5 Ways to Prolong Baby Play
A normal attention span for a baby is 2-5 minutes. Independent play is great but not really expected. Below are some ways to prolong play time and activities.
Join in
Demonstrate the activity and help baby if necessary, or sit nearby and let baby play independently. This is the best way to prolong play time, I wish it were otherwise so I could do the dishes!
A little at a time
With an activity like the tape pull or egg carton puff pick up, start with just a few pieces of tape or puffs and replace as baby plays. Sometimes you can set the whole activity up and baby will play peacefully, but more often baby will just pull all the tape off and be on to the next thing. I have had many times Norah played 20 minutes pulling tape, which is an eternity in baby time, but I had to be there with her replacing the tape as she pulled. The great thing about joining in is that you can work on language development or teaching concepts like “thank you” if baby hands you the tape and “yucky” if baby puts the tape in her mouth.
Come back to it
This tip is especially helpful for sensory bags. If baby only spends a minute or two (or less) playing with something, try leaving it out, moving on to another toy, then returning to the activity a few times. An activity might not hold baby’s attention the first time, but it may on repetition, or it may not hold baby’s attention for long at once but can be returned to. Try not to get too discouraged, it is totally normal for baby to not play with one thing for long! That is a huge reason why I try to keep activities simple and if possible reusable!
Rotate toys and activities
Toy rotation is a whole topic in and of itself, but the premise is that having fewer items out at a time and then switching what is out for baby to play with every few days, helps keep baby from being over stimulated and also from getting bored with toys and activities.
Patience
This is the hardest one. Sometimes you will try an activity or toy and baby just won’t be into it. It could be their mood, they could be hungry or tired, or it could be their age or stage of development—it might not be the right time for that activity. some activities baby used to like she won’t be interested in anymore, or she doesn’t like yet but may in a week or month. I try to give ball parks for when baby will enjoy and benefit from an activity but all babies are different! Try to watch for cues that baby is not interested or is overstimulated, and respect her feelings. It is usually unnecessary to push her into doing an activity she doesn’t want to do, just like you can’t force a baby to crawl or walk, you can give her the tools and opportunities but ultimately they have to do it in their own time!
I hope these tips are helpful! Sometimes keeping expectations realistic helps with stress!