Even though our playroom is a pretty fun place to play, my kids still like to be right where I am. If I’m in the kitchen, they’re running around me in circles. If I’m on the couch, they’re climbing all over me. You might know what I’m talking about. But as summer is ever approaching, I’m going to try to encourage my kids to play by themselves more often. It might be in the playroom or even at the table next to me.
Here are 3 tips to help promote independent playtime:
1. Start fresh. Try to have the play area clean before each playtime. It tends to be much more inviting if everything is all picked up and put away. Often times if their playroom is a mess with toys out all over like landmines, they won’t even go in as they don’t know where to start, or even walk! We’ve learned to clean up our playroom each time we play, either at the start or after. It makes it clean and inviting, ready for action.
2. Set up the environment. Even if the room is clean and ready to be played in, it can be a hard decision for a child to know where to start. They can be apprehensive to dive in and start playing with something, as it might feel that there are too many choices. To help with this, I will set out a specific set of toys encouraging them to play. I’ll get out the farm playhouse and display all the animals around the farm. This helps my kids get excited about playing.
3. Getting them started. There are times when I need to spend a few minutes playing with my kids. This helps them get started and involved in the activity, then they are usually good to keep going on their own. I tell my daughter I will play princess dinosaurs for a few minutes, but then after, I’ll let her stay and play on her own. This can help them know you’ll be there, helping get them started, and they will hopefully be involved enough to stay and play on their own.
Written by Marie LeBaron
Marie LeBaron is the founder and managing editor of Make and Takes. Always having a love of crafts, she enjoys getting messy with glue and glitter. There’s always some sort of project going on, her kitchen counter is often cluttered with crafts. When she’s not crafting and creating with her kids, she loves to run, read, and blog! Read other posts by Marie
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
great post! my kids are actually quite good at playing by themselves, so when they need a little help, I tend to be a bit impatient. your tips are super helpful and a good remind for me to find a balance.
here’s to a fun summer!! :)
I think you have to set the expectation of play with some kids, let them know they’re on their own for a little while, and set the stage.
I love it. Great for the coming Summer months of *I’m bored!*
Perhaps as a follow up to this post, you can list the rules for “Princess Dinosaurs”?
Thanks for the tips. I’m a little apprehensive about summer…
Great tips! You’ve spelled out three simple rules which are so obvious, yet sometimes I need to have the obvious stated. Thanks for the simple reminder. You sound like a great mom!
Janel – Ha! Princess Dinosaurs involves a lot of high talking and not much stomping around!
some great tips!
So simple, so true. So many frustrated moms could be changed by these 3 things.
When my daughter is clamoring for attention, I give her some time and then get her started on a new activity and quietly slip away.
And yes a clean playroom is an inviting playroom.
Great post! One thing I’ve found helpful is setting up new activities while my daughter is napping. Inevitably I’m in the middle of doing something else when she wakes up, and if there’s something new to capture her attention then, she’ll occupy herself while I finish up whatever I’m doing.
Mozi Esmes Mom – I love this idea for setting up activities while they nap. Then the area is ready for action when they wake up! Thanks for sharing.
I know this post is old! But it’s fresh insight for me. Yes, *I* feel overwhelmed when I go in to do my own projects and my desk is a mess. An orderly presentation of activities is helpful for kids of all ages. Great idea!