We can not always approach a child at his first call. What to do? The answer is obvious - you need to accustom it to independence, and not only to games alone, but also to self-service and housework.
ON THE FIRST CLAUSE
The fact that kids do not like to be alone is absolutely natural. With the birth of a son in our country, as in any family with the appearance of the first child, joy and cares were added. While my husband was working, I had to wash and wash clothes, and cook dinner, and I wanted to rest, but my son demanded attention every minute.
I put out a baby cot in the middle of the room, opened all the doors and did household chores, occasionally shouting from the bathroom and out of the kitchen the explanation of what I'm doing now and when I'll be back. Hardly the son understood the meaning of the words, but he watched my movements around the apartment, heard my calm voice and agreed to wait a little longer.
While the baby does not move independently, one can try to occupy it with a bright toy. But still, at the first request of the child to return to the nursery, then your absence will no longer be accompanied by a roar - the baby will know: Mom will come as soon as he calls. When our daughter was alone, the son was just happy, because by that time the little sister was trying to unsuccessfully fold the pyramid, knocking jars, and this is some, and still, games. But the two-year-old and six-month-old babies were, of course, difficult to negotiate, again mother's help was needed. The solution was found: I planted them in the kitchen near the cupboard, from which I first took out the piercing-cutting objects and a heavy meat grinder. Everybody was happy: the pot for noisy games was too much, and I could control the situation from time to time.
When the baby begins to crawl, it is time for the mother to move more freely. In the living room, the mother can allow the baby to drop cushions from the sofa, get to the glossy magazines, in the kitchen - play, for example, with wooden kitchen utensils. Such exercises very well develop fine motor skills, and everywhere mother will look after her baby, without interrupting the cooking of dinner or washing the floor.
OUR ASSISTANTS
Around a year, children begin with great joy to carry out the simplest mother's assignments - carry a rag into the room, bring a spoon from the table, etc. I want to recall at first glance a banal, but in fact an important truth: work made from a human monkey. So - accustom children to work! This is with us, adults and sometimes very tired people, homework is not very joyful, but for the child everything is new, so do not miss the opportunity to please him with a new business and at the same time to benefit the au pair. Firstly, children are able to wash themselves, brush their teeth and wipe their face with their towels, and secondly, they can serve the table: bring or clean cups, plates, spoons, and thirdly - help the mother cook food: make cookies from dough, serve butter, jars of salt, sugar, cereals, fourthly - to cover your crib (after a few trainings everything will turn out!) and collect pillows, while mom pushes the blanket into the linen compartment of the sofa. And children are happy to entertain guests-children at a time when my mother drinks tea in the kitchen with his parents. Of course, each of us can adjust this list at our discretion. Naturally, it is easier to feed the child himself or plant him on a potty than give his beloved off a little more independence, and then wash it in a bath from smeared food all over the body or worse. But believe me, the kid will quickly acquire these elementary skills, as many generations of his ancestors acquired them.
LEARNING AND PLAYING
The child's independence engine is, of course, the child's learning different skills and ways of interacting with surrounding objects. Having mastered these skills and methods, the child will be able to apply them himself in the same or in slightly modified conditions - so say children's psychologists and educators. And we teach the kids to crawl, walk and run, but they have to learn and just self-service - use a pot, sweep the floor with a broom, if you sink, find a handkerchief and wipe your nose, etc. All of these lessons the kid learn better and faster if to present them in a playful form. For example, you teach the child to eat on their own - get a spoon in your mouth. Sit next to a doll that is easy to clean, and let the kid try and "feed" it. Soon you will find that now your favorite child is trying to feed himself with spoons all around him: dad, relatives, friends and teddy bears. Such "feeding" not only fixes the child's acquired skill, but also makes his playing activities more diverse.
To prevent the baby from overtaxing and getting bored, Mom needs to have time to change his occupation for him. And here creativity will help - one of the most important components of the child's activity. You can draw a finger on the flour scattered on the table, or you can paint on a sheet of paper. You can sharpen colored and simple pencils, teach you how to use the eraser. You can get a box of plasticine and prepare a young sculptor workplace for modeling. I deliberately do not mention scissors and glue here, because we talk about classes and games without the participation of my mother. Fascinating classes are mass, they are, of course, twice as interesting together with my mother, but if she is away for a minute, this minute will not pass in vain either.
In our family, the most favorite thing is drawing on a large sheet of Whatman. I sharpen pencils, lay out whatman on the floor, then we choose a theme for drawing, for example, Africa, and I draw a general map of Africa. Children with great enthusiasm draw details (pyramids, rivers, deserts). To play in African animals or in Dr. Aybolit on a homemade card, the guys are much more interesting than on the purchased one, especially since one can always draw the missing objects. When offering a child this or that occupation, do not forget to take into account the level of its development and, in particular, the readiness for independent activity: if the kid has just started walking, almost all of his time is occupied with this new skill, other games and activities can go to the background. The older child needs to be reminded of what kind of work and activities await him during the day, so that he learns to plan his free time - the more valuable and long-awaited for him will be the time of independent games. And most importantly - the child must understand that when he does something himself, he already helps the parents and it is very important for them. Well, if he did not just do his whole business quietly all day and did not interfere with his mother, but swept the floor, washed the dishes, came up with a new game for the younger sister, then he's just a fine fellow!