How much should I play with my 16 month old? How much should he play by himself? I am a stay at home mom but?

Question

How much should I play with my 16 month old? How much should he play by himself? I am a stay at home mom and I have alot of stuff to get done (i.e. online college, housework, taking care of him and getting lots of other stuff done...). I'm the only one home 99% of the time so I'm pretty much the only one he plays with. My son always seems like he's hanging off of my leg everywhere I go or he's fussing and wanting me to pick him up. Am I not paying enough attention to him or is he spoiled??

Answer 1

i know the feeling, i am a stay at home mom with a 10 month old that clings to me all the time. babies just want their mommies all the time and they dont really understand that we have to get stuff done. what i do is i have some days that i devote to doing things i need to get done, and she mostly plays by herself, of course i still play with her but not as much. and then i have days i devote to her and only her. that works for me and keeps her happy for the most part.

Answer 2

It might be a bit of both spoiled and not enough attention. I too am a stay at home mom and I know how it is to give enough attention to your child and get everything else done. What I do is, this may not work for everyone and you can't do it in every case. You can incoorporate play in your house work. Let him help you with the laundry, by putting it in the washer or taking it out, count it, talk about the colors of the clothes. If you are doing dishes, give him some plastic dished and a rag and let him pretend he is helping.

If you are out running errands, sing in the car, get your son involved, listen to music he likes. You may look stupid to others but your son will love it.

I know it's hard to get it all done but the way I look at it, my son is the most valuable thing in my life and if I feel like I should be spending more time with him then I will. That house work will be there later.

Hope this helps. Good luck and remember you aren't the only one out there with this dilemma

Answer 3

Nope, not spoiling him. At 16 months old he depends on you for most of his play. My 15 month old will play for about 10 minutes out of each hour by himself. Can you do your classes when he is sleeping? Like before he gets up or after he goes down for a nap/bed at night. I wear my child in a back carrier to get my housework done, or use the time he is in his highchair snacking to cook dinner. My child and I like to play outsidein the grass, play with blocks and balls. He also plays a lot of pretending games right now where he will hide and I have to find him, or he plays under blankets. Good luck, this is a really fun age!!

Answer 4

First of all, when my kids were that age, they were in a playpen.

My kids play a lot by themselves and I was able to get my other things done. I had a schedule and during that time they were either in the playpen or napping. Lots & lots of freedom for me while they were safe and very content.

I talked to them alot and played with them whenever I wanted to.

Never had a kid hanging on my leg and begging to be picked up.

Things are different now and I am so glad I had my kids in the 70's & 80's.

Best of Luck to YOU!

Answer 5

It all depends on your son...but in my experience being the only person around him is why he's so clingy. I recomend sending him to a SMALL day care or a sitter with a couple of kids so he learns to share, play, and communicate with others. Only for a couple of hours, maybe once or twice a week. Playing with him on your own is great, but try to play with educational toys because he's @ the age where he picks up EVERYTHING and fast! alone time is good for him too, you want him to be independant. Good luck

Answer 6

At his age, he expects to be involved in everything you do and that's a reasonable expectation for him to have.
Don't expect to be able to do much while he's awake. I guess by now you've learned to leave as much of your duties as possible until after he's gone to sleep - when mine was that age, I was leaving most of my work until he was sleeping. It is unreasonable to expect most children to keep themselves busy when they are this young. No, he's not spoilt, but the ability to keep himself busy is a skill he will learn along with all the other skills he has to learn.
I found the best way to get the housework done was to try to involve him as much as possible, believe it or not. I'd strap him into a chair and let him play with a blunt butter knife and a slice of bread while I was cooking in the kitchen, letting him think he was helping me that way. Things like that. You really can't expect him to keep himself busy at this age. Try setting up safe situations for him like giving him one kitchen cupboard he can slowly empty onto the floor, this might give you twenty minutes or so. Give him empty jars and boxes and encourage him to fill them up with things like potatoes and big buttons or something he can't choke on. He's not spoilt, they just do need constant attention at this age. By all means encourage him to try to keep himself busy, but don't be frustrated or cross when it doesn't work. You're not spoiling him, you're doing what he requires you to do. Good luck!

Answer 7

You should find a preschool or daycare to take him to for a few hours so you can get done the majority of your stuff, and have extra time to give him attention. Also, he will have some other kids to play with then. Good luck.

Answer 8

You should spend some of you day in one on one with him, but not continually. Give him things to do. If you are washing dishes, let him play with pans on the floor next to you. If you are making beds, let him help. Keeps him busy and you aren't having to give him all you attention.

Answer 9

You cannot spoil a child by paying too much attention to him!!!

Answer 10

as much time as you can.... within a short time your going to be obsolete...if you have time limits make the most of it... free site for short people he may like it.