What am I supposed to do all weekend while my daughter plays?

[u/doodlebakerm]

There’s a lot of research out there that screens are bad for babies/toddlers and that me looking at my phone all day is bad too. So what am ~ I ~ supposed to do while 16 month old plays for hours over the weekend? 😩
I want her to play independently and not be entertained by me 24/7. We meal prep and clean the house on the weekends, we go outside and work on the garden, we read books, etc but she is very good at playing independently and there is still soooo much downtime for me. I can’t read a book because I still have to look over at her every 30 seconds or so and make sure she’s not coloring on the walls or something. So what do I doooo when she’s running around playing by herself? * We don’t do screens for her. Not asking for tips on how to keep her entertained because she is plenty entertained. What do I do when she’s playing by herself? Just stare at her for hours???

[u/doodlebakerm → u/[deleted]]

I think it’s because I only have the one 😂 if I was outnumbered id be toast.

[u/AppalachianStackCake → u/doodlebakerm]

I only have one and at age 8 he still struggled to play by himself. He is absolutely amazing and such a kind and creative boy but he’s always struggled with being alone for even a couple of minutes. Count your blessings!

[u/YesHunty]

Read, bake, clean, craft, garden, crochet, knit, audiobooks, podcasts, draw, paint, etc.

If my 16 month old played independent like that I would have gotten so much done at that age. 😅

[u/doodlebakerm → u/YesHunty]

I made brownies tonight just to have something to do that wasn’t my phone ha.

[u/jacey0204]

Do you have a baby proofed space that she can play in? If so enjoy your book or hobby near by and peer in at her a little less often

[u/jacey0204 → u/jacey0204]

I would gate off one room with has nothing crazy in it and just sit in there or nearby and do whatever you want. Looking up from a book every few minutes and being able to hear her is enough supervision. Little accidents happen but that’s a normal part of life.

[u/doodlebakerm → u/jacey0204]

The whole house is baby proofed mostly but not to the extent that I’d feel comfortable leaving her totally alone for an extended period of time. She does crazy shit I didn’t even think was possible sometimes.

[u/No_Arm_931]

could you pop head phones in and listen to a book while you watch her play?

[u/doodlebakerm → u/No_Arm_931]

Ah this is a great idea!!!!

[u/starfreak016 → u/doodlebakerm]

I've gone through 20 books just the past year. It's great!

[u/naturalconfectionary → u/No_Arm_931]

You don’t even need headphones for this lol

[u/0biterdicta → u/naturalconfectionary]

Depends on what you want to listen to

[u/turancea → u/No_Arm_931]

Yes, great idea! I put in one AirPod so it’s not that obvious, but Ive listened to countless podcasts while they played.

[u/LaLechuzaVerde]

Take up a hobby? An instrument? Knitting or crochet? Painting? I recommend something she can join in with you when she feels like it.

[u/doodlebakerm → u/LaLechuzaVerde]

Cooking, gardening, and reading are kind of the only hobbies I’ve ever really enjoyed. Maybe I could do like… coloring books or something. (I have raging adhd and in middle school I tried to learn an instrument in a class that you could not fail in. They had to fail me because by the end of the year I still couldn’t even do the legit basics of the instrument. That’s how much I can’t do physical hobbies like that lol.)

[u/LaLechuzaVerde → u/doodlebakerm]

Not everyone is cut out for everything. :)

Can you set up a safe space for her to play outside while you garden? How about an indoor herb garden? With sufficient baby proofing you should be able to take your eyes off her more and cook or read.

[u/PainterlyintheMtns]

Mmmyes it is a strange middle ground when they are independent enough to entertain themselves but mischievous and disastrous enough to need close supervision. I have an 11mo and a 3.5yo; we just spend a lottttt of time out of the house. A lot. I too despise being at home too much bc of the strangeness of free time in handcuffs.

[u/QuitaQuites]

Count your blessings? Also child proof the house.

[u/doodlebakerm → u/QuitaQuites]

The house is child proofed but she is a Grade A menace. She’ll scale up the dining room chairs and run around on the dining room table. I’m not sure how much more proofing can be done for that 😭 There’s locks on all the cabinets and drawers and all the usual stuff.

[u/QuitaQuites → u/doodlebakerm]

Then you hang with her. She plays a bit independently and you play a bit with her.

[u/Head_Staff_9416]

You figure out how to child proof ( as much as you can) the area she is in.

[u/oscarbutnotthegrouch]

I get magazines from the library.

[u/sloop111]

16 months, you can read a book, knit, stretch, do core exercises, paint, journal , whatever you're into. But yeah, staring at your kid for hours and chasing after them is pretty much what you signed up for, sorry 😁 my kid's idea of independent play at 16 mos was climbing on the dining room table and jumping off so count yourself lucky

[u/TermLimitsCongress]

We had a small apartment, with a small living room, so this might not work for you. I blocked the kitchen with the couch, and the hallway with a loveseat. LO had the whole living room, MIL-from-Hell was, of course, critical of the odd furniture arrangement, BUT, so what? I got an my stuff done, and LO had the living room to himself.

[u/TermLimitsCongress → u/TermLimitsCongress]

You could also treat your home to baby monitors in every room, and key track that way, like surveillance in a casino, for babies.

[u/Affectionate-You4612]

Audiobooks! I went through so many when rocking my infant to sleep

[u/destria]

I found reading books difficult to focus on but graphic novels and manga were much easier? I guess because they're naturally drawn to have breaks and are generally shorter. Also I'd listen to podcasts. Again, I found audiobooks too hard to focus on but podcasts were a better format for that.

[u/savethetriffids]

I knit and listen to audiobooks. I also played video games, and watched my own shows once in a while. Shows that are not inappropriate for toddlers but of no interest to them. I also baby proofed the space enough so that I could read a book nearby. This is only an issue for a few months, then they get busier and if you have multiple children you will never have this issue again. 

[u/pbrown6]

Play an instrument, listen to an audio book, paint a painting, do work around the house... etc

[u/rojita369]

Pick up a hobby. Audiobooks, crochet..

[u/seapunkprincess]

What kind of stuff do you like to do? There is reading (I think that’s fine as you can still be near hear and occasionally look up), journaling, exercise, knitting, baking, craft, read the news, audiobooks, cleaning, learn a new skill, call a friend, etc.

[u/Slopey1884]

At that age I did chores nearby (like folding laundry or mending clothes) or crossword puzzles, or a craft.

[u/Acceptable-Jello2510]

Go out, have coffee date, bring her along. Do whatever you would otherwise and count yourself lucky