If your little one is happily playing alone...

[ss_storm]

Do you leave them to it? DD is quite happy squirming around on the floor with her toys most of the time and I usually let her go but just keep an eye on her. I do sit down on the floor with her and spend a bit of time playing with her and her toys or tickling/round & round the garden etc. I do feel guilty though that I don't spend enough time playing with her. We do other things together, like hanging out the washing, taking the dog for a walk and I walk around the house a fair bit carrying her so we do have a fair amount of close contact.
I just feel guilty about the playing thing I guess it will be easier as she gets older and we can play more games/imaginative play, but for now I just wonder if I give her enough time.

[Marlene]

It sounds like you do lots of stuff with her and she has plenty of stimulation. Playing on their own is a wonderful skill to learn. I would definitely let her have some time entertaining herself, and as a bonus you get to have a nice hot cuppa.

[Frangipani]

My DS1 has always been happy to play by himself. Of course there still times when he won't let go of me or let me out of his sight. And we still do alot of activities together, reading, tickling, throwing a ball etc, but if he is happy to play by himself i'll let him be. It comes in handy now having a newborn too.

[Miss E]

I think it's great if they can play by themselves. It shows that they feel safe and secure in their environment, are confident and self assured. By the sounds of things you spend a lot of time with her and are a fab mum darl, so try not to worry, she's doing fabulously and so are you

[BrightSparkles]

I was the same. It sounds like though your spending lots of time with her anyway so i'd let her play

[feeb]

DS1 has always been good at playing on his own for periods of time which is great as allowed me to do 1 small task at a time. Eg dishes, stacking or unstacking dishwasher, shower, washing etc. Even now at 21 months he is good, I have friends whos kids need played with all the time and can do nothing, yes DS1 has days like this but few and far between.

DS2 I can put on the floor alone and he loves it while I do something with DS1 like change him or bath him etc.

As long as you do interact with them at regular intevals during the day thats fine.

[Mrs Jak]

Enjoy while you can

My DD was the same and it was delightful, but DS has always wanted someone with him and at 13 months will rarely 'entertain' himself. He makes up for it though, by being very cuddly and adorable most of the time

Sounds like you are doing a great job xoxo

[ss_storm]

Thanks ladies, makes me feel a bit better about leaving her to her own devices...although I wasn't too sure about it yesterday..she decided to pull all her books out of the bookshelf and leave them in a big circle around her

[black_rose]

Dd1 is the same she happily plays on her own, inside or out unless she is feeling unwell

[wysiwyg]

Thanks for starting this topic, I had been meaning to post similar about if you can play too much and is there an amount of playing on own required too.

My DD will play happily on her own too, but I also spend quite a lot of time playing with her (often because is an excuse to not do other boring stuff e.g. housework, and also because I feel guilty if don't). However she is almost 11 months and isn't crawling and only yesterday started having any desire to move forwards (about 2 inches commando style) - my mum made a comment about maybe she is over supervised e.g. because I play with her a lot maybe she hasn't got the desire to get about?

I assume that there is a balance required between interaction and them discovering things for themselves but not really sure what that balance should be?

I think she is probably not moving because she is more of a nosey parker and vocaliser and quite laid back but my mum's comments did make me wonder - should I really just force myself to do some housework and leave her to it more often.

[Fleur]

I leave Pie to play alone when she's happy to (well I stay nearby but YKWIM). I think it's good for them to be able to play alone, you know?

wysiwyg, I doubt that CJ's crawling has much to do with playtime. I really think it's down to the individual bub. If anything playtime on the floor with you will help him develop those skills. Pie loves to climb on me

And SS, lol at the books - Pie has discovered she can crawl to all kinds of shelves & pull everything out. Then she leaves it & moves along to the next shelf but I let her go, cause it keeps her off the stairs....

[Bridg]

Logan loves playing by himself, and when he wants some attention, he comes over to me. I do go and play with him, but half the time he pushes me out of the way, so he can get to something. He does have his days where all he wants is to be cuddled, so those days, I just cuddle him.