Does anyone set rules for themselves regarding computer time and LO's awake time? My little girl is 10 weeks and becoming more and more aware of things around her. Lately I've felt guilty for not being totally engaged with her while she is awake. It's easy to just grab my phone and check email/facebook/etc, but I don't want that to take away from precious time with her.
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I partly used to feel bad for spending time on my laptop but then on the otherhand I wanted her to not be too dependent on me since I knew I would be going back to work soon. So sometimes I would sit next to her and place her in her boppy and give her Freddie the firefly toy and watch her face light up and she can play with that forever. I also let her watch her projection mobile for a little while. That way she gets used to be not always being there.
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I waited until she was napping or asleep when she was younger. Now that DD is 2 and doesn't nap so much during the day I might have to check my phone. I wait until she is playing independently.
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Everything in balance, in my opinion.
I believe that even as an infant, baby can have some independent time.
I set mine up and sort of give him a 'job' (like, "here baby you can practice hitting your hanging toys now, and I'll be right over here"). And he will let me know when he's had enough time on his own. At that point, I drop my internet time and we do something together, or maybe I set him up with another independent activity beside me.
When they get older I might let them know that Mommy is having a break now. I used to do that with the kids I babysat, as they were quite demanding all day long and once they out-grew nap time I would have burnt out if I didn't insist on a break for me. I would pour a cup of tea and go on the internet on my phone. I would say that my break would be over when my tea is over.
You will know in your heart if you are taking the right amount of break times for both you and your LO. Too many would be bad, and never taking time to yourself would be bad too, imo.
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I also think it's important for babies to learn how to play independently and not need to be entertained all of the time. In fact, my LO is on his playmat right now as I type and he is perfectly content!
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It gets a lot more difficult when you have a mobile child that wants to explore and do what you are doing.
In a nutshell, my view is we don't use our cell phones or watch TV when we are eating, so we didn't use our devices while our son was eating, and still don't now at 19 months.
I can't check my phone without him wanting to watch videos of himself, so I keep it put away when he's awake, which is most of the time now. I use the computer only during naps or when he's down for the night. I too believe in independent play, but I usually do chores at those times.
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