just fine, working out the world for herself!
my 3 and 5 year olds sometimes play well together, and other times rip each others hair out (literally). i try to make sure i get some good quality time in with them. we colour, bake, blow bubbles- that kind of thing. usually until a fight breaks out, then i'll step back!
i also try to make sure i get some 1 on 1 time with the kids. sometimes that means putting a movie on for 1 of them while i get the other to help me bake /cook/ read a story. or sometimes we'll throw on a film (especially when the weather's bad) and eat popcorn and all snuggle up together.
thing with having 3 kids that are so close together is that you just don't have enough knees for them all to sit on!
but our house is consistent chaos, and that will never change. you just get through the best you can, and do the best you can!

pain_is_weakness

sometimes we just have to take turns dong activites that each kid can do. If we just need to sit and read to the 1 yr old, then we explain to the older kids that it is his/her turn for an activity and this is what he/she can do.

If you need to take the older two to the park, pack the litte one in a wagon, stroller, on you, ect with some little toys and just let the older two have at it.

It is rough but in another year or so you will be able to do more things that they can all do.

Trust me I know we have a 13 yr old, 11 yr old, 6 yr old, and a 2 yr old and are in the process of foster-adopting a 1tr old 3 yr old and 4 yr old


yes that means 1,2,3,4, all in line ahhhhg!

pain_is_weakness

Also, it is good to interact with your kids, but the majority of my interacting just means I sit there with them and join in their imaginary world, playing with cars, lay age appropriate toys out for all of them and just sit with them all on the floor and go at it, I spend at least 4 hours a day doing this, another 1-2 hours on walks or at the park, 1 hour cleaning/cooking (i love nap time), and about 2 hours off and on listening to music (big hit here in our house) or watchign spongbob!

I clean the house every night after the family is in bed, prep all lunches and meals for the next day so that everything can be finished in 10-20 minutes

We pack a lot of lunches and eat them outside, front yard, park, ect, keep the mess out of the house and tires them so they nap well when we get home. Dinner is usually already prepped or in the crockpot so it take 10-20 minutes if that. breakfast is cereal during the week.

It is hard, but preschool starts in about a month here for me so i am looking forward to having a little lighter load

also, invest in a kiddie pool for your yard adn some outside toys, we play a lot outside, and in the winter, we just play in the garage if we can but this doesn't always work if it is too cold.

jenny95662

for me i have a 5 yr old and a 1 year old and what i do is sit on the floor and just play with the toys together or run around and play monster or tickle them, we sit and watch movies together (although son will go away after a little lol) i take them to the track when i go walking and then we go to the playground after i walk (while my daughter rides her bike) we color together, whatever i can do to be with them i do. Then on weekends we try to go outside or go places

I usually go to the gym and my daughter is in school or they go play at the gym they love that, then if not i workout at night after they are in bed and clean then too. If i have to clean in the day we put on music and dance together in between me cleaning (they dance the whole time lol) oh and we also sit and play ball or hot potatoe and stuff

brianward81

It ain't easy and I don't do it full time. My wife and I had our second in May and it's difficult trying to entertain both, especially when the little one is cranky. Just do what you can at the time and don't feel bad if occasionally you have to watch a movie to keep them still for a while or leave them to play alone (important for them to know to play solo). You can't expect to keep them all entertained while ensuring you are not exhausting yourself and driving yourself mad.

The thing I love about having kids is I get an excuse to act like a complete idiot, which comes VERY easily, and they laugh and join it which makes me laugh. Win win!

- Put some music on and dance like an idiot. I'm sure the three of them will be interested in a song or two, you just might have to put soul crushing things like The Wiggles on. Though my 2.5yr old daughter likes a boogie to Play That Funky Music, Foo Fighters, Thrice or some other non-kid songs.

- Cooking. While you are making dinner or lunch for them/yourself get them to help you.

- General housework: I incorporate my kids when I can for things like laundry, general tidying up by making it seem fun (oh the lies I am telling them: Come on, laundry is AWESOME!). If you have a sense of urgency and a "I'm gonna beat you! (not literally, I mean "come first") attitude towards the work with them they will, hopefully, try to beat you (literally and not-literally) to make sure they win. It's not a "fun" thing for you but it can be for them while you are trying to do what you have to.

- Draw on the pavers outside with chalk (if you've got any).

- Make a fort!

- Hide toys in the house and make them find them while you sip a latte.

Some of these things I've just come up with but be spontaneous and have no shame with them, it opens so many ways to entertain them. I just have to know when to stop acting like a complete loony-tune when they are old enough to start worrying about my mental health.