Does anyone else have a child that can’t play by themselves or entertain themselves?

Question

My son is almost 3 and cannot play by himself at all. All day he chases after me asking for something. I have other things I have to do, I have to clean, cook, eat, and care for my 7 month old as well. But if I don’t give 100% of my attention to my oldest 24/7 he cries and whines at my feet all day. I wanted to send him to preschool this year but I can’t because of Covid. How can I teach him to play by himself more often? I do play with him, for hours a day, but I can’t CONSTANTLY entertain him.

Answer

Shift focus of toys onto imaginative play and make sure they are 100% appropriate for your kid or you’ll end up helping them with the toy. 
If they have never been good at independent play you’ll have to start in small increments. “Mommy needs to do X. I need you to play for 5 minutes alone.” Several times a day till you start to increase the time slowly. 
My 2.5 year old can play by himself for a pretty long time but we had to work at it and find him the right toys to stay engaged by himself. 
Try:
Play kitchen
Play baby doll
Sensory bin 
Coloring 
Tool kit/bench 
Pots and pans! 
Puzzles (age appropriate so it can be done alone)

Answer

Does he have a tablet? I bought my son a tablet from Amazon and it is amazing. Lots of educational games, hes learned how to navigate it and it gives me time to do things lol

Answer

Things that I find that help-
1. Starting off small and build in increments. Tell him that you need to go to the bathroom or something and he can get started playing and you’ll join him in a minute or 2, then do a job that takes 3-4 minutes, something that takes you away for 5-6 minutes, etc.
2. Rotate toys rather than having them all out all of the time- toys they haven’t seen for a while have more novelty.
3. I find open-ended toys are much better at holding my son’s attention- building with duplo blocks, playing with his baby doll, etc.
4. When you do play with him encourage him to lead the play to build his independence rather directing him in what to do.

Answer

What the other ladies said about making different activity areas would help. Also I'd suggest putting toys away and rotating toys every couple weeks so he doesn't get too bored with the same stuff all the time.

Answer

Yes but my child is 6 lol 😩

Answer

Give new toys or old toys they don't play with helps alot

Does anyone else have a child that can’t play by themselves or entertain themselves?

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