How much time... - do you spend with your kids?
Farelle wrote: I'm just curious how much time you other Mom's (and Dad's) spend playing / entertaining your kids during the day? I always wonder if I spend too much or too little time....?? And what's your favorite thing to do?? My kids seem to get bored with things so quickly.... 
Mommy2Isabella replied: Isabella and I spend ALL DAY together. We do the ABC game, where we sing the ABC song and other abc activitys we play with blocks and other toys for most of the day as she is only 9 months and some change.
Sal and Isabella spend most of the evening together alone. He does dinner with her, and they like to roll around on the floor and laugh. They mostly just play, her and I do a lot more skill stuff. 
HuskerMom replied: Keith and I spend all day together. Dan plays with him in the evenings. The two days a week he works in the evenings he plays with him during the day. Since I'm a SAHM I can play with him anytime, Dan makes it a point to spend time with him everyday since he works.
Miranda1127 replied: All day everyday  dh and i came to an arrangement that we both feel allows for the best possible outcome for our children. he works and i am a stay at home mom (no not a house wife/homemaker a SAHM). i care for the dc's (food, clean, boo boos etc) we have play time, edu time, we also manage to make time in the day for outdoor trips or the Library (in bad weather). now i do pick up after the kids but my day is not spent concerning over household upkeep (those are my nights  ) Dh and i split the household duties later at night (no usually not 50/50 but split them). so to answer your question all day!!
Jamison'smama replied: Not as much time as I'd like. I do stay home most days but those days are filled with laundry, cooking, cleaning, errands, putting one down for a nap, organizing, planning, researching activities.....the list goes on and on....that and I work a few hours a week.
I spend a good couple of hours of dedicated time with them and then sporatic time throuout the day when we are home. I love to take them places because it forces me to spend time with only them...no house distractions.
edited to add what we like to do..
We garden together, we do a lot of outside water play, lots of imaginative play..dress up, shopping, cooking class, school etc. We play games, Bingo, candyland, Go Diego Go. We read at least 30 minutes per child per day. We go to storytime at the library, we go to the zoo every couple of weeks but mostly it is just just playing around the house. I try to do a "table toy of the day" I bring out a toy that is usually put away and they become more interested in it that way.
Cece00 replied: Well, I'm with my kids all day. I work 1 day a week out of the house & DH is home with them that day. Aside from cooking, cleaning, errands, etc etc etc, I spend pretty much all of my free time with my kiddos.
luvmykids replied: Being a SAHM I'm with them all the time but because I do some work from home it's not all play/kid time. I'd say on average we spend the majority of our hours together, sometimes in solid chunks of time, sometimes bits and pieces, and do everything from cleaning and cooking to playing outside.
Their favorite right now is riding bikes, we also go to the library a lot, play games (Candyland, Hi Ho Cherry O) do lots of arts and crafts (painting is big, so is cutting and gluing and using glitter lol), reading.
My3LilMonkeys replied: Well I work FT so by the time I pick them up from grandma's house and we get home, I spend from about 6pm - bedtime with them. Most of that time is playing, baths, books, etc., though they do amuse themselves while I make dinner and they watch usually 1/2 hour of cartoons - sometimes more if the TV is on while I'm cooking. I try to structure most of my household chores to be done once they're in bed or during their TV time.
On weekends we spend all day most days together. We usually have to go shopping and run errands, but we generally go as a family.
Boo&BugsMom replied: Not as much as I'd like. Even though I am home, now that we have Aiden I don't get as much one on one with Tanner as I'd like. I feel bad, but he is getting better about understanding that babies take lots of attention. His two daycare friends come back next week so he will have them to play with which will make it better for him. However, with running a daycare in my home, it's a lot more difficult to spend quality time with the kids when I am busy with other people's children too. I'm hoping it will get a lot better once my daycare is closed in the fall.
boyohboyohboy replied: you know as a SAHM i used to stress myself out about how much time and what kind of quality time I spent with each child, and was each child getting enough alone time, and although those are still concerns of mine, its not a way of thinking for me anymore. I have a house and a husband to look after too, and try to find time for myself too. I used to play the marter and put everyone before me..kids dont need large amounts of time..
