Do they play ontheir own?

I'm not sure if there's something I did, or if its just characteristic of the age (will be 3 in February) but my children WILL NOT play on their own, even for 5 minutes.
I think I could throw away every toy they own and they wouldn't even miss them!!!
I cant do the dishes, or laundry, or cook without them being right there with me. Forget taking a shower. They need my constant attention and I'm tired of it! Ive started wondering if I created this habit or they just need more mental stimulation?
They are doing well with counting, ABCs etc and have always been ahead on developmental milestones. Playing alone seems to be the area they lack... any suggestions or commiseration?

Thanks!

 

Wish I could help but unfortunately mine are the same way! All 3 of mine are that way. THey'd rather be right up under us helping us vacuum, clean, fold, or whatever then playing on their own. They have an entire room dedicated to just them and toys, and they don't care! When it comes to riding bikes/scooters, they won't go past the driveway w/o us being with them, and would rather us push them then for them to do it on their own, even though they know how.

We go to the park, they want us to push them on the swing instead of them climbing the slides, jungle gym, etc....

This all being written while 2 of them are climbing all over me asking what I'm writing! LOL And the twins will be 4 in January. :headbang: So I will take any ideas too! LOL

 

Mine have just started playing really well on their own. They turned 3 in July. DD can do it much longer than DS, but I have noticed a dramatic difference lately. I bet the closer they get to 3, the better it will get for you...hopefully. ardon:

 

I absolutely remember that stage... I hated it! Take heart, though, my girls started playing together with no adult interaction needed a little before they turned 3. Now they'll happily make up games and run around the house together for an hour or more - barely acknowledging DH and I. Most weekend mornings they play in the den while DH and I do house chores. It's great to get things accomplished around the house and hear little girl giggles at the same time.

Of course, it's not perfect - just when I'm counting on them playing alone, they transform into Clingons and refuse to leave my side. And many of their game require Mom and Dad help. This afternoon they wanted to be butterflies, and that involved wrapping themselves up in blankets for cocoons. Unfortunately, they wanted our help in flattening out the blankets - so every two minutes someone yelled for Mom or Dad to flatten out the cocoon to start the game all over again!

But yes... it does get better. Soon!

 

When mine hit 3 or there abouts it did change for the better. I also used to complain that they would never play without me sitting in the room watching. They will now and it is great. Before that I would sit in the room but encourage them to play together not with me. Not that i didn't ever play with them, b ut not all the time. Hope it gets better soon. Do they know how to play with toys if you are doing it with them? that may seem like a silly quesiton but it is true. Some kids have to be taught how to play with toys. You could start wtih things like block, legos(mega black size is what we have), play dough, kitchen play food, little people and if you sit with them and interact do they know what to do and will they do it. If not start now and it will help them as they get older to play without you playing with them. Model, model, model.

 

I'm very lucky, in that my kids have been used to playing on their own pretty much from the start - but I'm also pretty bad when it comes to playing with them, it doesn't come to me naturally at all!

 

I would say the closer my two get to three (they'll be three in 2 months) the more they are starting to play alone (without me) and I usually only get involved when they ask me to.

 

Mine have always been good solo players too.

 

Mine play well on their own and I encouraged it from early on. However, I think daycare has also helped them improve. We do have days when they won´t leave me alone either so I guess it depends! Maybe you could set them some short, simple tasks to do, e.g. start them building/colouring/tidying away something and tell them you´re going to get something from the kitchen and then gradually make it into longer stretches. I know that my DD wanted my attention all the time when I had breakfast and it got to the point when I just firmly told her to leave mummy alone for 5 minutes and I ignored her! It worked too! You may have to lay the law down a little but I suggest in starting small and working up. Good luck!

 

Mine are horrible at it. They are up in my biz 24-7. I don't like it! And YES! At the park- they are sitting with ME! Soo weird. They've been like this with me since day one. They totally don't want to get more than 2 feet away from me at any point in time. EVER! I'm also thankful tho cuz they also never ran from me, or jumped off of furniture or any of that stuff either. They are just very cautious and thoughtful kids. But nope, they don't play alone very often. Mostly just sit with me! HA. And mine are already 3, turned 3 on September 26 but they technically aren't due til October 30th.. so I guess I can still hold out hope?? LOL.

I guess I would even say mine don't like toys. Never really have. They use their imaginations more than play with toys.

 

These comments of it getting better closer to three are encouraging. My boys are just past 2.5 and one needs a lot of interaction and the other could probably play all day if his brother wasn't there to bother him. We also recently added a 20 month old to the mix and she's pretty good at playing on her own and sort of a balance between the other two. So, my guess is unless you have actively worked to teach them to play on their own or done nothing to work towards teaching them to do so then it strongly varies kid to kid!

Does anyone do Toddlerwise? I think that's where I heard (haven't read it, just saw something about this on a blog) about room time. I think it's a scheduled time each day they are to play on their own in their rooms. I'm not sure how it would fit in our schedule but you basically work towards having them play on their own at a certain time each day. I thought it sounded good but not something we need to implement at this time because they do sort of do that when I'm upstairs working....sometimes!

 

My girls just turned 3 a couple weeks ago, and they play independently more often than they do not, and have done so for a really long time. Of course there are times that they are clingy, when they are sick or what not, but for the most part they are just happy doing their own thing.

 

Mine have a playroom and have played well on their own for awhile. For us it has gotten worse in the last couple months but I think it's because we also have a younger son and it's the "3's a crowd" thing...
I hope it passes for you guys soon! No fun!!