Help! Does no screen time get easier over time?

[FairyLights2]

My son is 10 months old and we don't ever put the T.V on in his presence. So from the moment he's awake, I feel like I'm his personal entertainer. Yes, he'll play independently but of course at his age, he needs a lot of interaction from me. Sometimes though... it's kind numbing. For example, today he wanted to explore the cupboard with the hoover inside. We spent a good half an hour, closing the door and reopening it to say 'hello' to Henry the Hoover. Great for him (he was thoroughly entertained) but I kept looking at the time wondering when is his next nap.

I don't plan to let him watch TV anytime soon (so please don't suggest that). I would like to hear from parents with similar values to me.

Tell me it gets easier! If so, around what age? Btw we go out everyday for fresh air. It's just when we're home early in the morning or later in the evening that I sometimes find it a drag.

Find or create a safe place to leave him with toys and a view of you/outside. Then leave him there while you drink tea/read your book outloud/tidy/sort washing etc.

I found the whole benifit of no screens was they learnt to play rathern than they learnt to be entertained by me instead of the TV.

*not all day of course but sometimes.

Yeah they still need to learn to entertain themselves.

If they like opening cupboards, create a suitable one they can interact with in the kitchen with all other doors child locked. Behind their door put pans and spoons and cups etc for them to find and sort and stack.

Outside play is a good idea. Gate off / baby den a spot outside the door and plop them out there with some toys while you potter in the adjacent room.

I was really really strict and ds didn't really see a screen for his first year. After that he saw bits at childcare (i know it wasn't a lot). It was really, really hard work

What saved us was being outside as much as possible. Mentally I divided the day up into half hour slots and so I only had to endure anything for half an hour.

I also met up with other parents and children a lot. Other kids make a great substitute for screens.

It got easier when he moved to one big nap a day. Sadly I couldn't tell you when that was and it lasted what seemed like minutes - probably six months or so - but having that proper break in the middle of the day was a lifesaver.