How much do you sit and play with your LO?

I like doing things with E like taking him to the park, swimming, painting and art stuff, but I'm ashamed to admit I find actually sitting and playing a bit boring.  Also, he doesn't seem that bothered about playing with me!  He likes to play on his ride-ons or with his garage and gets annoyed when I try to help him!

I think I need to make more of an effort,  how much time do you spend actually playing with your LO?  And what games do YOU find fun?! 

I don't spend that long either, and end up doing other things while she plays around me more than I think I should. But surely independent play is good too? (hopefully) The things I do do with her are her puzzles, putting the pieces in vaguely the right place and she finishes it off, and building with her bricks and she knocks them down. The thing she likes most though and I find fun as she shrieks with laughter is hiding / tickling type games, apparently me crawling to the side of the sofa then coming back out is hilarious! That doesn't last for long though compared with the times she plays on her own, but it makes me feel better

Truthfully? Not loads. I do sit on the floor with him all the time and try to play but he quite often goes off and starts playing with something else. He seems to enjoy playing by himself. The main things we play with together are his wooden blocks, mega bloks, Happyland stuff, tractors, painting/crayons and Playdough.

I love colouring and painting with him but can't always handle the mess! I just love singing with him and doing the actions. We probably spend more time doing that at home than anything. It makes playing with tractors for the fiftieth time that day more bearable if you're singing wheels on the bus at the same time!

Oh we play 'cooking' quite a lot. I pour loads of dry pasta into saucepans and bowls and give him a spoon to stir. I then pour water in and we mix everything together. I quite enjoy doing this with him as it keeps him entertained for ages and I can sit there and stir while watching TV water always dries as well so there's not much mess to worry about!

Not a lot. Tbh he isn't very good at independent play and I am trying to teach him that it's fine for Mummy to be doing something and he can still play without me - he's very demanding and I feel it would be good for him to learn that sometimes he has to wait for Mummy or Daddy to be free, so in a way I try not to be down on the floor with him all the time. I take him to lots of activities and out for walks, so when we're at home I try to be around but not involved all the time IYSWIM.

On a bad day I call it lazy parenting; on a good one I prefer to say that we are encouraging him to develop his ability to amuse himself!

Like you, though, I just don't find playing at home very exciting. I think that's why we do lots of groups etc.

I'm not the best at playing because I get a bit bored Leo will quite happily spend an hour with his Happyland farm house on my lap opening and closing the doors and windows and saying 'hello' to me on the other side.. I can just about cope with 10 minutes of this!!

He loves reading and singing though so we do that a lot (although he wants to read to same book everytime which gets a bit annoying!!)

H however will sit and play with him for hours.. He loves it!

I do quite a lot now but this has really expanded in the last 6 months or so.  Now he has hit 3 he is really understanding the joys of play with his mummy.  We spend lots of time doing jigsaws together, building things from duplo, and playing board games.  Oh, he loves hide and seek as well.

Michy-Lou - I really wouldn't worry about it too much now.  I think it's quite normal for them not to be that interested at E's age.  It'll happen in time. x

Thanks for all the replies,  it reminds me we do play alot of tickling games and ball chasing indoors so I guess it probably is good for him to learn to play alone for a bit as well.

Pops, we bought elliott some of the Crayola My first pens the other day, he likes them much more than crayons and they are so much cleaner than paints, if you can't face the mess!- They just wiped off his hands and the table with baby wipes.

I would recommend them!

I find just sitting and playing excruciatingly boring, which is somewhat tricky when you have a child who absolutely will not entertain himself! I lack imagination and haven't a clue what to play really If we're going to be in all day I enlist the help of my mum who is brilliant at playing with him and somehow can keep the momentum up for hours on end!

I do like taking him out places though and when we're both in the right frame of mind we have fun swimming, doing gymboree etc.

SnowflakeMum:

Not a lot. Tbh he isn't very good at independent play and I am trying to teach him that it's fine for Mummy to be doing something and he can still play without me - he's very demanding and I feel it would be good for him to learn that sometimes he has to wait for Mummy or Daddy to be free, so in a way I try not to be down on the floor with him all the time. I take him to lots of activities and out for walks, so when we're at home I try to be around but not involved all the time IYSWIM.

On a bad day I call it lazy parenting; on a good one I prefer to say that we are encouraging him to develop his ability to amuse himself!

Like you, though, I just don't find playing at home very exciting. I think that's why we do lots of groups etc.

wss!

loads, but like Snowflake mum I don't have much option she is very demanding!!, and unlike snowflake mum I take the path of least resitance so just give in and spend ages "making the happyland baker cry mummy!!", I do find it boring though and yes if she could entertain herself for hours I would definaty go with it!!

I used to spend a lot of time doing stuff beside B or getting him involoved in things I was doing. But if you described it as playing I'm not sure. Up until about two and a half they just want someone enarby rather than someone 'playing' with them. Before that they are too ego-centric to ahve someone play with them. they just want you to be with them or preferably watch you play. I often get B involved in what I am doing whether ti be prepping veg for dinner or hanging washing or reading a book and he will often then entertain himself doing the same thing or go and do his own thing.

We spent an hour or so on the high street on Saturday just wandering and examining things and him spalshing in puddles. On Sunday we wnt through a box of cars and examined each one. But playing with him as such I don't know. We try and sit and ahve a chat and a cuddle on a morning before I go to work but that is usually whilst showering or dressing that we do that.

And B can sit at a computer and do a good impression fo touch typing

Not as much as I should!

Today she has helped me dust, helped me in the garden and we've been for a wander to the garden centre too. Now she has picked Babe DVD to watch and is playing with her happyland sets whilst I hitch! She is quite good at letting me do whatever, but for her Daddy its another matter. As soon as he walks through the door he has to play with her and read to her!