Feeling Frustrated

I'm at a loss. Morgan has such a difficult time playing on her own...therefore it can be extremely draining during the day because I kid you not, she does not leave my side...ever! Okay, I lied...as soon as Haley comes home from school, off they run together, playing the afternoon away! But with me...nothing...she refuses. Seriously, she would rather just lay on the couch doing nothing. This really bothers me. I thought, maybe she needs more attention...maybe she feels left out because she's not in school every day. So I make a special effort throughout the day to make sure she's getting some one-on-one time with me. We read, bake, color, play a game...but then when I give her options of things she can do on her own, she refuses. She absolutely will not play downstairs alone, so I tell her to bring stuff up stairs to play...nope. What about reading on your own for a while...nope. Play outside...nope. But if I'm with her, she would love to do any of those things. But I have to be watching. It's killing me!!

She is cuddler, I know this, and I love this about her...if she could, she would just cuddle all day, listening to stories, watching TV...she would love it! But oh, how I wish she would just play on her own for a little while so I can do some housework or maybe just so I can zone out for a minute on the computer. When she's not playing I start to feel such tremendous guilt. It feels like someone would say, "How dare you clean the toilet!! Look at your daughter just sitting there alone...you should be doing something with her...read a book with her!!" But then, I have to stop myself. No...she needs to learn to do things on her own! I've read with her, I baked some bread with her, she helped me clean the bathroom...no I need a little break. And if she would rather just lay there instead of playing with Barbies...then, that's her choice. I think she relies on Haley too much to entertain her.

So anyway...I'm hoping she finds her groove...and she realizes that she doesn't need someone by her side all day long. She has such a wonderful imagination...she is quite capable of some independent play time.