Do you leave your baby alone in a room?

MommyToAshley wrote: Unless it is in her crib in her room, I will not leave Ashley alone in a room, even if it is babyproofed. It seems she can find and try to eat the smallest piece of fuzz or find new ways to get into trouble. Now, I may let her play by herself on the floor and sit on the other side of the room and work or post msgs here, but I never let her out of my sight. I just think she is too young. Do you think I am smoothering her? What do you do?

alice&arik replied: I will let Arik go off on his own, in the next room. When he gets quit I go check because that usually means he is into something he shoudn't be. He is realy good at finding tiny little thinks-paper, fuzz, anything and he will bring it to me. Unless he gets a hold of the toilet paper, then he will take a bite out of it. I can't keep it on the roller because he will pull it all out. so I leave it on the sink and he can sometimes get it. But I don't think you are smothering her. I just think it is how indepedent you want them to be. Can you leave the room without her crying? If I had enough time I wuld follow Arik around 24/7 but some stuff has to get done.

victoire2002 replied: I let Aidan go to other rooms. Same story--- if too much time has passed or if he gets suddenly quiet, then I will check on him. I also let him tag along when I am doing laundry, or cleaning counters in the kitchen. Since the dogs also follow us, he can amuse himself with them, or he finds things to pick and play with. When I cook, I place him in our dining nook with a pot and a spatula to bang and bang!

5littleladies replied: I leave Brianna alone in the other room sometimes-of course since she follows me everywhere it isn't too often! With 3 kids in the house it is pretty hard to keep an eye on all of them at once!!

MommyToAshley replied: I can usually leave without her crying. I will leave briefly to put clothes in the wash or take them out, but I usually come right back and fold them in the same room as her -- she likes to help. hehe.

Mommieto2Girls replied: I will leave her alone just to run to the bathroom, but that's about it, she follows me everywhere so whereever I go she goes. There is a gate that blocks the kitchen from the living room, dining room and to get to the bathroom you have to go through the kitchen so she always stands there at the gate while I run to the bathroom, she also stands there the whole time I am doing dishes in the kitchen.

Guest_jem0622 replied: If I know the area that he is in is safe for him, then I let him play. Especially if his big brother is around b/c he knows the off limits stuff for him. My little helper! You have to give them some space to explore within reasonable limits. Shut the doors where you don't want for her to go. Not leaving her for long periods, but sit away from her so that she can hang out.

Julie

ediep replied: I hardly ever leave Jason, if we are home alone I go to the bathroom with the door open so I can see him. I let him play with toys while I sit or watch from the side.

amynicole21 replied: I usually don't let her get out of earshot. I'll go into the kitchen and leave her in the family room, but I am constantly listening for her or peeking around the corner.

Schnoogly replied: Not usually--he cries when I leave the room unless he is really interested in something and in a good mood. I will dash upstairs to grab something, or go get the laundry, but I always fold it near him. I take him into the bathroom with me when I take a shower (I still use the bouncy seat for this--bad mommy! But I ordered a doorway jumper.) I leave the shower door open--he likes to watch the water. He doesn't move very fast yet when he scoots, but I know I'll have to keep a closer eye when he starts really crawling.

aspenblue1 replied: I don't leave her alone for long periods. She usually follows me everywhere I go.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I do but not for very long! Claudia seems to scoot in and out of rooms pretty fast anyway so it definately isn't for very long!

MomToMany replied: I let Hannah go off by herself- she has 3 brothers to chase around! They love playing with her. I'm glad when she does it, then I can get the dishwasher loaded or unloaded (depends on what time it is), fold some laundry, sweep the kitchen, vacuum quick, or anything else that needs to get done that she likes to *help* with. I do check on her when she's quiet, but she's usually just looking at books, or playing with blocks or something. She plays really well by herself, but she HAS to come with me whenever I need to use the bathroom .

mummy2girls replied: I used to but because she actually starting to mobile i cant leave her

DansMom replied: Now that Daniel's crawling I am even more nervous to leave him alone. He pulls himself up on everything and tries to climb higher. Even with the childproofing we've done, my imagination combined with his eagerness to explore make me hover anxiously. I will scoop him up and take him with me when I need to spend time in another room. He has his own cupboard in the kitchen with things to amuse him, so that I can do dishes or whatever. That is good for about five minutes before he starts motoring in another direction! We're having fun though. Just tonight DH and I discussed having toy stations (like workstations at work) at more locations throughout the house.

MommyToAshley replied: Yup, Ashley has a crate of toys in just about every room. In the bedroom, her toy station is her bassinete though.

paradisemommy replied: i let taven go - our house is pretty small so i put a gate at either the top of the stairs or bottom of the stairs and since he's been walking - he jets in and out of all the rooms - usually carrying stuff with him and rearranging.. i will check on him when he is quiet but he's usually looking at one of his books or opening and closing the closet doors