Independant vs assisted play?

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?

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?

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.

lisa85 wrote: 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

Ditto!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.