For all those parents who say they have to work hard entertaining their child/ren all day. An important part of child development is for children to be able to play independently. Some ways to encourage this; Intentional play: Give a child your undivided attention for 20-30 mins before slowly moving just out of view. As your child gets used to you leaving, you will be able to extend this time and get the much needed jobs done. Instructional play: Ask your child to do certain tasks e.g find me the red block and put it on top of the yellow block, (what could we build?) Making the play fun but also educational. If you keep asking them to follow your instructions-they will be ready after a short while for you to move on, so that they can have a break. Environmental play: Make sure you change the location of your play several times throughout the day especially as you begin to see they are getting bored eg inside and out, but also kitchen, bedroom or lounge. Avoid having the TV on in the background and keep it separate. Try putting music on in the background instead and it doesnt have to be the wiggles every time. Make your play engaging and stimulating. Often if you make more of an effort for a shorter time, it will create more opportunities for you to move away and your child continues to play solo. It is also important for you to communicate with your child-keep playing and Ill come back in a few minutes. When they notice that you do come back as you said you would, it reduces separation anxiety (just make sure you keep an eye out for 2 reasons; knowing when to come back will be easier and making sure they done get up to no good with your back turned). I would love to hear what you think or what works for you. Alison Gregory @ NEWBORN solutions.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 11:29:12 +0000