I have 3 under 2 and 2 x 3 year olds and I get plently of down time. I run interference mostly "Don't hit, hands to yourself, that is her toy.. etc" but most of the children don't really like me involved too much. They have thier own games and are more than happy to regard me as just the snack lady. The one that does like me involved I try not to be too involved with as he has a tendancy to cling and whine given the slightest indication that I will accept it. If I cuddle him for 5 minutes in the morning the entire day is spent trying to climb on my lap and screaming when I won't let him. If I play with him (cars, dolls, blocks.. whatever) he suddenly can't survive without me playing with him constantly. He'll ignore or hit other children that try to play with him and drag me off somewhere else. I encourage self sufficency in children and think they need to learn from a young age how to self soothe and play independantly. Wow... I just reread that and realized I went slightly off topic. Let's summarize.. I get decent amounts of down time during the day.