kids,  mom

Playing with your Toddler: Finding the Balance

February 12, 2021 /

The more you have children the more you learn, the more you change and do things differently. With my 4th child being now 3 years old, I am trying to find a balance with his independent play and time with me playing with him. I definitely have become more relaxed with the amount of tv he watches as it gives me some me time and the amount of time he spends on his tablet too. So everyday, I spend some time playing with him but also try to get him to play by himself. Today, I am sharing some games that we play together and some things he likes to play on his own. Everyone’s balance probably look different. For me it is playing 3 to 4 games with him in the morning after he watches tv and I am done with my blog work. Then he plays on his own for a while until we pick up his brothers from school. As the weather warms up we will spend more time outside, with the sandbox and the trampoline.

Games to play with Your 3 Year Olds

  • matching games: we have 2 matching games that we play most days. Some days, I help him remember where the cards are and some days he is on his own. He is developing his memory!

  • fun silly games: we got this new Cat in the Hat game thrifting and we have played it everyday since! His brother bought The Floor is Lava game and we play that sometimes in the evening with his siblings.

  • learning games: we found a fun math bingo games at Aldi for around $5 and his counting has greatly improved.

Independent Play

Ah, independent play! We all wish for it! I do still play games with the older boys but they are at school during the day so playing with them is more of an occasionnal thing. I probably play games with them a few times a week. But being home with a 3 year old, you do wish for that time when they don’t want mom’s attention 100% of the time. I reached a low point a week ago when I couldn’t go to the bathroom and have 5 minutes pf peace and I didn’t react well to that. Sometimes being the only one with the kids during the week wears on me. I am used to it and usually don’t mind it but that doesn’t mean it is always easy. So teaching a young child to play on his own and not be consistently dependent on you or electronics for entertainement is important. This is what is working for me now!

  • puffy stickers: Amazon and grandma to the rescue: I bought a set of 500 stickers that only lasted 2 days so grandma helped out and ordered two sets of 3200 stickers to help provide some entertainement. This is great for small motor skills and with my son, it helps his comparison skills. He likes to ask himself questions: which sea star is little? Which animal is fast? Which one can fly?

  • toys that promote imagination: his brothers old Wild Kratts dress up vest makes a regular appearance (the PBS series is part of his rotation), he also plays with their old Paw Patrol toys and he continues to like his new sink. He also enjoys matchbox cars and play animals. We have quite the collection of Schleich animals we have bought over the years: I like animals that look realistic!

I am finding I need to do things for me to be a better mom: I am definitely more patient when I have had regular exercise, some time for me and my coffee. Not necessarily in that order but those things sure help.

A bientôt!

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