Babies Need Unstructured Playtime, Too!
Edition 1: Why you should include unstructured playtime for baby
“Kids need more unstructured play.” I’ve heard and read this claim dozens of times, and I happen to agree.
But this need isn’t just relevant to school-aged kids. It’s also relevant to babies. Babies need unstructured playtime, too!
Let baby take the lead without intervening with a new stimulus -- a book or toy -- or parental instruction. Instead, give baby an opportunity to discover, learn, and make connections on his own; you sit back and observe.
This is hard to do. It’s like trying to resist that plate of chocolates sitting on the kitchen table.
They’re baiting you. Just like I’m baited by Hayden during his unstructured playtime. We spend plenty of time playing and interacting together.
But even during unstructured play I often have to hold myself back. I want to show him something. I want to interact. It’s not only fun, but I also feel that it’s useful to him to grow and develop. And there’s time for this.
But it’s equally important to give baby time to play on their own.
Unstructured play helps to teach baby how to play independently, without always having to rely on a playmate.
It also gives baby a chance to think and make connections. One day Hayden stacked one measuring cup into another. It seems so simple. But we had been working on stacking objects for a while without much success. When I left him alone and gave him some time and space to think, he did it on his own.
Unstructured play time is also a great opportunity for you to gauge baby’s interests. What does baby gravitate toward? Where does he spend his time?
Use the clues you pick up to create fun activities for baby during structured play time.
Above all, baby will love the freedom -- my baby certainly does! It’s a chance for him to explore and think -- similar reasons why adults appreciate some down time.
I find it useful to leave a few toys on Hayden’s playmat and let him go at it during unstructured play. I’m intentional with my toy selections. I’ll set a cup and a ball out, for example, and see if he can make the connection to put the ball in the cup.
Or he may think of doing something else entirely.
This is the most delightful part of the process: having baby come up with his own ideas and seemingly enjoying the process. That’s what we want as parents, isn’t it?
“The journey matters as much as the destination.”
-Michelle Dockery