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I am thinking of training my 13 month old to have "blanket" time for a little while each day. Sit and stay on a blanket for 10-15 minutes and play with some toys or eat a snack. I know around 15 months old I would have my 3rd born stay in her room for 15-20 minutes (crib first and then just in her room after we put her in the toddler bed) while I did some school. Please tell me what you do and how you do it if this is something you have done.

I am also working on things like "sensory tubs" that he can play with for short periods, and boxes of "school time only" toys that he can explore, and trying to think of some ideas he can do in the high chair while we school, but he really doesn't like sitting in the high chair for very long.

What about letting your older ones take turns with the little one in a room? 15 minutes each would give you 45 minutes without the baby.

I've never done blanket training or any other alone type time for a baby... so I have no idea how intensive that would be. Seems like more work than it's worth for just 15-20 minutes.

We did blanket time with our little ones, and it worked well. We just put a picnic blanket down on the floor and set various toys on the blanket. I set the timer for 5 minutes to start with and put toddler back on blanket if he got off. Then when timer rang, he got his snack, and I praised him for playing so well for his blanket playtime. We gradually increased the time to 20 minutes. Worked great! Eventually, we called it 'on the rug' time, and he stayed on the area rug. We still will designate this area with our 6 yo's playtime, as he is quieter on a rug than playing on our hardwood floor. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

ABSOLUTELY!!!

We did this in the Pack n Play with ALL of ours starting VERY young. We put them out of sight. They had toys and a snack. They stayed for 1 hour twice a day. They not only survived it, but became more independent for it. Yes, it eventually went to room time.

I can't recommend this practice highly enough!!

We do. Our children all attend church with us (no Sunday School), so we teach them young how to sit quietly and play so that they can use that skill at church. The way I did it was I used a good sized blanket, and I would lay it out on the floor. Then I have toys designated just for blanket time. I'd bring them out and say invitingly, "do you want to play? It's blanket time!". I set her on the blanket and then I firmly tap the floor on each side of the blanket and say, "no, no! Stay on the blanket!".

She tried to get off at first, but I'd set her back on (you must be nearby the first several tries) and repeated with the tapping and no, no stuff. Start with five minutes and move up from there. At first you need to commit to practicing daily. Also, try to end it before she gets fussy, at least while she's learning. I think after maybe 3 to 5 tries, my dd had mastered it.

My 21 month old can sit and play for close to an hour on blanket time. Not that I need her too all that often, but like when we visit my husband's grandma it's a godsend because her house isn't childproof whatsoever, and it's tiny too. So she can be happy and content on a blanket for a good bit of time. And as I said, it really is critical for church services for us.

I also have a 13 month old and we just started blanket time. She doesn't quite get it yet, but she doesn't quite get "no" yet either, so it may be some time before she masters it. Every child is different when they can grasp the concept. I think my 21 month old was about 16 or 17 months when we started. Now she actually looks forward to it.

Now for school, I have the baby's room gated off, and they just run around in there and play. Blanket time, for me, it takes some vigilance, and that is something I don't have time to attend to during school.

I've started with crib time in the room for 20-30 minutes with toys and music. My oldest 2 then switched to blanket and room time. My third just transitioned to room time as being on a blanket with everyone else running around was too distracting. His room is just off the main living space where we have school and is pretty child safe. When he gets tired of being in there by himself, he joins us for a few school activities and then I have the olders trade off with him while we finish up individual subjects - usually about 15 minutes each. Right now, my youngest has blanket time as she is not very mobile yet. We will start crib time in the next few months so she is used to it by the time she outgrows morning nap.

Yes, yes, yes! I can't recommend this enough.
I didn't have an idea about something like this with my eldest, but the younger two . . . The results are incredible!
You've already been great advice on how to implement it, so I won't bore you with details.

This teaches self-control, and how to have "alone time". Also how to be better behaved for church, doctor's appointments, etc. Anytime they need to have restraint in regards to keeping still and the volume of their voice.
I have seen it implemented in children as young as 6 months - very successfully.

This has been the biggest reason we were about to have spurts of school when my dd was little, before she started her "school" as we'll. it takes a little time to begin with, but is well worth it.

I would recommend to start with blanket time with you in sight at all times, but after a period of adjustment also add in out-of-sight time. I have found that my children need both.

