My 3 year old boy has never shown much interest in playing by himself, he always wants me, or dad, or a friend to play with him. I try to set him up with solo activities, I might get 5 minutes with playdough, but then he wants me to join in, so it never lasts long. (One exception, of course he would sit for ages in front of TV on his own if I'd let him....) My 16 month old girl seems to entertain herself for ages with toys! Any ideas?
My DD1 hated to play by herself even at 3 but thank goodness somewhere between 3 & 4 she gradually started to play solo a bit more, and can occupy herself pretty well now she's 6. The advice below you've got is well worth a try, but if it doesnt work, then hang in there, some kids take longer to work out how to play solo than others. My DD2 has always played fine on her own. But then, as the second child, perhaps she didnt have any choice? But there was never any effort, so I think mostly she was born that way, as I suspect your DD was too!
Also wanted to add,,,, Bug catchers are great, my 5 year old son loves catching grasshoppers and caterpillars and worms etc etc.... Just running around the back yard, exploring is good for them, gets their imagination going... Also, textas and crayons are great! you can download pictures off the net of all the favourite characters for them to colour in... Don't be scared of mess either! Texta and crayon come off walls pretty easily and children are only little for a short time!!!
My boys have always played on their own really well... They both loved playing in the dirt with toy cars, and love love love water! The hose is constantly being turned on to make mud puddles in the back yard... my boys love their trampoline, they will play on there for hours! I think the trick is that I never spent every second playing with them, we used to have a cattle station, so couldn't always be playing with them... They learnt to entertain themselves, which was essential otherwise we would gone insane! LOL!!! Dirt and mud is easily washed off, but your son might prefer a sandpit, and he can play in it while you hang out the washing...
have you tried paints they work wonders for my 2 year old and i get relaxation time if you tell your son to draw mummy a picture and tell him that you cant stay with him cause it has to be a suprise then he would be more likely to let you leave the room hope i have helped
I only have girls, and they are all happy to have their own free play time, so it might be boys that are harder to entertain.
Maybe he would benefit from going to daycare. Not full time, but may 2 hours 3 days a week. It won't solve the problem entirely, but it will keep him occupied and you will be able to get on with other things that need doing around the house etc.
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