Do you actively play with your toddler?

Question

My toddler is 15 almost 16 months. Just curious where everyone is at with play time. I try to get on the floor a few times a day and play one on one with him (cars, building stuff, etc) and he loves that special mommy time. But for the most part I let him run around freely while I cook or sit on the couch/do laundry/clean. He is really good playing independently but sometimes I feel guilty. Are these feelings normal?

Answer

My 19 month old is great at independent play. I’ve got a 4 month old and a house to keep running smoothly, meals to make, naptimes etc.. I make time to do activities and play with her but it’s perfectly ok for them to have independent play as well- as long as they are being supervised and are safe 💕

Answer

I actively play with my 9 month old and don’t have any plans of stopping. Direct interaction is so important and there are SO many things to do! He plays by himself when I have stuff to do, but I genuinely enjoy the time we spend together building stuff up to knock over or watching the fish or playing hide and seek or whatever :)

Answer

I tend to not play with him so much because I don’t really like it and I want him to be able to play independently. I will sometimes parallel play with him, with duplos or blocks. My husband plays with him directly. We just have two different schools of thought on it. I think it’s fine. If he didn’t know how to play on his own I would be worried.

Answer

I play with my 13 month old a lot and so does my husband. Interaction is really important at this stage. Independent play is important too, but really should start being the “main” type of play past 18 months. I probably wouldn’t play with her as much if I didn’t have a child development background though.

Answer

Both are important. I try not to just sit on the couch on my phone or staring at a TV though. I don’t want to model that for him. I do play as much as I can with him when not cleaning or cooking. I work full time and only have him evenings and weekends. If I get bored of playing, we usually do a baking activity or I find another chore he can “help” with. There’s a balance and I personally think those that choose not to play ever are doing a bit of harm, especially when there aren’t siblings or other children for the child to interact with.

Answer

I feel the exact same way!!! I try to play with her as much as possible, however, I do like to let her roam around on her own and be little miss independent....which she is🤣 
I try to read to her for a little bit at least once a day and make meals times more intimate where we "talk" and sing. 
I totally get that guitly feeling when I'm just letting her play while I do other things...which is so dumb, i know. I just.dont want to miss these fast going days but I also am tired and have stuff to get done😅
I really try not to feel guilty about it. It doesn't make us bad mom's.

Answer

I feel like if I ain't playing with my 15 month old all day like I am a bad parent.like I ain't giving him no attention at all and it breaks my heart. So I am in the floor most of the day trying to play with him. I was wondering the same thing how much time am I supposed to play with him? Cause I seem to never get anything done, but at the same time I dont want to be a bad mom I want him to know I love him

Answer

Both are important.  When my daughter (23 months now) is playing independently I still talk to her about what she is doing periodically to build language and point out new skills etc that she is practicing (or encourage her to try a new skill)

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My daughter loves playing by herself. I can try and play with her all I want but she would rather run all over the house and get into whatever she can.

Answer

I try to play with my son as much as I can but now at 7 months pregnant, I find myself sitting on the couch most of the time. It’s uncomfortable to be on the floor. I let him play independently sometimes but most of the time, I encourage him to bring his toys to the couch where I sit or we read a book or draw and paint together on the couch.
My husband is an expat and works abroad. He only gets to see our son every 2-3 months. When he does, he sacrifices his sleep (he only sleeps 4 hours a night) in order to actively play with him all day and he only does other things when our son naps or after he goes to bed.

Do you actively play with your toddler?

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