for instance to get jake to eat we started a positive reward system, so if he eats one thing then he gets playdo at the meal, and then when caleb is done he gets to play too, and then we are all playing with the plastic dishes after our meal, and as my husband and i are cleaning up the kids are doing so with their dishes too. its just little things like that...
or else i let caleb sit in the tub and play with toys while i wash jake...or let caleb help wash jake...its time together and you can tell he feels like we are doing more then back when i was stressed trying to add hours and hours of kid time.
when ever there is moment for a hug or kiss, or a short story...its easier...
kids are really easy to make them feel loved...
lisar replied: I work till 5pm every day. So when I pick them up we go home and I cook dinner. And then I feed them and me and Raygen will play together and then I give her a bath and put her to bed. She goes to bed between 6:30 an 7:00. And well lastnight after I out Raygen to be it was Lexi's turn so we cranked up the 4-wheelers and rode around. To her thats quality time. She loves for me to follow her around on them.
Hillbilly Housewife replied: Well I run a daycare from my home, so we do a LOT of different activities during the day. My primary job is not to cook, do laundry, clean etc.... I clean the messes we make during the day.... but that's about it.
I have a timer system... I take a small time out every hour for 10 minutes...and while the timer is going... unless there is blood, don't bother me. :-p The rest of the time we're singing, rhymng, reading, or me just supervising, like for instance the kids are coloring at the dining room table, I will sit and color as well, and encourage the kids, compliment their pictures, hand out new crayons, etc... so while it's not relaly actively engaged... it's still time spent with them.
I take off after dinner though... since dh spends so little time with the kids - he's the one that does bath and bedtime routines with them. It's easier on him when I'm not there, because the kids request me. 
I'm with the kids most of the time... but I sneak out too sometimes... right now they're playing with these little foam shapes... and I snuck to my laptop for a bit while they're entertaining themselves. I'll likely be online until they start stirring.
moped replied: As much time as I possibly can.
I don't usually see him int he morning because he is sleeping when I leave, but I race home for 5 and get dinner and he helps, we play and bath etc....then bedtime. Weekends I spend every waking second with him!!!!!
So, not as much as I would like but I gotta work!
Crystalina replied: Is too much time a bad answer? I only get breaks from them when I can get a computer break. I do all sorts of things with Evan during the day and as soon as Izabella gets home she's asking about what we are going to do. They wear me out. In the past week we have done almost no "learning" type activity although they get online and don't even know they are learning. It's summer so it's fun time.
I say 'Is too much time a bad answer?' because even when I just want to sit and chill they are looking for something else to do. They have to be occupied all the time. They play well with each other (at times) so that gives me a break.
tammyhopkins replied: I actually do not spend near as much time with Josh as i should. I work full time and he goes to daycare i pick him up at 5 and he goes to bed at 8. Weekends are catch up time. so if i could have my way i would spend more but that just isn't possible if i want him to go to college.
Farelle replied: Wow, Thanks everyone!!
I too spend all day long with my kids. I guess I jsut feel sometimes that the things that need to get done often take up more time than I would like them to, like meal time, getting dressed, etc. I LOVE the days when there is no whining or crying or being fresh and we can get through the day and just have fun with each other! But lately it seems like those days have been limited
MyBabeMaddie replied: I spend as much time as possible with her but its hard because a lot of the times I'm sitting on the floor studying while shes crawling around playing with her toys - I feel like I don't spend enough time doing the fundamentals with her, but I really don't know
lovemy2 replied: Not as much as I would like to with Olivia Monday through Thursday (the days I work) because I get home at like 5:30 and at this point Dylan still needs alot of attention - feeding playing changing, etc. but I get Olivia involved as much as possible in that, then there is dinner and baths and bedtime, etc. but Friday, Saturday and Sunday - I spend as much free time as possible with her...we play usually the whole time Dylan is napping and then we all play together when he is awake - I try to limit my errands, housework, etc. on the weekends and work it in during the week so I can devote as much time as possible with them
DH well he seems to have alot of free time to play, etc...he does alot of the child care stuff too but not very much of the housework, etc.....it would be nice if he took more responsbility for the "running of the house" but the time he spends with the kids is more precious so I try not to lose it over his lack of ability to clean 
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