Have fun!

Thanks everyone! I know it will take training and vigilance. My hope is that maybe it will actually give him more fun time during school, as he tends to crawl around, climb up by the couch, grab the books, and then get fussy because he can't be in on the fun. I am imagining him sitting on his blanket in the living room close by the couch where I can still see him and correct if he crawls away. Now is a good time to start too actually because we are on a break from school so I can try to rework things a bit (then we have about 6-7 more units to finish in May/June, or at least I would like to).

I have tried having sisters play with him during school time. It is an absolute no-go with my 3YO. She tries to pick him up, is constantly touching him and taking things away from him, and it makes him really mad. It sometimes works OK with my 6YO. My 8YO sometimes does OK too but sometimes she is not patient and doesn't really want to play with him. Maybe some training is in order for all 3 of my girls about how to play with baby brother.

Room time would be good too. He isn't often in his room and there are some fun toys in there that he likes to play with. Thanks again for the advice!

You had such good comments here, MelInKansas! You have some great things to try! In response to this part of your thread...

MelInKansas wrote:...My 8YO sometimes does OK too but sometimes she is not patient and doesn't really want to play with him...

...I'll say that I do think your 8 yo can begin to be trained to play with your little toddler. My dc began to have a short playtime with our toddlers at this age, but they definitely needed training and guidance. Being super specific seemed to help with this. My oldest would read my toddler a short book, then would do a puzzle with him, then would eat a snack with him, and then would play a short something specific with him (i.e. roll a ball back and forth for 5 minutes, or hold his hands and walk with him for a bit, or stroll him in his stroller for 5 minutes in the driveway, etc.). Starting with 15-20 minutes worked well. Eventually, each of our dc had a 45 minute playtime with our toddler. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

We did with all four of our children and I am so glad that we did! I would rotate the different toys/books each day so they would not get bored. Some days it was animal toys, some days it was people, etc. I had four children 4 1/2 and under so I needed the break and so did they. I would spread out blankets in the living room for each of the children and I would sit in a chair to read and monitor.

Okay so this is hilarious, today was our first trial of teaching him how to do blanket time. I got out this toy that a friend of mine made, a butter tub with holes in the lid and little puff balls to put in the holes. He sat happily for 10 minutes and did not stir while he played with the puff balls (I was sitting right by him). So he got praised for staying on his blanket. We are going to try twice a day for the next few days, I am sure the test(s) are coming, I am just so surprised that he was happy to sit and play for that long! He can definitely stay still if something has grabbed his attention. My friend suggested next time I give him something boring.

MelInKansas wrote:Okay so this is hilarious, today was our first trial of teaching him how to do blanket time. I got out this toy that a friend of mine made, a butter tub with holes in the lid and little puff balls to put in the holes. He sat happily for 10 minutes and did not stir while he played with the puff balls (I was sitting right by him). So he got praised for staying on his blanket. We are going to try twice a day for the next few days, I am sure the test(s) are coming, I am just so surprised that he was happy to sit and play for that long! He can definitely stay still if something has grabbed his attention. My friend suggested next time I give him something boring.

That is so funny! I have a (just turned) 14-month-old, and he would love a butter tub with holes in the lid! He loves putting toys in holes...and toilets...and grates...and cracks in the floor

I'm glad it went so well!

What a cutie! I'm glad he did so well with his first blanket time. That is promising!

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks Julie! In a farther update he continues to do very well with 7-10 minutes of blanket time with interesting toys to play with. He really seems to get it! I'm so thankful the Lord led me to a good way for him to be amused while I do a little bit of school. I'm sure not every kid picks it up that easily.

And another little anecdote about the little man: we tried play dough in the high chair today and he was not impressed.

Oh, that's great to hear! In regard to this...

MelInKansas wrote:...And another little anecdote about the little man: we tried play dough in the high chair today and he was not impressed.

This made me laugh out loud! It reminded me of my oldest ds with his birthday cake in his high chair at his b-day party when he was a toddler. He could not stand the frosting and cake mess all over his high chair, hands, and face! It was the same with peanut butter, and playdough too. Your little one may not be a fellow that likes that kind of texture on his hands. These dc do make for very NEAT dc though, so there is an up side!

In Christ,
Julie