It's now 8:45am....and so far so good. After breakfast I spent 15 minutes reading with Nate. Then I put him in independent play....I told him to play in a designated area in the living room with some toys that I gave him. He wasn't allowed to play outside those boundaries or interact with me (hence the purpose for "independent play") and I had to redirect him a few times when he got up and went to another part of the room but each time he immediately followed my instructions and gave me a "Yes" when I asked him to do it. I was totally expecting some retaliation (and I'm sure that may still be coming) but overall, it's been a peaceful morning. The purpose for ind. play is for him to problem solve by himself instead of me rushing in every time to rescue him and for him to be able to be self sustaining instead of relying on me for entertainment 24/7. Of course this is all within what a 2 yr old can handle vs. an older child.
I think it also helped that we had a little "mom time" before I put him in independent play. Once he's had time with me he seems to play by himself better. I just put him in his room to play by himself for awhile. He went happily and grabbed a bunch of trucks to take with him. Go figure.
I also made sure that when I was giving him these instructions that I looked him in the eye so I know he heard me. This was something else I slacked on...usually saying it while I was passing him or without a heads up. So now that he's in room time, I'm going to try and sneak in another catnap. haha.
1 comment:
Gotta love quiet time, room time, or ind. play.... gives mom a little mental break as well.
Love the Halloween pictures!!!
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