Independant vs assisted play?
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Topic: Independant vs assisted play?
Posted By: josephnia
Subject: Independant vs assisted play?
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 10:18am
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Just wondering what opinions there are out there on how much time you think is good for your bubba to play by themselves? I wanted Blake to be able to entertain himself without me having to 'guide' him so from early on have left him for short periods of time to play by himself. He now plays happily for half an hour or more which is great if I have something that needs to be done, I just wonder if that's too long? He normally has 1 - 1 1/2 hours of playtime and I make sure he spends some time sitting, on his back and tummy time. I do read and sing to him, and do other stuff which he enjoys but he just seems to love playing with his toys on his own. Am I making something out of nothing or should I be doing more to help him developmentally? He's very happy and social and great with other people.
How much time do you actively play with your baby? -------------  
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Replies:
Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 10:26am
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I thought I read somewhere that, that is a normal boy trait (it might have been in the how to grow great girls book).
Isabelle likes to involve us in her play .. so she will usually go and get toys and bring them to us .. and while she is quite happy to go off and get the toy she wants to play with, she prefers to interact with us. HOWEVER I think that is because she is a girl .. and girls are more interactive and require more "human attachment time" Im guessing that boys are quite happy to play with things as opposed to people (although I would have to update you on that when Elias arrives lol) ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year  http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: josephnia
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 10:30am
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Interesting about being a boy thing - My DH gets so focused on something (building lego, reading etc) that he loses all awareness of what's around him - including me when I'm talking to him! lol so maybe it's Blake taking after his daddy as well? -------------
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Posted By: MissAngel
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 10:42am
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Thats a boy thing for sure. Thomas is the same. He spends a lot of time playing by himself - mostly because if I didnt leave him to do that, my house would be revolting! He's got lots of toys that he has to think about when he's playing with them. Apparently they do develop faster if you play with them vs them playing alone, but who really has time to do that all day? They're gonna learn heaps in daycare/kindy anyway. ------------- Alex, Thomas and Lily http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 10:53am
| Daniel is like that. We wanted the same thing and he can play by himself for quite long periods of time.. even up to an hour. I'm always around and make sure we still do stuff together but it's awesome because I'm feeling like sh*t at the moment and it's great knowing that he can happily play by himself for periods of time and is still quite happy plus it's nice quiet time for them really. |
Posted By: lisa85
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 11:17am
My girls play fantatstically on their own! But I think that may be because they're twins so they always have each other. Its a real bonus for me thats for sure  -------------  
TTC #3 since Jan 2010 - PCOS MC April 2010 |
Posted By: tishy
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 12:03pm
Ditto!  
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lisa85 wrote:Posted By: busyissy
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 12:51pm
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Aren't the differences between boys and girls interesting? They say even as newborns girls enjoy looking at faces more than boys and that boys are more interested in patterns. It comes down to individual personalities as well tho.
It sounds like you are doing really well with Blake and at 8 months half an hour is a very good attention span. Im like you and try to do some directed play and some independant play, both are very important. For the directed play I let Dominic determine what we are going to do and I also let him direct the majority of the activity, he is older than Blake though. Occassionally I set up the activity - painting, going to the park, bubbles etc. I think you sound like you have a nice balance and Blake will probably let you know if he wants more of your attention anyway. |
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 2:45pm
| jake was always wanting interaction - even now he won't often play by himself, but LOVES to have lots of adults playing with him - at the moment the game is cricket - he can still whack that ball with one arm. taine on the other hand loves to potter by himself - he will spend ages reading in his room, or playing with his trains. Each type of kid has the upside and disadvantages - btw, they have both been like that since babies. |
Posted By: ElfsMum
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 4:54pm
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i havent noticed that girls are more interactive than boys at the under 2 age..definitely over that it becomes very obvious so i think it's more the personality type? E will do both..some days he wants me to play all the time ..other days like to day when he got some new toys for his birthday he was happy to play for ages.. ------------- Mum to two amazing boys! |
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 8:09pm
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I think it's good for all kids to learn to play happily by themselves, as well as having some time with mum/dad (preferably both of course!). IMO doing lego with mum/dad is just as developmentally good for them as learning to play by themselves as well. -------------  |
Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 8:44pm
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Caden plays happily on his own most of the time aswell, he does get bored and will get grumpy so I will get on the floor and talk to him and show him things on his toys, but he is mostly happy to just do his own thing. Im always there chatting to him and stuff he will smile and laugh at me.
I think if he is happy playing alone then dont worry  , a bit of alone time and a bit of time with mum and dad is fine I think.------------- |
Posted By: Rachael21
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 8:46pm
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Jack has always been like that too and was fantastic when I was pregnant with Caprece and so tired. He still loves to play on his own now.
Caprece on the other hand always needs stimulation and hates it when theres nothing going on. I think thats more to do with her being a second child and things always happening around her. I think as long as they're happy its fine what they are doing whether it assisted or independant, they will let you know if they aren't happy. |
Posted By: Snappy
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 10:55pm
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Im not sure whether its gender or personality type?
Janaya was, and still is, needing my constant attention. Jackson on the other hand is quite happy to play on his own, or go and find his sister
Its great that Blake is happy playing on his own. ------------- Mummy to two beauties... Formerly Kaiz. |
Posted By: scribe
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 11:04pm
| I think it's great that he's happy to play by himself for that length of time; I'm jealous, Clara always wants me involved and it makes it hard to get any housework done. |
Posted By: Daizy
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 9:31am
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Maddi is definately one that is quite happy to play on her own. I always put it down to her being the youngest and is just so used to not being able to get all my attention all the time. Her sister also helps keep her entertained which is a bonus.
Keira always had to have me play with her and still does. I cam sometimes set up something with her and get her started and she can keep going on her own for 10-20 minutes. ------------- 
 
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Posted By: pomikiwi
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 9:45am
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DD has always enjoyed playing by herself. We came back from the beach on Monday and she played in her room for an hour and a half. we'd only been away for 5 days but she missed her books and toys, hehe!'
I could always leave her as a baby and she was happy to entertain herself. I think it's good for them to have that play alone. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
DD-Carys Amelia 17.03.06 |
Posted By: Siananigan
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 3:56pm
| Sometimes I worry that I leave the wee man to play by himself for too long. Good to know boys are more inclined this way. |