What age could your toddler play by themselves?

[24HoursFromTulseHill]

My DS is nearly 13 months old and is happy crawling & cruising about with moments of free standing.

I'm always in the same room as him (or following after him if he's going exploring) but I try to give him plenty of time for independent play with toys with me keeping a watchful eye. At the moment I don't try to do any major chores or tasks whilst he's with me and instead I save it all up for during his nap or after he's gone to bed. He used to be happy in his jumper in the kitchen for 5/10 mins at a time but since he started cruising he refused to go in it and I've just passed it on to a neighbour and plan to get an activity table or something else to go in it's place to keep him occupied. I tried putting him in a travel cot with some toys but he only lasts 1 or 2 mins before he wants to get out and roam around.

At what age could you be in the same room as your toddler doing a task or some chores whilst they played by themselves for a few mins?

My son has always been good at playing by himself to be honest. I find having the right toys is key for catching their attention.

When he was that age he was really in to all those noisy fast moving ball popping type toys. These 2 would keep him occupied for ages - Playskool Chase ’n’ Go Ball Popper and Bright Starts Pop and Giggle Pond Pal.

Now that he's a bit older at 18 months he loves quieter less annoying toys like jigsaws and shape sorters but the loud annoying ones served a purpose at the time!

Mine is 18 months and will push his cars and other vehicles around on the mat fairly happily for a bit, but if he feels like he’s not getting the attention he deserves he will start lobbing them across the room 😳

It really depends on his mood though, sometimes he won’t play independently at all and other times is perfectly happy as long as something has wheels.

Mine has always been good at playing independently tbh, so definitely before 13 mo. He's happy doing his own thing as long as I'm in the room (though he certainly doesn't complain when we play together!)

Still waiting & my daughter is nearly 5 🤣🤦🏻‍♀️

Mine always played independently but I let them roam - they'd never have stayed in a playpen.

Mine is almost 22 months and when really invested in a toy, can play independently for about 10ish minutes. She started playing on her own around 18 months but often times I still have to be in the room. If she’s not confined to one room (e.g living room) and can roam room to room, she can do that for much longer. For us, this is a huge improvement as she’s always been a Velcro baby

My dd was still a baby, but would happily play a few minutes herself, babbling and then rolling or holding a toy. My ds didn’t until he was about 4yo, which I found surprising.

@Nimblesandbimbles glad I am not the only one. Still waiting DS newly 3 😂

Honestly more like 3-4 but even then the "independent" part only lasted a short time.

But parenting young children is all about enjoying whatever minutes (or moments!) you manage to eke out for yourself

Depends on her mood but my 14m old is pretty good if she is interested in something. We have an open plan living/kitchen with a gate over the kitchen area, I can be in the kitchen making her lunch or loading the dishwasher and she will play on the floor in the living area with her toys for short periods. Or sometimes she comes in the kitchen and I let her have access to a pan cupboard and a Tupperware type drawer that she plays with the stuff in- that can last ages sometimes.
The only other job I normally try to do when I'm on my own with her awake is unloading the washing/ putting clean laundry away - she loves this, it's her favourite job! Lol she loves a pile of clothes and will spend ages playing with it, even better if the clothes are wet it seems!

Do the tasks. You don't do them any favours by entertaining them constantly.

Let him out of the playpen, put some toys out and start doing a task near him. Or read a book. Or drink a cup of tea sitting near him and don't get involved in playing. Or go on your computer, or (shock horror!!) your phone!

They need some time when you're nearby but not available (except for emergencies) - it does help.

I agree with this. I feel one of the reasons DD is good at this is because we have always done this. Also I feel having the ability to go between rooms herself has helped, she will take herself off to her bedroom to play and I think because she left me and not the other way round she is happier with it.
Don't get me wrong she has her clingy days- today was one, where I can't move an inch away!

I think it’s also just some children. My dd would and does ( nearly 2), but my ds would sit at my feet asking questions and not seem to be able to start or continue anything alone whatever task I did. I ended up sometimes giving him a partial task with me in the end, but his lack of independent play was not through lack of trying (or me doing activities like housework etc.)🙈 He’s still not great at just doing something alone, unless it’s Lego. Now he has a specific box of activities he can do himself, which helped a bit, but he’s 8yo. He just wants the stimulation of constant interaction all the time.

@MagpieSong
Good point. DD is my only so I don't have anything to compare it to

Thanks for the responses so far - the age seems to vary a lot depending on the child.

@BertieBotts I don't have a playpen so he's able to roam free as much as he likes and do lots of independent play with me in the same room.

My issue is that he's 91st centile for height, cruising everywhere and can already reach things off our kitchen table & worktops so if I'm not watching him all the time he gets his hands on the things I don't want him to play with. I try to offer him plenty of 'safe' toys and activities to play with but sometimes his desire to push over the recycling bin and play with a shiny tin can is too strong!

Sounds like you just need to make one room safe then? And put a gate on the door.

So he does play independently, it's more about needing adult supervision in rooms that aren't baby-proof?

Ah yes, my dd does tend towards causing havoc if not watched. We’re in a bungalow, so I close the doors of the rooms I don’t want her in and let her roam the safe room. I also check quietly on her very regularly. I think the pp suggestion of a baby gate and a safe room is a good one. I think when I had to stop keeping such a close eye was probably around 3yo with ds, I imagine that’ll be similar to dd. I still would have popped my head round the door often though (very quietly so as not to disturb play), just in case.