Does anyone feel guilty for not providing 100% entertainment?

[Writerwannabe83]

DS is almost 6 months and sometimes I feel at a loss as to how to entertain him all the time. He has got really nice walkers and play activities that he enjoys but I feel guilty for just putting him in them and leaving him to amuse himself for 20 minutes.

Does anyone else do this?

I find it draining being in his space and trying to interact and stimulate him every minute of him being awake.

I feel neglectful.

6 months is only the beginning of them needing entertaining. It can be dull but find classes and things to do... Gymboree, song time at libraries swimming etc and it soon with naps eats up the day. Ds was crawling at 6 months and could occupy himself will balls and cars for a bit. They need some independant time but ds 2 comes to me with books, for songs etc.. If we're just having in door time.
It can be exhausting if you're not in the mood. But tbh I've found mine more engaging from 6 months as you see their skills develop so fast.

Oh my god you shouldn't be trying to entertain him every waking second, you're his mother not a one woman show!

Plus he's under 6 months old. Babies that age want to sleep, eat, poo and gaze at stuff.

Honestly calm down

It's not a good idea to entertain constantly, you'll set them up to struggle later.

I just feel like unless I'm talking to him, singing to him, reading to him or playing with him then I'm ignoring him

How is that sustainable? If you train him to expect total adult attention all the time do you think he will get on well at nursery or school?

It isn't sustainable Hollie hence why I keep putting him in his walker and leaving him to it whilst catch up on a TV programme

I just need to know I'm not the only one who does this

Nope, no guilt here. Ok DD is only 11 weeks but I'm perfectly happy to let her wriggle on the mat or sit in her swing grabbing at a bit of ribbon. At this age they'll let you know fast enough if they're lonely or unhappy, and it's good for them to get into the habit of amusing themselves if possible.

Wait till they get to 2 and a half and 11 years old.... :) then the guilt / boredom / activity ratio really kicks in

Yeah I felt like this too, however DD was always quite good at amusing herself! At 10 months old she still is, although she's now crawling/cruising/climbing up things so I have to make sure she isn't injuring herself. I just tell myself it will be a good skill for when she's older.

Not at all mine (1 now) spent from April to August Sat in his play nest playing, staring at birds and bouncing back and forth while we worked and did house renovations. Now he is happiest crawling around the garden on his own, esp when he also finds food.

Don't teach him to need a full time entertainment unless you plan to do that long term.

I used to feel like that with my pfb.

Later DC got hardly any attention.

All are turning out pretty well.

It seems my interaction was largely irrelevant, which is not what the baby books tell you

If you just live in a normal way where you giggle and talk a lot with the occasional consistent cross face and naughty step, it'll be fine.

Chill

I have done the same as you OP and felt vaguely guilty about it until DS started at a childminder aged 9m and I saw that a typical schedule included free play. DS objects to me washing up etc and I could probably have prevented that by getting him used to it when he was tiny. He's big enough now though to have his own bowl and some cups and that keeps him occupied for ages!

Honestly at that age DD was on a revolving circuit of jumperoo, play nest, mat + toys, bouncy chair + play arch, my lap... and begin again. When we got the walker it was a godsend. I didn't feel guilty - she loved her jumperoo and walker - she was an easily bored child and if I'd tried to entertain her myself the whole time I would have keeled over!

At that age, if he's happy and you're happy, you're doing it right. End of.

I let both DSs entertain themselves whenever they are happy to do so (and sometimes when they're not). No guilt whatsoever. It is good for children of all ages to have the capacity to enjoy their own company and entertain themselves. As someone else above has pointed out, those who aren't able to do so often turn out to be complete PITAs.

I only entertain DS about 50% of the time he's great at playing alone and I think learning to be alone and entertain themselves is a valuable skill to give them. When my niece was little we gave her constant attention far to much tbh she is 7 now and struggles to be alone and do things independently which has an effect on working in school and with friends I didn't want to teach DS the same I wanted him to be happy with his own company (and me get peace) he's 2.7 and has been in his bedroom with toy story and his cars for an hour happy as can be. I should mention he's also very social and friendly I think he has a lovely balance.

No but I don't want to entertain them. I provide a careful selection of toys to promote development at their respective stages.

I did try and entertain DS1 all the time and now still at 11, have been left with a child unable to entertain himself for any length of time (unless it's TV). I realised very early on I'd made a big mistake and did it all differently with DS2 who was a revelation....and made life so much easier.
Leave him to it a bit!

I think it's a very good idea to let them entertain themselves for a while, and actually quite important to their development. From about 4 months I would prop DD upon her Moses basket full of toys and let her play herself while I got on with things watched the telly

She is now 13 months - we have great fun together, but I can also leave her to play for 15 minutes if I need to do something else, or am generally just knackered!