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How to encourage....
a toddler to play by themselves???
Any ideas? My dd is 21 months and we literally don't get 1 minutes peace! She use to be so good at entertaining herself but for the past 3/4 months she just seems to have lost that ability. Im not kidding when i say i don't get 1 minute... when ever i sit down she is pulling on my hand saying "what are we doing mummy" or "where now mummy" If i don't get up she screams at me, hits me etc (she never hits daddy though) Im 39+ weeks pregnant so its really shattering and obviously her baby brother will be here any day and its just not going to be practical for me and daddy to be playing with her 12 hours a day!!
I just don't know how to teach her... she has her own table and chairs, i set activity's up for her like painting, play doh, colouring etc but she doesn't want to do it alone she wants me or daddy to join in too which is fine when we are not busy but sometimes i just want 5 mins to put my feet up and have a cuppa
She has all her other toys which are completely accessible to her but she hardly ever plays with them. Thank goodness she still naps 2 hours in the morning! We always go out everyday too as i find it less exhausting than trying to entertain her at home but again this isn't going to be possible everyday once baby is here.
Any ideas on how to teach her to play by herself occasionally? Please don't get me wrong i don't expect her to play by herself all the time but just a few times a day would be lovely!
Thanks!! x
Any ideas? My dd is 21 months and we literally don't get 1 minutes peace! She use to be so good at entertaining herself but for the past 3/4 months she just seems to have lost that ability. Im not kidding when i say i don't get 1 minute... when ever i sit down she is pulling on my hand saying "what are we doing mummy" or "where now mummy" If i don't get up she screams at me, hits me etc (she never hits daddy though) Im 39+ weeks pregnant so its really shattering and obviously her baby brother will be here any day and its just not going to be practical for me and daddy to be playing with her 12 hours a day!!
I just don't know how to teach her... she has her own table and chairs, i set activity's up for her like painting, play doh, colouring etc but she doesn't want to do it alone she wants me or daddy to join in too which is fine when we are not busy but sometimes i just want 5 mins to put my feet up and have a cuppa
She has all her other toys which are completely accessible to her but she hardly ever plays with them. Thank goodness she still naps 2 hours in the morning! We always go out everyday too as i find it less exhausting than trying to entertain her at home but again this isn't going to be possible everyday once baby is here.Any ideas on how to teach her to play by herself occasionally? Please don't get me wrong i don't expect her to play by herself all the time but just a few times a day would be lovely!
Thanks!! x
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Replies
Playing alone seems to come naturally to some babies, but I think you can encourage it as well. I find with dd that if I start her off playing, she gets involved and I can sneak off for a bit lol!
You could try setting up at her table playing playdoh or something, then sit back a bit and let her play, and gradually retreat to the sofa! She may need to be shown how at first, but if she asks you to do something just show her how to do it, and say here you are, you do it.
We are lucky enough to have a playroom as well, with a little windowseat she likes to play on. I find if I rotate the toys regularly, she gets really involved playing there! And I get a bit of peace! Next time your dd tries to drag you off the sofa, try re-directing her to her toybox or something, ask her to choose a toy for you to play with, then encourage her to play with it.
Hope this helps a bit - good luck xx