6mo and his boredom levels

[MackMum]

My almost 6mo DS seems to be able to spend less and less time playing on his own in one situation before he starts grizzling for a change of scene.

When he was around 3mo he could easily last about 15mins. Now it seems like 5 or 10 - and he seems to demand a large variety of activities - we have an excersaucer, jolly jumper, gimini, babyseat, highchair, plus a rug on the floor for tummy time or kicking on his back. Then there's me - stories while sitting in my lap, sitting practice on my lap, cuddles, and face to face chats etc. Trouble is he very quickly gets bored with me and with the plain mat and toys on the floor (even the gimini too) - but that's all we have when we go out anywhere. So within 30mins out anywhere he's bored and frustrated with me and the rug but he's not been up long enough to be tired so he's all fussy  .

If I'm busy and can't get to him straight away his fussing usually escalates to shouting and then crying. Is this normal? Tracy seemed to think they should be able to play on their own for ages by now. I haven't always gone running when he fusses so I don't know it it's AP at all? He's not rolling yet and can sit but with some support. How can I increase his ability to play on his own - and with simpler toys!?

[mommyOFtwins]

Hi, My girls (twins) will be 5 mos tomorrow and i find their attention span is up to 30mins but i really haven;t tried to see if they'll be happy doing the same activity for longer than that (i tend to rotate them among activities e.g. exerisaucer; bouncer chair; floor; and me, oh and crib.)

Anyways, as i'm by myself at times w/two little ones and need to get stuff done, i've found the following worked for me and maybe it will work for you:

  if they are fussing, sometimes it's too much stimulation, so i give them quiet time on the floor on their tummys (no background noise etc...) 

  fussing or starting to scream for my girls means they are tired, so i place them in their crib and put soft music to help calm them down.  I usually put a teether in there so they can occupy themselves or i turn on the mobile.

  The simple toys i found that was useful are toys they can put in their mouth and chew on...it seems they can do that forever. Teethers, cloth rattle teethers, blocks made out of material etc...  I also put it on the floor out of reach all around them, so they tend to practice reaching and rolling.

  I know some people aren't big on T.V, but i also use the TV to entertain them....baby einstein videos (my girls pay so much attention to it) or an educational channel.

I'm also talking loud enough so my girls can hear me if i'm not in their view...so they can hear my voice. Sometimes i just pop down to their level and check in.

I'm not sure how my girls increased their ability to play on their own but we didn't have much....3 material blocks, teething toys, bouncer, and an exersaucer.

Good luck.

[KathrynK]

hiya
is Ben sitting yet? when Sophie was practising sitting unaided I bought a nursing pillow (the famous multi- purpose magic pillow, lol) and would put it round her whilst she sat on the floor, it held her securely and helped her practise balancing. She was then happier for longer playing on her own as she had a whole new perspective on things to look at! Also just like the pp she didn't want complicated things to play with, just some stacking cups, some small blocks to hold and, bizarrely, some clothes pegs were and still are her favourite things!

[jumblebox]

Our DS has been getting this way, as well. And, considering I'm home alone with him for 10 hrs a day, 5 days a week, days can get incredibly monotonous and frustrating.

I think part of the problem, at least for our DS, is that he wants to be more social... and he's stuck with me ALL DAY. (No family nearby, and no friends with kids.)   So I've been trying to add more outings to our schedule. Our grocery store (as well as walmart, etc) tends to have a lot of moms w/kids and elderly couples, during the work day, so that's usually pretty social for him... and plenty of new stuff to see, as well. Our library has 'baby bookworms', a 0-24 mo old story/activity time (sadly, just once a month). He also likes the kid's area of our library, because it has high ceilings with nice lights and neat wall hangings, and comfy kid-sized chairs. I haven't checked into it yet, but our library also has boxes of toys that can be checked out for 3 wks ('new' toys to play with, without the $$). I've been trying to find a mom's group, but haven't found a good 'fit', yet.

I think his memory's improving, as well, so maybe that's why he's been getting more easily bored with the same toys & activities. Today, I kept him occupied for 20+ minutes in his highchair (after solids), by dumping Cheerios on his tray (probably too young, but :shrug:), later giving him a big wooden spoon, and then giving him a red plastic baby bowl. I was able to get dishes done!  Then he was occupied for 30+ minutes on his playmat, scooting from one side to the other trying to get hold of my shoes. All I had to do was change sides, put my foot on the mat, and encourage him.

I'm not afraid to admit that I use TV (PBS only). I sit him in a spare stroller, give him a few toys and turn on Mr Rogers or Big Big World, even a cooking or travel show (something where they talk directly to the camera). He'll watch for a couple minutes, play with a toy, glance up, play, drop toy on floor, etc. Sometimes, especially when he's teething, I'll stick some fresh or frozen fruit in a mesh feeder and he'll stay occupied in the stroller until the food's gone.

Obviously, I'm not the poster child for good mothering.  And I'm definitely open to more activity suggestions! He takes 5 minutes to down a bottle, so that leaves me with 6.5-7 hrs of A time to fill!

[emilyr]

My six month old is having the same trouble as yours, MackMum.  He used to be able to entertain himself for quite a while, but now for no more than 10 minutes.  Even when I'm playing with him he won't last longer than that lately.  He's happy when we are outside or at the store or somewhere new, but at home he's a grump.  At first I thought it was teething, because he has been getting teeth, but it has been going on for quite a while.  Anyone with a similar experience or solution?