How much do you play with a 6 month old?

[babyignoramus]

And by play, I mean literally giving them your complete undivided attention and doing something fun, eg. singing, bouncing, playing with noisy toys?

MY Ds is awake roughly from 6am to 7pm, sleeps for 2-3hrs a day, and obviously spends a certain amount of time feeding and reproducing food from either end. And we go out for an hour at least most days to shops etc. But that leaves about 8 hours a day. What do you do with them? ATM he is bouncing in his chair next to me and gnawing on a teether, and I'm about to put him on my bed for some sitting up practice (and falling down - he loves that!) - but I can't spend every second of every day doing stuff specifically with him. I have housework to do, I have to eat meals and sometimes I need 5 mins of 'me' time. Plus I'm very aware that he becomes overtired if I overdo it with him and then struggles to wind down and sleep.

Soooo - your thoughts??

[MrsBadger]

barely any tbh - maybe an hour or two max

but what 6mo do find entertaining is beng taken out in the pram, taken to baby groups, music sessions, the library or other people's houses, watching while you wash up while singing along to the Killers etc

[thisisyesterday]

not much, both of mine were crawling by that age so they just followed me around and ate the floor a lot.
or i'd have them in a sling while i got on with what I was doing,
if i had housework (ha) to do/dinner to make i'd just have them in a door bouncer/bouncy chair/sling and chat to them

they don't "need" playing with specifically, they enjoy being with you and watching what you're doing, it's all they really need

[babyignoramus]

Fair enough. Mine tends to get a bit annoyed if I'm washing up and not focusing on him - even if I'm talking to him - the fact that my eyes aren't meeting his annoys him!!

[Ivarsmum]

I am probably a bit mad but practically all the time because there is no chance in hell he will just lie there watching me getting on with things. We are singing, dancing, learning to crawl, sit and walk, reading, playing with toys, playing with other babies. Chasing rolling toys from a supported upright position is his fav. thing at the moment. I have to be inventive, otherwise it is a bit of a groundhog day and thanks god he does sleep sometimes!

[pranma]

door bouncer?my dgs will be 6 months on Saturday and will bounce happily-gurgling,smiling etc for half an hour.He also likes sitting in bumbo on Kitchen table while dd does jobs-he gets quite a bit of play gym,tummy time and general attention too.He has a brother of 2.11 who amuses him too[under supervision of course].I believe the jumperoo is a great aid but my s-i-l said it would take up too much space and have limited life.

[PinkTulips]

An hour approximately... i have three under 5 though so that vaires wildly, some days far more, some days hardly at all.

He also gets played with by the older two alot and spends a couple of hours a day doing floor play with us around him but being benignly neglected while he rolls around on the floor eating questionable dirt and attacking cats, and most days has a half hour to an hour in his door bouncer.

He likes to sit in his rocker watching me work so that's how i get housework done if dp isn't about.

If i'm out he's often in the sling so he's up with me interacting with me and the people i talk to and if he is in the buggy he has dd and ds1 entertaining him.

[babyignoramus]

I should use the sling more, but DS is a monster - he's ridiculously tall and I'm very short so he's about half as long as me and bloody heavy so we look a bit daft!

[HarryB]

When DS was 5/6 months I got myself in a right tizz thinking I had to play with him all day long - until I realised that I was exhausted and DS was overstimulated. Then I thought sod this and chilled out. From then on, my average day was - and actually still is, now he is 7 months - along the lines of everyone elses. One-to-one play is really just an hour or 2 per day (in max. of half hour slots). I always make sure we get out of the house every day for at least a 45 min walk.

Best thing I did was to buy DS an IKEA £10 Antilop highchair (and tray - great for toys rather than food) so he sat in that in the kitchen and played with his toys whilst I got on with washing and stuff. Like Mrs Badger says, get on with your bits and sing or chat along (although don't feel like you need to be on constant transmit). I could be chatting away to DS and he'll just ignore me, but then have a fit of giggles when I bend down to load the washing machine. They kind of make their own fun much of the time.

[Lpsmum]

I also spend all day everyday with my 8.5 mo. He wouldn't have it any other way. The only time we don't spend one on one is when he's sleeping.
Ggrrrrr....it's hard

[Ivarsmum]

Lpsmum - I'm so happy to hear I am not the only one like that. All babies are different of course, but especially now when DS is approaching 6 months he wants to be held upright and touch, grab and explore everything all the time. Fingers crossed he starts crawling soon and will be able to do some exploration more independently.

What do you occupy your children with when you are not playing with them at this age?

[thisisyesterday]

mine were normally just in the sling, so we;d be chattng away, thehy'd be haopy as they were being held and i would ge3t on with what needed doing

[RhinestoneCowgirl]

DD is nearly 8 months now, and now she is sitting confidently it is much easier as she can play with toys and reach out and grab things. But the thing that entertains her most is watching her big brother (3 yrs), not so easy the first time round.