How to encourage solo play?
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We have one child and they are not big on solo/independent play. Any way we can encourage this more? Mostly just that we need a break sometimes or have chores to do (and yes she can help with these but sometimes it’s so much easier/faster without the help lol).
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So brutal. Busy Toddler has an array of activities, although a lot of them require set up. I find that mine are always happiest with water. Spray bottles to spray the ground or the windows, freeze toys in ice cube trays and let them crack it open, put them in the bath with glow sticks or a popsicle and a tonies box to tell them a story. Magnatiles is another great one. Can stick them to the garage door or a cookie sheet.
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MAGNA TILES. This did it for us. @mamacitarita nailed it with that. Make sure you get a lot or else the kids will just fight over them.
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I find that having bins in rotation helps. Then I put them away where they are out of site/mind for a while and interesting to come back to. For example, one bin might have dinosaurs and some accessories. Another bin might be magnatiles, next one is legos. I think it’s less overwhelming for them to figure out what to play and prevents them from going to the same stuff and getting bored. Oh and my kids love water too….4 year old will sit in empty tub for 45 minutes playing scrubbies with a bit of water in the little scrubby tub. No mess bc it’s isolated in the bath.
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This may seem overly simple, but the biggest thing that helps solo play, is insisting that they need to play on their own. Meaning, don’t fall into the urge to solve it for them when they say they’re bored or sad. You can use phrases like, I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Boredom is the thing that happens right before creativity, usually.
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@Yellow-Wolf we do a lot of prepping for the next 30 minutes - 1 hour. For example, I am going to play with you for the next 15 minutes, but then Mommy has some work to do so you will have to play on your own for 45 minutes. After the 45 minutes we can go do something together. Expectations are set up front and I also recommend getting a visual timer so they can see how much time is left vs. asking you.
