Sunday, February 26, 2012

Milestone: independent play!

This past Saturday, mid-afternoon, we put up the gate to his bedroom and left him with the television on (Treehouse) and with him having access only to his regular toys (nothing new). When there was no immediate protest, we flipped on the camera and started timing....the ten-minute mark came and went, and it was a bit of a revelation - he can play by himself! I think in part it was because Sesame Street was on, and he knows the characters well.

So, today, Sunday, I removed the gate, and did some sorting of clothes and other housework in the master bedroom while he had his toys and television in his room on the same floor. He was able to run back and forth, managing his attention to check in on me and engage me at times, and otherwise to play in his room and amuse himself. We kept this up for over two hours, with me in earshot and occupied, and him content to have me close by but not in the immediate vicinity.

There have been other times, of course, when we left him in a room for him to finish watching a YouTube clip (1-3 minutes), after which he will come find us, or we will return. However, it seems a big leap to what we did today, for him to sustain 'different activities' for the better part of the afternoon waking time. It's feels like a measure of freedom for me, and should feel like that for him too.

He's becoming more confident and self-sufficient, and this is a good sign, as he has a few short weeks before he has to contend with a sibling, and his parents' divided attention!

1 comment:

  1. Yay for independent play! Sebastian (18 mo) will usually entertain himself through an episode or two of Sesame Street. He mostly watches the show, with spurts of play and checking in on me from time to time. We also have a small apartment so he knows I'm never far away. But I can get away with taking a shower or doing the dishes, or napping.

    I'll be interested in hearing about the dynamic change when the new baby arrives!

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