How often do your 4 year olds play alone?

[shuz1980]

My four year old never plays alone. He always wants to play with me. If he's not at school or im not at work he is attached to me like glue. He has no problems going to school. He loves it. He doesn't suffer with separation anxiety but if im around he just wants me to play with him all day. If i go to the toilet or go in bath he wants to sit and talk to me. And vice versa. He wakes up at 7 wanting to play a game with me immediately. How can I encourage him to sometimes play independently and enjoy it?

Literally the same!!! It’s tiring; but hopefully they’ll grow out of it ASAP!!!!

Even in a playground he wants me to follow him around saying how great he’s doing climbing etc!

His brother is 2 and is totally independent- well you know what I mean. He’ll run around a playground on his own, sit and play with his toys etc

First child. My nearly 9 year old is still often like this. His younger brothers aren't, I think because they have always had to share being the centre of attention. I don't know what the answer is, unless it's frequently ignore them while they're tiny because you have to help someone else for 2 minutes...

If I am in the same room (and she's in the right mood), she will entertain herself independently for a good 20 minutes, sometimes longer as she loves imaginative play.

I think I'm just lucky she does, it's not that all the same age will

Pretty much all the time, but then i have never played with her or entertained her all the time, which i see a lot of on here.

I do puzzles or some painting at points throughout the day, or we'll watch a film together but rest of time she plays with all of her toys.

OP have you been encouraging playing on their own from young? Or have you been teying to entertain 24/7? My nephew is same as your child, he doesn't know how to play on his own, but that is because his dad is always doing something with him

My four year old - hardly ever :(

If I say I can’t play with him, I have something to do, he gets very upset/angry. So I feel bad and play with him after I’ve changed his sister’s nappy or whatever.

He likes imaginative games and physical games and wants me to join in with all of them. Some of this is down to personality I think, as his baby sister has been noticeably different from the beginning. And he’s not a child who likes solitary things like painting or puzzles.

Have had some slight success with a timer - saying ‘I will play with you for ten minutes until this alarm goes off’ - then he knows that the sound means the time is up.

It's definitely a first/only child thing.
My eldest was the same, younger two are much more self sufficient (in that way- not in others though! They still like to be dressed, fed etc and my 6 and 4 but don't see me as a playmate thank goodness)

Not necessarily a first child thing - more likely a first parent thing. I nannied for ages before my DS came along and from experience there I've mostly left him to play on his own. It's what he knows.

Yes my son is like this! He's almost 5. Relieved to read this as amongst my friends' kids he seems to be the only one.

Eldest child, only child in the family at all for 3 years, spent lots of one on one time with his doting grandmothers, constantly entertaining him. It was probably to be expected!

But it drives me nuts, so you have my sympathy. It seems to me like he needs someone to bounce off to have any kind of creativity, at home you would think he has no imagination as he never sets up toys and acts anything out, but as soon as we see a friend or what have you it's "let's play policemen/monsters/robbers" etc and off they run together.

Mine is the same, but as long as I'm in the same room I can usually get away with being on my phone and half heartedly playing

My eldest is almost 4 and will happily play with his trains for around 45 mins or so before he wants some input from a parent. He's always had a pretty active imaginary world though from when he was around 2 and he can get really absorbed in it. Having said that there are still days when he will follow me into the toilet and is stuck to my side like glue 😂

5 year old used to be like this but she's got loads better recently. There is hope! x