finding individual time for my kids. . .

[Aerynne]

is much harder w/ 3. I get time w/ the baby no problem. But when she's asleep, I can't just spend individual time w/ one kid and make the other go away. When dh is home in the evenings, and could theoretically take the other older child, the baby is awake, so no dice. Ds has been asking for weeks to make cakes with me like Sam does with Mama bear in a book we have. I want to- I really do. But haven't been able to make it happen. Recently he has stopped asking. If one of us were to be taken soon, not doing this would be something I would deeply regret. :bheart I have to make it happen. Tomorrow will not work (I'm hosting Easter dinner). Help! How do you get individual time with your kids if you have more than 2 kids? I could arrange for dd to play w/ a friend during the day, but the baby may or may not sleep then. Especially ds would benefit sooooo much from it, the more regular the better.

[swimming with sharks]

At this point (with a tiny baby) the big kids are getting time with me and the baby. Can daddy hold the baby in the evening or are you cluster nursing nonstop? :doh Normally daddy has a big kid and the baby and can do some things with them. Can you sling the baby and make cakes with the biggers? My middle still naps, so I can eek out an hour during nap time (if I can keep my eyes open) or I can read to dd after ds1 is asleep for nap time. I have also taken each of them out on errands with me and the baby. DD actually said to the baby after several hours out with me and him, hi there I haven't seen you all day. :giggle He was asleep in the sling, so it was essentially one on one time. :shrug3 It will get easier as it does as the baby gets bigger. :hugheart :yes

[cbmk4]

it would be hard to do with little kiddos. My kids are very spaced apart in age teenagers to a preschooler. We schedule each kid a date night with a parent once a month. The next month they get a date night with the other parent. (4 kids in our family) The date may be as simple as going for a bike ride together or seeing a movie, getting dinner out or something like that. Sometimes the date is for an hour or so, sometimes it's longer as time allows. My hubby schedules them on the calendar each month.

Agree, it's hard to do, but like you, we felt it was very important. Right now my youngest isn't in school yet, so she automatically gets more time with me alone than the others do.

[Barefoot Bookworm]

Nurse the baby and hand her off to daddy with the other child. :) I'll often leave two with DH and go do something fun with one.

[Liberated4Christ]

I sometimes struggle with this too at times. It is tuff when they are little.. :hug2

We have 5, and I am the primary CG'er.

My youngest just turned 3. She gets allot of my time. She comes and finds me first thing in the morning to snuggle each morning. Then she goes off to play, and my 5 yr old comes to me to play dolls for a little while, OR watch a cartoon.

When she is done, my 6yr old asks me to paint or color with him (some days). He is the most independent one, he does not always come to me, unless he is hungry..:giggle He generally likes me to read him his nightly story before bed though. :heart He insists that no one else is listening to the story, he wants all mommy time during this time. This gets hard some times when the others want to hear too. Sometimes I read the same story 3 different times that night! :phew

Then all 3 littles go off to play, and my tweens come along, and we play a board game with them, or just chit-chat.

I have found that once the kids get older, talking age, they mostly just want to talk to me...:heart