LO1 is two and used to play alone fine until a few months ago. I love playing with her but I can't play with her 11 straight hours a day! Maybe that's just me being a bad parent, I don't know. So as of recently LO only plays alone maybe 30 minutes combined in a day, otherwise she's playing with or sitting by me.
How much time do you spend sitting on the floor playing with your LO? Or how much time do they spend playing independently or with a sibling?
pomegranate / 3863 posts
I'm so bad at this and am totally guilty of sitting near him playing on my phone while he runs his train around the track or plays with his cars. I just don't have a great imagination or attention span. He's happy to play on his own for a little while but definitely prefers us to be right there with him.
He just got into puzzles which is something we've been doing together a lot and I love reading to him but other than that I'm not very good at playing. I don't know how I'd handle being home with him all day but I agree with you that you can't play with them nonstop for 11 hours straight!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I for sure don't play with my son for 11 hours a day! I think there is value in learning to entertain yourself, so we do have times through out the day whene we're in the same room, but doing different things. At 4 years of age, my son is just now beginning to play alone when I am not in the room. It's a work in progress.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
It totally depends on the day and her mood. I try to really encourage independant play (ie time for me to either get stuff done or relax!). Like @petunia354: she will often sit and play by herself near me, but if I go and try to do something like clean the kitchen or whatever, she will start following me around. So I sit quietly and let her play.
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
anywhere from 30-90 min a day. She seems to want to do a lot of independent stuff--she wants us nearby, but if we touch her puzzles of blocks, SHE WILL CUT US.
papaya / 10343 posts
... most of it? haha. If she's awake and not eating and not in her bouncer (she gets 20 min in it 2, maybe 3 times per day), I'm sitting on the floor with her. Although she is getting more into independent play now so if she is content playing by herself I don't bug her. But I do still sit on the floor with her because I feel badly sitting on the couch while she plays. I dunno why (I'm crazy?).
eggplant / 11716 posts
Never right now. =( I'm such a bad mom when I'm pregnant and sick. We went from a no screentime house to a screentime-the-second-we-get-home house because I lay down on the couch as soon as LO and I get home from work.
I halfheartedly sort of play with her from the couch, or on her clingy days--every day lately--she just sits on top of me on the couch and we read books or watch Sprout.
UGH. bad mom.
hostess / watermelon / 14932 posts
Same as @petunia354: - O really likes playing near me or alone but not always WITH me, lol. I'm hoping this works to my advantage with baby sister. I feel guilty a lot of times but she's so happy playing pretend in her own world she couldn't care less.
cantaloupe / 6171 posts
I'm like @Mae:, I'm basically on the floor whenever lo isn't in daycare (she's there part-day, part-week). sometimes I'm just sitting there while she's playing, but if I get up to go into the kitchen for a sec or whatever, she's off following me now that she's crawling
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
For the most part, whenever they ask or if I have something specific to do with them (read a book, do a craft, etc). The girls are mostly happy to just play with each other and don't need me. I hope that means I've done a good job making sure they can play independently of me. I don't think that equals bad mom! 
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
E usually plays by herself pretty well (and might prefer it) otherwise she wants us to play catch or she takes our order and then makes it in her kitchen. She actually prefers to play with DH to me, she usually asks him.
cantaloupe / 6692 posts
3 hours plus? That's being in the floor actively playing toys with him or doing some play/exercise moves to help him gain some core strength. Various other times playing with him as we just go through our daily routine. if he's happy playing alone with his toys or rolling around I let him do it as long as possible. He'll start whining when he gets lonely and then we play together.
pomegranate / 3863 posts
@LuLu Mom: Ha, yeah, if you asked my DH the same question his answer would be very different. He is totally the preferred play partner!
coconut / 8279 posts
Depends on the day.
During the work week I pretty much spend all of my hours that I'm home after work with J. Making dinner together, reading, playing cards, bath, etc.
During the weekend, he definitely gets a lot of independent play time. This weekend I had to finish putting together his room and taking down all the holiday stuff (our first weekend home since the holidays!). He was pretty good but I feel guilty today that we didn't get as much time together.
pear / 1657 posts
Since I WOH and only see DS for a few hours a day during the week, I play with him as much as possible. That probably amounts to about an hour on week days and several hours on the weekends. One of my new year's resolutions is to put my phone away when I am with DS, so I can be more present and engaged.
pomelo / 5220 posts
@CakeLady: Ditto on the putting iphone down... Its so hard when they are bopping around in the jumperoo to sit there and stay engaged and not end up scrolling through instagram.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
@petunia354: Agreed, every couple days I hear DH under his breathe go "why don't you ever ask your mom?" She always chooses to want to play with him during a "big game" that he's watching and she does not take no for an answer! She's a woman who knows what she wants 
pomelo / 5220 posts
Usually about 1/2 hour to an hour in the morning before daycare and then about 1/2 an hour before we start bedtime routine. Sigh. Working sucks sometimes....
hostess / cantaloupe / 6486 posts
@Mae: this. At 16 months I still only sit on the couch to fold laundry. I'm nearing the 3rd trimester so if I HAVE to sit on the couch, she usually ends up there with me.
pomelo / 5678 posts
Pretty much the entire day. Sometimes I am just near her while I am cooking or cleaning, but even then she is "helping" me.
hostess / cantaloupe / 6486 posts
I'm not sure. It's a lot though. She's always in the same room as I am and we are usually talking or playing or she's "helping" me. She does do tthings independently but we are almost always in the same room
grapefruit / 4923 posts
when LO is at home (we both WOHM), he specifically asks to play with us about 30% of the time. otherwise he's amusing himself, but we do have to be with him 95% of the time to make sure he isn't destroying anything or hurting himself. he's 2.
eggplant / 11287 posts
a lot. I spend most of my day on the floor with them. I kind wish I had a nanny cam because it would be pretty funny to look back on my day and see how many hours I spent on the floor.
obviously I have moments where I need to just sit and put on a show for them, or if I have to cook/clean/etc. but I make a an effort to spend most of my time interacting with them. (reading books, building blocks, in the tent with them, playing soccer in the yard, etc.)
ETA: Usually first thing in the morning they watch shows while I cook breakfast, check e-mails, etc. I am the kind of person who needs to "wake up" before I have the energy to play.
cantaloupe / 6692 posts
@Mae: Haha yes this. Even if I'm not playing along or on my phone even, I'm usually sitting next to him. He can sit great now but even lately he's still fallen straight backwards at times and hit his head. So I don't feel comfortable leaving him sitting alone.
pomegranate / 3706 posts
I used to spend a lot. Lately, not as much as I should. I really get bored...is that bad to say? I love my kids and love being with them, but also let them watch shows and play on their own often.
pomegranate / 3375 posts
LO is usually up 9-12 hours per day. Some of that is eating and errands, and we play with her the rest of the time. Lately though, she just crawls around trying to escape through our baby gates and room blockers. It's a real party.
bananas / 9118 posts
@blackbird: LOL, yes, this! I'm only allowed to assist him when requested- he is quite independent.
I really should do more, but it depends on the day with work and other activities.
coconut / 8483 posts
I sit on he floor a lot. But he's just started crawling and pulling up all the time... So he doesn't want to play he just crawls away and stands somewhere. He literally hates all toys now.
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