How much time should a 2 year old be able to spend playing on their own?

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Exactly that. Thanks

I think it really depends on what they are used to. I didn't play with my DC that much and that means at 2 he'll ask me to help if something isn't working etc but will happily play on his own for a while.

Friends of mine who have taken a more interactive approach find that their 2 year olds hardly play on their own at all.

I think it really is an individual thing!

My DS can plays on his own for about half an hour, up to an hour if finds a few things in a row which take his interest. He will potter over and hand me things but then potter off again. But I think that this is one of those things that are very variable.

Why do you ask?

Not quite the time it takes for you to go for a wee :o

Depends on the child.

Dd - precisely zero.

Ds - could potter about quite happily for 30 mins or more.

IMVHO, the main factor is the temperament and personality of the child, not your particular approach to parenting.

longer if you are in the same room ime, much less if you are reading a book/news paper

Depends on the 2 y old.

DS1 would have managed ten or twenty minutes.

DS2 would have been happy to play alone for hours, even at that age. By the time I found him he would have wrecked the house though.

DS3 would not even have let me leave the room.

DD again would have played happily for hours, in her case without breaking or ruining anything.

As far as I know I have taken a similar approach to parenting all of them. In my experience, the amount of time they are happy to play on their own is related to their personality.

But with all of them, the time instantly became zero as soon as I tried to speak to anyone on the phone.

My DS really won't play on his own at all! Wants us to sit down with him all the time. He's gorgeous, I don't mind, but it's exhausting.

What does that say about their personality though? That's he's very social, needs interaction?

I think I'm worried because he'll be an only child...

DD (nearly 21 months) can play on her own for hours if I am in the room with her or in the next room with the door open - I can be reading/doing something else as long as I am there. I only leave the room now and then and she follows me and bangs on the door.

My dc's could at that age, only because they have siblings and I really tried to encourage them to play on their own as much as possible to save my sanity. Ds3 is nearly 2 and does play on his own but jumps up as soon as I leave the room to follow me around.

What about if you are with him but doing your own thing? If DH tries to sit down then they bring him book after book to read to them - they just know that mummy usually has other jobs to do and if DH is there he doesn't have anything else to do!

I've started getting my little one to help out with jobs round the house - fetching bits and pieces, putting bowls on the table, that way I can get on with what I need to and he's very happy.

DS will play alone (with me in the room doing something else) for 30+ minutes. I do play with him sometimes in 10 minute bursts, but I have never been an "entertainer" type parent so I don't think he expects it. He is very sociable and outgoing though, with adults and children, and loves to chat away.

Agree it depends on the personality. My youngest would easily play for half an hour, have a chat then play for another half hour, have a chat then play again. My middle child needed me lots of the time. My eldest was somewhere in between the two.