Toddler doesn't play independently

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If you're spending the whole day at home with toddler, how do you manage? What do they do?

Ds is 31 months, he goes to nursery 2 days a week and pretty much every other day we go out to soft play, farm, park, shopping you name it we're there because I cannot deal with staying in the house all day as ds wants me to play with him constantly! Wants me to run around finding dinosaurs, or build camps etc. He is very energetic so finding a game I can play with him that involves sitting down is rare. Do your kids let you stay home and play independently sometimes?!

As I write this post after just telling my ds I just need to sit down for a moment and he needs to play alone or sit with me (we've both got colds) he's now independently building a train track for the first time 😂 do I need to just wait it out?! Does it come with age?

Thanks!

My son was like this at a similar age. It's exhausting. Don't feel bad about letting him play alone sometimes, it's a valuable skill!

I found letting him 'help' with laundry / putting shopping away / unloading the dishwasher / tidy helped a bit. We made them a game, but stuff that needed doing still got done!

I wouldn't worry too much he will start to play independently when he's ready.

he is way to young to be expected to entertain himself right now, at this age, you are constant companions! -it will pass, and you will miss it!

Buy him a doctors kit. He is the doctor, you are the patient - this means you have to lie down and sleep while he does his doctor things....🤣🤣🤣

31 months so…2.5? Sounds quite normal. I think enjoyment of playing independently depends a lot on your DCs personality and, to an extent, if they have access to siblings or not to play with. I have a nephew who is a master of playing on his own. Has been able to entertain himself with toys for hours since a really young age. He’s just not interested in running round or leaving the house really. My SIL didn’t encourage it, it’s just who he is. Her DD and my DS much prefer to play with others, exercise and/or go out. I’d say most people I know leave the house daily with their toddlers to break up the ‘play’.

I’d say just keep encouraging little spells of independent play here and there. DS is 3 and if he’s engaged in something and in the mood I can usually get 20 or 30 minutes out of him now (but some days it’s still zero!) That was definitely not the case at 2!

Mine was very much like this.

To be honest he only really started to play independently at that age of about 7 and that was under duress