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Letting baby play by herself...

rianalsrianals member
in Attachment Parenting

So, here I am, sitting at the computer, while DD is crawling around the downstairs.  She is happy and isn't getting into any trouble...well, except the dog food every now and then.  She plays with toys for a couple minutes, pets the dog (who is laying at my feet), opens a kitchen cabinet and pulls out all of the tupperware, comes and checks in with me, and then bangs on the exersize ball.  She has just been busy doing stuff for the last half hour.  It's been really nice and quiet...but now I'm feeling a little guilty and worried that I should be paying a little more attention to her, instead of just being in the same room...

How much time does your LO play independently?  When do you decide to jump in?

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Re: Letting baby play by herself...

  • Lady GaladrielLady Galadriel member

    I will ask DD if she wants mommy to give loves to her baby, play blocks, read a book, etc.. If she ignores me thats ok. Everyone needs some time alone to do what they want.

    That said, it tends to last 10 to 20 minutes up to 30 on average. Once in a while she chooses to go visit grandma, in the next room, or grandpa who is down the hall for a few minutes also. She is always blocked from anything dangerous and can get to people who know she is roaming free. 

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  • mrs.baummrs.baum
    DS plays independently most of the time. I'm still interacting with him by talking to him or asking him questions, but usually he's playing and I'm doing housework/cooking/etc. I do set aside time during the day to play with him, especially for "purposeful play." That's usually a planned activity where we go over stuff like colors/counting/letters/etc.
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  • Brooke81Brooke81 member
    DS does this a lot too. He gets bored of it eventually and wants to be picked up. Sometimes it is just for a second and then he goes back to playing. I really let him do his thing as long as he isn't getting into anything he shouldn't and is happy. When he needs attention I give it to him but he seems to really enjoy his independent play. A book I am reading on toddler discipline recommends letting LO do their own thing (as long as it is safe) to teach and give them autonomy which is very important.
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  • sparky88sparky88

    If my child is busy exploring, creating, or learning independently I try not to interrupt.  I want her to develop a good attention span and the ablity to initiate her own activities.  I trust that she can come up with things to do.  That said, she plays independently for about 2 hours per day (spread out in 20-30 minute bursts- supervised-- and it varies if she's teething/sick/etc).  We do lots of things together, as well.  This has really worked well for us. 

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  • babydragonsisterbabydragonsister
    LO just started playing independently about a month ago (when he learned to sit up).  His attention span while entertaining himself took a huge leap at that time.  Now I let him play independently for about 10-20 min at a time several times per day.  I check in on him every few minutes and if he looks up and grins at me or tries to "talk" to me, I'll go over and comment on what he's doing and give him a kiss.  If he's engrossed in his play, I don't interrupt.  The fact that he's old enough to be happy playing independently seems just wild to me!
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  • WyoGalWyoGal

    Recently, M spends a good bit of his day playing independently.  We've babyproofed most everything so he has run of a good bit of the apt.  It's also small so I can hear him nearly everywhere. 

    Some days I feel guilty about it . . . and then I remember the first 10.5 months when he wouldn't let me put him down or leave him for 5 seconds or nap or not comfort nurse forever and then I figure it's me time that's long overdue.

    Ditto PP about building attention spans, not interrupting etc.  Though I find Janet Lansbury to be crazycakes sometimes, I think she makes some good points about this.  M has one toy with batteries but otherwise he's really good at entertaining himself with pretty basic stuff which I think is a good lifelong skill to encourage. 

     

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