How to teach a child to play independently

A child playing on his own in a sandbox often causes emotion from many parents. After all, here it is - the baby, he goes through the molds himself, pours sand into the bucket, transports him by truck. And only your crumb goes behind you with a tail, constantly asks you to play with him. Is it important to play independently?

When the kid fumbles among the toys, mothers breathe a sigh of relief - well, everything, there is a little time to do household chores - to stroke the laundry, to make dinner, to wipe the floors. But the ability to play independently is not only important for mom. When the kid himself comes up with a plot for his game, he develops imagination and thinking. When he tries to understand why the rings do not fit the base of the pyramid - he turns on logic.And when he begins to speak for his heroes, you can understand what a crumb thinks about, which disturbs him. One mother in a conversation with a psychologist told me that her child in the game punished the bear by going to kindergarten. Like, bear, broke a toy - go to kindergarten. Later it turned out that the child was not comfortable there, no one played with him, he felt like an outcast in the group. Watching a child’s independent play will help you better understand his inner world.

How to push the child to self-play

If you want to achieve independence of the child, give him this independence in other areas of life. If the baby does not want to eat soup, do not feed him by force, with persuasion and threats.Just accept that the baby really does not want to eat this soup. If the crumb does not want to wear the notorious jumpsuit - pick up what your child likes, and not you. Frequently ask him a question about the current situation. Ask the child how he would act in one way or another, what he thinks about this or that. Children, who are granted the right to vote and reasonable choice, become more self-confident, they do not suffer from the fear of overstepping the permitted line. By giving your child the right to such independence, you teach him to play without help.

Scenes for self-play

Some children do not know how to play, no matter how strange it may sound. In addition to banal skating machines and assembling the designer, they can not imagine other activities. First of all, you need to teach your child to play. Plot-role-playing games develop imagination, diction, acting game. And in general, such games are very useful and interesting. Often, the child invents the game himself, depending on what he saw or heard in the near future. But in some cases, the child must help parents to make the game a reality.

1. Cafe. If the child recently visited a catering establishment, he probably noticed who the waiters are, what they do and how they behave. Suggest to put at the table bears, dolls and hares, and bring plates, spoons, forks yourself. Tell your child to feed the little visitors, wash the dishes for them and remember to take money for a treat.
2. Dolls Games with dolls can be the most diverse. The simplest is the Daughters-Mothers, when there is a family and some dolls perform their functions in it. It is very interesting to play in Kindergarten - a big doll can be a teacher, and others - children. You can drive dolls to visit, go to the store for them, arrange a small hairdresser.
3. Doctor. If the child has a medical kit, this is another interesting doctor game. You can line up all the patients - a bear, I love with a dummy, dolls, a cow, a hippopotamus. And everyone needs help! Someone needs to drip medicine into the nose, another one has to be heard with the indication “Breathe, do not breathe,” the third leg hurts - urgently it is necessary to band it. As the game progresses, the baby will invent all new and new plots - give him this opportunity.
4. Cook. A great manifestation of independence - cooking. Of course, you cannot entrust a knife to a three-year-old child, but even a child can chop the lettuce leaves, mix the chopped fruit and decorate the dish with greens. Give crumbs freedom of thought.
5. Cars. If your child likes to play with cars - great. On sale there are special overpasses with a large number of cross and serpentine roads - this toy will surely suit your child. You can carry dolls on a taxi, follow the rules of the road, catch up with one car and another, and even unload buttons or beans.
6. Animals If you have a lot of animals in your arsenal, you can arrange an improvised circus or even a zoo. Let the elephant sell tickets, and the monkey reminds that animals can be fed with cookies and apples.

In all games, try not to get into action before the kid asks you about it. Even after that, do not make all the decisions - ask the baby what the fox is sick with and how to get to the department store by car. The most important rule for these games is to trigger a child’s initiative.

What if the child does not want to play alone

Sometimes it happens that the baby plays in your presence, but once you leave the room - he immediately lags behind your tail. In this case, you need to go to the trick. Leave in a prominent place a stack of postcards, a jar with buttons, a bag with shreds and lace. But do not give the child this right in the hands. As you know, the forbidden fruit is sweet and mysterious things will certainly attract your baby. Make sure that the buttons are large enough so that the child does not swallow them, so that the laces are not long. The child will play with such treasures even without your presence, believe me. This will allow him to get used to a new state of independence.

How to support the child in the game

If your child does not want to be alone, do not rush to run away from him. Here are some rules that will help you support and motivate your child to play independently.

1. To begin with, make sure that the gaming zone is comfortable, comfortable, and most importantly, safe. Remove all valuable things that a child can spoil, close the sockets, lift the wires, get rid of dangerous objects.After all, an independent game involves staying in a room without adults. In addition, the game area should be comfortable. Arrange the toys so that you can immediately play with them - dolls at the dinner table, dishes on the toy plate, the bear sleeps in the crib, pencils with an album for drawing at hand.
2. Even if you are going to go about your business, you should not move away from the child too far. If you are cooking dinner in the kitchen, from time to time look at your child. And of course, be always ready to answer all questions and comments of the child. He should still feel your presence. Regularly ask the baby what he builds from the designer, who he draws and why Masha did not get the doll a cup of tea.
3. Sometimes children throw an independent game at the moment when something is not working out for them. At this time, you should immediately come to the aid of your child. Help him to insert the missing puzzle, help solve the puzzle and put the right ring on the pyramid and the game will continue again - without the vagaries and nerves.
4. Do not interrupt the child, do not tell him that he is doing something wrong.Do not scold the kid, do not forbid him to run, jump and carry toys around the house. Now - he is the king of the game and you should not climb into this kingdom.
5. It is very important to be proud of the successes of the child and to demonstrate them in public. If the kid painted a picture with paints, show him to the grandmother - she will certainly appreciate it. You can treat your dad with a salad prepared by a kid when he returns from work.

By following these simple guidelines, you can gently push your child to play independently.

If the child does not want to play separately, attach him to adult affairs. During the harvesting, you can give the crumbs a small cloth. Little kids perfectly imitate their parents - they try to cope with a vacuum cleaner, they rub the floor and walls, they carry a broom.

Teaching a child to play independently, do not overdo it. It's one thing when a baby is with his mother all the time and can't even move away from her for a minute. Another thing is when the crumb spent the whole day in the kindergarten without your presence and trying to spend time in your society. Drop everything, forget about problems at work, enjoy talking and playing with your child for at least half an hour.And then, being much fed up with you, the child will again be able to occupy himself. And you do not need to send a child to the nursery to play with toys when parents are in the living room, watching TV, chatting. This is at least cruel.

The ability to play independently is not only an opportunity for parents to release a few minutes for themselves. This is the ability of the child to think, create, invent, express emotions. Teach your child to dream, and his mind will be much deeper.

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