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That sounds exhausting!

I stay home and play with DS when I can. But he's happy to be alone in his toy room or play beside me while I feed his sister etc.

Probably like 20-30 mins at a time of playing with him a couple times a day. Other times I just set up things (colouring, play doh etc) and he does it alone while I clean close by or something.

Hopefully you can break her of the habit - surely she can't get attention non stop at school all day?

DD is newly 2 and plays independently pretty well somedays she seems to need my attention more but she is pretty good!

Although we too are on Christmas break and she is a bear some days definitely bored! I have a 9 week old and on maternity leave too!

I know she is stimulated way more at her sitters these days so I am counting down the days until Tuesday....lol

We spend a lot of active time together. Over break, we've all been sick to some degree, but more or less these are our days:

6 am: Wake up and start the day. I have been letting him play his iPad a bit, but that's over and done by 7 am.

7 am: starts asking "what can we do together?" Usually I'll stall a bit and ask him to do some chores with me, like make the beds. That lasts about 15 minutes then he'll start asking to play his Osmo.

8 am: asks for something to eat. Today, he ate breakfast while I made my smoothie. I took a shower, while my husband was programming on the computer and my son was playing with his train tracks right next to him.

9 am: we do a bit of a project together. I've been able to introduce painting on canvas to make it last a bit longer, doing the background, messing up, painting it over, starting again, etc. We're on our second canvas this week.

10 am: convince him to go out for a bit to help me do some errands

11:30 am: lunch, they eat early at school so he's used to it now

12:15pm: starts asking "what can we do together" all over again. I'll either take him to my mom's, sometimes we've eaten lunch there and he's happy to play with some toys there, or he will help my dad on one of his projects.

2:00pm: we'll play outside for a bit, usually he wants to drive his car or run around on the playground.

3:00 snack, and I'll try to get a 10 minute sit down session to calm down

3:15: he'll ask what he can do, he's bored, so we'll go and play something, sometimes, he will ask to do "homework" so I have a bunch of age appropriate workbooks available so he can do a page or two.

4:00: start thinking about dinner, since we're home, we're going to the grocery store a lot, to get "splurge" ingredients to make a nicer dinner.

5:00 start dinner, set the table, he'll do this part.

6:30: start shower/bath. By this point I am at the end of my patience rope, but I get a second wind knowing that in about 45 minutes, I can lie down and watch some Downton Abbey.

7:25: kid is asleep, I can do whatever. Last night I was so tired I fell asleep, but I've been usually staying up to about 9.

My son is my shadow, basically. I am typing this out and my husband and son are in the living room playing music.

I would get out of the house. Everyone needs a change of scenery. The weather might be too cold to stay out for long so we'll go run some errands. The library is also a good option in the winter months.

This must be exhausting! I don't really have any advice. But my niece is like this. She is constantly "bored" when off school if she doesn't have someone to interact with all day long. Her younger sister plays really well independently. I don't think SIL has done anything differently with the two girls, they are just really different. I hope you can find something that works for you.

Exactly what @Mrs. Champagne: said. 20-30 mins once or twice a day. The rest of the time he's playing by himself.

I'm really curious if this is nature or nurture with him. I'll admit that I find playing with kids stuff pretty boring So I've always kind of left him to his own devices, ever since he could sit on his own. I'd put him in an exersaucer or bouncer or on the floor with some toys and walk away. So I really don't know if his independent play is because he's an introvert like me or because of my neglect Obviously I say neglect as a joke. I engage with him all day! But I also try to do my own things (work or personal) throughout the day.

That does sound exhausting, @cherrybee. Christmas break will be over soon!!!

@Cherrybee: awww....some kids just want/need more attention. My sister's kids weren't coddled in any way, but they just weren't the type to play alone. My mom (grandmother to all of them) keeps exclaiming that it's so nice that my oldest will play alone because my sister's kids refused to. Like I can set up some playdough on a table and my M will just play with it by herself, but my sister's kids won't play at all unless she sits and plays too. It sounds like your oldest is the same. They are 16 and 11 now and are totally normal kids--they do not want their mom around at all times any more. So it does change at some point, but there's such a wide variety. She might not want to play independently for a few more years yet.

My sister and her husband bought an enormous play structure for their back yard in attempt to get the kids outside alone to play--but they wouldn't play without their mom. They would just stand at the glass door and bang on it until she came outside with them.

@Cherrybee: my 2.5 year old DD is exactly like what you described. It is exhausting. If I'm not home my DH says she'll play by herself, but if I'm around she needs to constantly be near me. I can't even use the bathroom by myself.

@Cherrybee: I have no advice but my four year old is on break and totally bored too. Her little brother wants to be held all day long and between meals and him and the crampy weather we have had and he colds we've had the poor girl has been cooped up and bored lately, but if we want to have a decently clean house and eat...I just can't spend the day entertaining her. We have a play date or two scheduled this week and next week it's back to school.

My son is that same way and everything is closed now for the holiday so we have been house bound. A couple people mentioned this already but I have him help me with chores for most of the day which is at least a lot less mind-numbing than watching the same show over and over. I also stopped letting him nap so at least he goes to bed earlier. I can't wait for his nanny to get here tomorrow!!

@Cherrybee: it sounds like you are doing an amazing job. I hope this extra clinginess is just a phase and that you can settle into a good routine when she goes back to school.

@Cherrybee: You are a really amazing mom to get into those games with her so much. Its really hard!

@Cherrybee: Just want to commiserate -- my 3-year-old is constantly after me to role play ridiculous stuff (he usually wants me to be Minnie Mouse in some very specific situation, and even dictates what he wants me to say, or react, etc etc) and it's exhausting. If I do it, he just wants MORE and if I don't he is relentless until I give in.

@Cherrybee: i think you sound too fun! Lol
Just kidding, that does sound exhausting, but what you figured out about her favorite style of play is really interesting!

@Cherrybee: ya know what? Your girl sounds energetic and imaginative and yes, exhausting, but will probably grow up to be a creative, enterprenurial little spitfire. Who wants a kid that plays quiet?