How long do you let LO play by themlselves?

RitaT22 · December 2010

My LO can play by himself for up to 30 minutes before he starts to fuss. Is this okay? And when I mean by himself he's in the same room as us but on his play mat or exersaucer while I'm cleaning or DH is cooking. He'll do this maybe twice a day, but usually just once. All other times are about 15 minutes or so. Just curious to see what other's babies do.

kg_08 · December 2010

At this point I would kill for 30 minutes of happy alone time for DD. She's still in the room with me and I'm usually talking to her, but if she's content by herself I use that time to do chores .

BLONDRAVYN124 · December 2010

My LO is just about the same as yours. I think 30mins is about the max, & he rarely reaches that point before he starts fussing. And the same with about twice a day he'll play long enough for me to do some chores or just sit & relax while watching him.I love when he just babbles and babbles it's so funny. Smile

DS has also discovered his feet & toes which adds to his own entertainment, and this past week DS has been able to sit up on his own(i do have the boppy around him though just in case he topples over)

angelame1979 · December 2010

It depends on the day. Sometimes she will go 30 minutes at a time a few times a day. We also will be in the same room either cooking, cleaning, browing the computer, watching TV whatever. We also will go over to her every few minutes to say hi to her and talk to her while we are doing whatever we are doing. We let her play until she fusses or sometimes we will take her out before she starts fussing to hold her or walk around or do whatever. You are fine...I don't think there is anything wrong with that as long as you are talking to the LO and in the same room so they can see you or see what's going on. If I am by myself I will run to the bathroom but leave the door open and talk to her but only if she is in the swing or excersaucer and the bathroom is right around the corner.

bethanylang · December 2010

30 minutes is pretty good IMO for independent play at this age. Usually if LO gets bored, I'll talk to her or give her a new toy, mirror, music, etc. and it will entertain her for a little longer.

SparkleK · December 2010

We're about the same here. As we approach bed time, her play time gets less and less.

RunningWife · December 2010

I can usually get about 10 minutes, on average. Sometimes a few minutes less, rarely a few minutes more.

He's not super needy (doesn't need to be held constantly, etc..) but he's curious and likes to be entertained.

Tassie06 · December 2010

DS is pretty content in his exersaucer, thats where is right now. he looks over at me every couple min and smiles then gets distracted by a toy and plays on his own. i would say he could be in there for about 20-30min at a time. we just finnished playing on the mat for half an hour, he got board (fussy) playing with me so i put him in his exersaucer and he's doing great now. sometimes he wants to play with me, sometimes he doens't. im glad we have this option

juliane2004 · December 2010

That's a great amount of independent play time for right now. It's also a great skill for them to have, to play by themselves. Well done Mama!

Hallicatgirl74 · December 2010

We let our LO play by herself as long as she's happy. I think we're the exception, because at least once a day she plays by herself for at least 45mins - an hour... which is generally with her on her spot on our living room floor with lots of toys around her, or in her jumper. She LOVES her jumper and will spend 1+ hours in it at a time if we let her. All she looks for it the occasional eye contact and conversation, then goes back to entertaining herself.

ktrn · December 2010

DS doesnot play long by himself at all (I wish he did). Maybe 10-20 mins. As others say it gets less and less as teh day goes on and he gets more fussy

azsheena · December 2010

ktrn:
DS doesnot play long by himself at all (I wish he did). Maybe 10-20 mins. As others say it gets less and less as the day goes on and he gets more fussy

This. I can get about 15 minutes on the playmat sometimes, but he likes me to be right there with him. We have worked up to about 30 minutes in the swing once a day, which has been great for getting things done. He will also sit for 15-20 minutes in his bouncer or high chair while I do dishes, if I turn and talk to him every 5 minutes or so.

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