Independent Play
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@Mona She has chores! Cleaning up her bedroom, make her bed, clean up her table where she eats, sweep and she sometimes helps me make dinner. Thank you so much
3 hours on her own with a tablet in her bedroom doesn't sound OK to me. I wouldn't even want my 9 year old doing that
My daughter is 5 and been an only child. Some days we have cousins or friends over and she gets to play with them, we have a pup she plays with randomly throughout the day too, but mainly she’s on her own, we have movie snuggles or just hang out together sometimes but for the most part she will stay in her room or her playroom or wanna draw with chalk outside. That’s just how she is and how I was when I was little so I leave her be and wait for her to come to us
@Alice We live in an apartment so her bedroom is right across from ours, & I can see into the bedroom from the living room. But, I get what you’re saying, which is why I asked for advice lol. She gets the tablet with only educational games but thank you, I was already thinking about lowering the time limit
@Natalia That’s exactly how she is, she always ask if she can go play in her room so I kinda just built our schedule around that. But she is more than welcome to come out during free time. If we’re not cleaning or just having chaos going on with my twins
Independent play is a good thing but this sounds like hours daily of independent screen time, which is not good at all. Why not involve her in whatever you are doing?
From what I am understanding it sounds like she gets quite a lot of screen time (cartoons first thing in the AM until breakfast and then right after clean up she's sent to her room to play on the tablet for 3 hours). Could you lessen screen time and have her help with the twins? Find rocks and paint them with Chalk! Or draw a lion face and poke holes and go for walk and she can find flowers to pick t9 make the mane. Or do some color mixings. Or she can read stories outloud or make them up and perform plays for the twins! Or could she help you do some stuff around the house outside of what she already does for her own areas (which is amazing!) My 2 year plays at her dollhouse house for a good hour to hour and a half and I've had my mom ask why I don't join. I absolutely join when she asks but if she doesn't I just sit in the rocking chair in the same room and just read a book while she just does her own thing. Or I do laundry or something.
I would say less screen time and less time alone in her room would be ideal. You can set up activities and toys for her to play with in the living room. It can still be independent play but around the family more often
@Lisa We let her on the tablet for three hours than after, the tv is on in the room for background. Sometimes it’s just dancing fruit or music, others it’s little bear, the Little Einsteins or PBS shows while she plays. She rarely sits there and watches.
@C Thank you, I try to do activities with her. She helps me meal prep, cook dinner or bake cookies. I also print her out coloring pages or her name to trace but I was stuck on what else I could do for her! After the tablet, she has lunch & then we do the activities I mentioned. The tv is for background noise so she rarely watches it, she usually plays with her toys. Thank you so much!
@Deborah Thank you!!!
@Lisa Oh I didn’t answer your last question. We typically don’t do anything lol. I’m typically cleaning the house which she does actually help with or baking fresh bread/cookies which again she helps with. But typically I’m doing school work during any free time and I was lost on what more I can do with or have her do for activities!
@Jenessa it sounds like she has plenty of activities throughout the day. Youre giving her opportunities to engage with you and to participate so you're doing great! I'd just cut back on the screen time but that's me though! I'd swap it out with "toys" like open ended wooden toys she can create images out of, tape activity book, interlocking building blocks, screwdriver board set, scissors skill books, even a draw with me skill book... she'll stay busy and stimulated. She will still learn!
@C Thank you! I’m looking into more engaging toys for her since her birthday is coming up
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For me personally there is too much screen time. I only let my 3.5 year old have an hour max per day watching cartoons. I don’t allow any tablet games or anything.
Board games and fab at this age and you can play all together
@Naomi We do screen time differently lol I get what you’re saying but I grew up with TV on all the time & I do the same for them. She rarely watches the TV & it’s mostly used as background noise. We usually do PBS, dancing fruit or music. When she asks to watch something, if she already had the tablet we tell her no but if not than she can watch a movie or two!
Sounds like you are doing a great job imo! If its working for you all then it is fine its good to encourage independent play and every baby is different everyone has their own methods and is trying their best!
@Sumaiyah Thank you
I don't think there's anything wrong with independent play for that amount of time, but she's not really playing she's having screen time. What about arts & crafts? You can get craft boxes of supplies fairly cheap, just give her some glue & let her make a collage, or some painting or playdough. If it's warmer & you have a garden give her a bowl of soapy water & let her wash her dolls clothes (I still remember washing my dolly's clothes). Or some building toys like duplo or magnetic tiles they can build with. My daughter loves building a village with her blocks at the moment. Some form of playhouse she can play with figures in, my daughter loves acting out Bluey stories in her little people castle.
@Susan After the tablet in the morning, like I said, she plays with her toys. TV is on for background noise, usually PBS or music. And after lunch, we typically have an activity like coloring or family time. But it’s just coloring, arts & crafts would be good. I just got a printer, so I’m trying to get some ideas lol She does have Play-Doh, & we already got her more Play-Doh for her birthday coming up! But those things that you mentioned, I’ll definitely look into. I think she would absolutely love washing her dolls clothes
Independent time can be great. I encourage it with my kids as well. This sounds like a lot of time by herself or being entertained by a screen. Personally I would incorporate her more in my day to day tasks. This can look like her helping with chores (my sons like to load the washer or help with meals by cutting their produce). You can find age appropriate cutting tools online. She could play with the twins, do arts/crafts, water play, more outside time doing nature hunts (find a pretty rock, bug, acorn, leaf, etc). Make bird seed feeders (find recipes online). Kids her age learn by playing. Basically I’d try to minimize the screens & boost playing/time with the family.