How much do you play with your baby

amother

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 8:18 pm

How long do you spend actively playing with your baby (under 12 months) a day?
Actively means you’re not in the middle of making dinner while your interacting etc
(Not saying there’s anything wrong with that, just curious how much time people spend playing in the floor with their baby)

mushkamothers

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 8:21 pm

Zero. He's 9 months now. I don't play with him at all, but I interact ofc.

Edit got a hug just like I expected. Babies don't need to be played with on the floor. Toys are for them not for me. Speak, play games like peekaboo, do massages yes but I'm not building blocks for them. I'll demo how to do a new skill and then let them play independently.

Last edited by mushkamothers on Sat, Feb 24 2024, 8:52 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Hyacinth

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 8:25 pm

I’m sure this answer widely differs based on if said baby is your first (only child) or one that came after many. I think ideally everyone would love to spend a lot of time on the floor playing with their baby, but with a houseful of kids and all the responsibilities that come with it, our time is much more limited in how much the baby can get with mommy on the floor.

cupcake123

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 8:29 pm

The more kids and the older I get the more I play and see the importance in it. By play I mean peekaboo, singing songs on the floor...

teachkids

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 8:47 pm

Weekday or weekend?

On weekdays I generally only get an hour in because he's mostly at daycare and when we're home I'm single handedly dealing with everyone. Weekends? 3-4 hours probably- some of that is playing on my lap not the floor though

amother

Pistachio

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 8:48 pm

2 kids BH. I vote zero. I’m not a play on the floor mom. (Fwiw my husband is a play on the floor dad) I hold and cuddle my infants, do lots of talking and making eye contact. Lots of singing and dancing. But I’m not a floor mom. I also think learning to play by themselves is a good skill to have

Bunch of Tulips

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 8:50 pm

amother Pistachio wrote:

That’s nice but play on the floor is very important. And play is a skill. Teach them to play and then you appreciate it later

amother

Diamond

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 9:02 pm

I have an hour and a half every morning between when my older kids leave and I bring the baby to the babysitter. I don't spend all of that time playing, but I do spend a large chunk of it. And shabbos and Sunday we play throughout the day.

amother

Pistachio

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 9:04 pm

Bunch of Tulips wrote:

That’s nice but play on the floor is very important. And play is a skill. Teach them to play and then you appreciate it later

My kids go to daycare. They spend plenty of time playing and plenty of time on the floor. I don currently have infants but both my kids BH play very well on their own.

amother

Peachpuff

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 9:40 pm

My baby just turned one. We spend a lot of time together BH but I almost never sit on the floor. We sit on the couch together, or we play while I’m sitting on the couch and she’s on the floor. We sing the wheels on the bus, play peekaboo, play with her doll, etc. But I am rarely on the floor.

amother

Mulberry

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 11:45 pm

mushkamothers wrote:

But how do you get them happy to play by themselves all the time?!

Mine's 10mo, ftr. And doesn't always eat or sleep well. He ain't going to entertain himself all the time...

amother

Springgreen

Sat, Feb 24 2024, 11:57 pm

Thanks for posting this thread. It’s definitely giving me food for thought. I’ve been so overwhelmed with my life… that I don’t have the mental energy to play with them but I will definitely make an effort. I’ll start with 5-10 minutes a day…

giftedmom

Sun, Feb 25 2024, 12:09 am

Zero on the floor. And I don’t really play par se but we interact a lot. Lots of eye contact and smiles and cuddles. Same when they get older. I’m more of a conversation and listening mom than a playing games mom.

lovecouches

Sun, Feb 25 2024, 12:48 am

I get leg and back pain sitting on the floor. I sometimes will for a few minutes to get my baby into playing. But we play on my lap or do peek a boo. We sing and interact a lot. Though I guess I'm not eligible for the poll because my baby is 12 months. I do find it easier to play with my baby on my bed obviously making sure that they don't fall off.

amother

Navy

Sun, Feb 25 2024, 12:51 am

We interact a lot! Not much on the floor( I still want my back semi intact) but it’s on the couch, lap, arms…. I just really enjoy this stage.

pause

Sun, Feb 25 2024, 1:01 am

cupcake123 wrote:

The more kids and the older I get the more I play and see the importance in it. By play I mean peekaboo, singing songs on the floor...

And I find the opposite. My older ones needed me to entertain them while my younger ones have older siblings to play with. I might not realize that I haven't played with my baby if baby doesn't come kvetching to me.

As others said, I might not actually sit on the floor, but diaper changes become playtime, and after nursing, I'll keep baby on my lap and sing or talk... I find it easier when I'm anyway doing something with/for baby, to spend extra time rather than stop in middle of my work to create playtime.

amother

Denim

Sun, Feb 25 2024, 10:40 am

I play with the baby on the floor. I definitely did more with my oldest. But now I also have a bigger family, so even if I'm not playing with my current baby on the floor, I often have someone else do it (dh, older dd, etc.). Said baby also gets (supervised) playtime by herself on the floor, it's a balance.

mushkamothers

Sun, Feb 25 2024, 10:44 am

amother Mulberry wrote:

But how do you get them happy to play by themselves all the time?!

Mine's 10mo, ftr. And doesn't always eat or sleep well. He ain't going to entertain himself all the time...

By always putting them on the floor and then not interrupting.

I highly recommend the book your self confident baby by Magda Gerber

cupcake123

Sun, Feb 25 2024, 10:52 am

mushkamothers wrote:

I didn't hug you but I disagree. Babies are social just like us. They love to play with us. Playing doesn't mean building a tower and walking away, it means building with them, letting them knock it down and laughing together.... promotes joint attention and relationships.
BTW I usually agree with your every word and learn a lot from you😁😁

amother

DarkRed

Sun, Feb 25 2024, 11:23 am

I'm not really a baby person, but I forced myself to do it with my first two, there wasn’t much choice. All the kids after that, siblings were old enough to do that for me. I interact with and enjoy my babies in other ways, but I just can't sit there and play with their toys for more than a few minutes. I'm so glad I now have kids old enough to do it (and clamor for the opportunity lol)