Author Topic: Encouraging indepenant play?  (Read 2834 times)

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Offline carmkaylasmom

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Encouraging indepenant play?
« on: March 09, 2006, 09:34:36 am »
Was wondering at what age I should be thinking about this. Our lo is 4 months.

Offline mena

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Re: Encouraging indepenant play?
« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2006, 10:56:50 am »
Hi,
I dont know if the moderators here will agree with me or not, but for me independent play includes just letting my LO play on his own with a rattle or toy for a couple of mins while I'm doing other stuff (having lunch, for example). I know it's independent because he just stops looking at me and suddenly the rattle becomes more interesting and fun for him... And my baby is 3 months old. Of course it doesn't last for hours, but he does play on his own for a couple of mins many times during the day.
HTH
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Offline maggieruth

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Re: Encouraging indepenant play?
« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2006, 18:23:20 pm »
i agree, independent play can just be a few minutes of exploring something (you know what they say about worrying when the los are quiet!) which sometimes might involve you introducing a toy so that your lo knows what to do with it!
also don't be surprised if different days bring different ability for independent play, it doesn't always continue to get easier and easier as you might expect, a cold or cough might make your lo extra clingy and separation anxiety can sometimes make a child who can independently play pretty dependent again but it IS a great skill to build on and will help with things like waking through the night etc.
HTH!
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Offline Queen Mother

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Re: Encouraging indepenant play?
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2006, 04:38:54 am »
We encouraged our LO to play on his own at about that age, and it really paid off!  He's 10 months now, and usually (with the exception of illness or crankiness due to missed naps, etc.) he will play on his own for about 30-40 minutes with some toys on the floor, which gives me plenty of time to do some things around the house. 

Offline carmkaylasmom

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Re: Encouraging indepenant play?
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2006, 07:35:50 am »
How did you encourage him?

Nikki~Nathanamp;Danielle

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Re: Encouraging indepenant play?
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2006, 08:00:37 am »
Just start having your lo play on the floor for a few minutes at a time with some toys, under a baby gym or whatever. Don't feel that she has to be completely isolated from you. She is still very young and doesn't have object permanence, so it doesn't necessarily mean that she's playing independently at this time, just probably hasn't noticed that you've left the room. I think personality has a lot to do with it, my dd was happy by herself from the start whereas my ds tended to need me more in sight. I guess I like to include her in what's going on in the house though, so if I'm going to be down in the bedrooms sorting washing into drawers I'd rather have her down there and chatting together while I do that and pop in and out of the rooms. I don't think you need to "make" your lo play independently - it will come naturally as she gets older. Even when separation anxiety does kick in around 9mths, the quickest way to get around it is to respect what your lo is saying, don't push independence, respond and reassure and she will learn to be secure just because she knows that her needs are being met during a difficult stage in her life. When she gains confidence in herself she'll then go off and do her thing again and know that you are there as needed. Phases come and go, just go with what your lo is comfortable with. I think some people fear they'll end up with a clingy or spoilt baby, but really all you have to do is follow your lo's lead. Don't feel that you need to be down playing with your lo every minute of the day - just her being involved in daily life is mostly what children need.