Does your 3 year old let you do a 20
Minute exercise DVD While he/she Independently plays, or are you left wanting to carve off your own face 1 hour and 50 pauses later?
Does your 3 year old let you do a 20
Minute exercise DVD While he/she Independently plays, or are you left wanting to carve off your own face 1 hour and 50 pauses later?
37 votes
grapefruit / 4321 posts
I've never tried this specifically but my 3 year old definitely plays independently for 20 minutes. If anything, she would just want to copy what I was doing and I would ask her to do it next to me (not in my way of the tv, etc) and she would.
persimmon / 1188 posts
I have been able to get it done but it's not ideal. If I get down on the ground, like for push ups, he tries to climb on my back and ride me like a horse. But there have been times he'll do the moves along with me a little bit. It's distracting but it's better than not trying to work out!
pear / 1961 posts
When my DD1 was 3, I probably could've told her to go play quietly in her room or the playroom while I did some exercise. She did 1.5h of "quiet time" in her room everyday for almost a year before we fully transitioned from napping to nothing, so I could've likely used that time.
She also would've gladly watched a 30m show on the ipad or my phone
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
She will play for 20 minutes by herself but not necessarily when I want her to or if I'm doing something. If I'm being super boring she is more likely to.
But lately everything with her makes me want to carve off my face. It's been a long week.
pineapple / 12793 posts
She'd probably be up my butt if I did it in front of her, but she'll play in the playroom by herself for a couple hours so if I send her downstairs I can do whatever.
grapefruit / 4988 posts
My DD will do things for 20 min independently, but I don't think she'd specifically let me do a 20 min DVD workout unless I let her play with my phone for the entire time. Otherwise, she'd try to join in and probably make it 5-10 min before getting annoyed and asking me to change it to Daniel Tiger or something. I actually just try to get my workouts in early in the morning before she wakes up specifically so I don't have to deal with this situation.
clementine / 778 posts
DS could independtly play all day if I let him. So yes, I could get a excersise video in if I wanted.
eggplant / 11287 posts
When I did the 21 day fix this summer, I did a video every single day with all 3 girls home with me. I strapped the baby in the high chair with some puffs (or put her down for a nap), and my (then) newly-turned 4 year old and my (then) 2.5 year old sat on the couch and watched me and cheered me on. For 30 minutes. Every day.
Now that they are older (4.5, almost 3, 13 months) I know it would be a bit different. The baby would *have* to be down for a nap (she is into everything!) and the older two would likely not sit and watch me, they'd probably be in another room doing their own thing. They keep each other very occupied.
My almost 3 year old would be content to play alone all day and never speak to a single person.
pomelo / 5258 posts
My LO pretty much turns into a zombie when the TV is on. I could do pretty much whatever I want for 6-8 hours. But...
LO doesn't do well when we shut the TV off so we only use it rarely and only at the end of the day because the fit is a day ruiner. That would conflict with making dinner.
The only other place I could work out is the garage. I can't monitor from the garage so I can't picture trusting her for 30 minutes even in couch potato state.
And my 16 month old.
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
I have done 20 minute workout videos with LO and she tries to do them along with me. It's a little frustrating at times because she is all up in my grill but with some patience I can complete it. (I have, like, twice. Ha.)
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
The 4&3 year old will copy me or play nearby. My 1 year old needs to be asleep.
cantaloupe / 6131 posts
We put the 2 year old in his babyproofed and baby gated room for 45 minutes at a time for independent play regularly so we can get things done around the house and foster the ability to entertain himself. We can watch him on the monitor and I'm always within earshot. So theoretically I could do a DVD.
pomegranate / 3392 posts
I voted no, but I bet if I set him up with an iPad he'd let me exercise for 20 minutes! But I feel like that doesn't count as independent play, right?
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@gingerbebe: that's interesting, it never occurred to me to do that, I have to be honest though...I made my life a lot more difficult than needed.
pomelo / 5573 posts
B would if we put the tv on for him, assuming his mood was right. He might want to join in, though - my husband tries to do a 7 minute workout occasionally and B always wants to do it with him. Watching him do jumping jacks and crunches is adorable.
hostess / cantaloupe / 6486 posts
Sometimes I get left completely alone which is what I prefer. (That's why I'm working out at home and not at a gym!) but most of the time she tries to join and comes in to check what I'm doing. There are some days where she has to go potty 10 times, needs juice, water and 80 different snacks and it's maddening but for the most part it isn't too bad. My 18 month old, on the other hand, is nearly impossible to complete those things with. I do it while she is asleep or not at all.
pineapple / 12053 posts
My 3.5 yo will try to do it with me (and fail) and my 11 month old would need to be asleep because she crawls on my head and pulls my hair.
nectarine / 2085 posts
My son was not keen to play independently and quietly on cue at age 3, so although I had been a devotee of exercise DVDs prior to him, I basically gave them up once he became mobile. I found other ways to exercise that included him--we went on walks (not with a stroller--I carried him for a bit if he got tired, which is really good upper body/back/core exercise, plus the walks tired him out), went swimming, went to the playground, etc. And all was well. If I'd left him alone in a room against his will, he would have screamed for the entire time.
BUT I come with a message of hope! He's 6 now and although he was quite clingy as a toddler/early preschooler, he's not anymore. I have plenty of free time during the day, not because he's in school, but because he has his own things to do and wants to do them. The situation has been changing steadily since he was about 4, although it was in shorter increments back then. Anyhow, give it time and gently suggest a book or something else low-key when you feel like the stars are aligned and eventually your LO will get there.
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