How to Get 5 Year Old to Play by Himself

Mine is almost 8 and I still see some of that.
What I do is "get him going" on a project, activity, etc., then walk away & I'll do something else. I check in from time to time.
That seems to work well.
Good luck.

Consider establishing a regular "quiet time" period during the day during which your son stays in his room by himself and plays with toys, works on art projects (crayons), "reads" his books, etc. To start him off, get a few new special toys -- toys that you only let him play with during his quiet time. At first, see if he will play for 15 min. (and then be sure to put the special toys away.) If he can't make even 15 min, gently guide him back to his room and tell him quiet time isn't over and you'll come get him when it is. After a while, I'll bet he will start asking for more time to play on his own. ("Creation" type toys are really great for this time -- train tracks he can assemble, building blocks, magna-tiles, legos, Hex-Bug Habitats, etc.)

We got into the habit of using the tv more than I was comfortable with. In our case we really had to go "cold turkey". That meant for about a week we just watched absolutely no t.v., and instead I kept my daughter super busy. By the end of the week she basically forgot about the t.v. Something else you can do is put him in his room for quiet time or alone time for an hour stretch once or twice a day. Have him choose several of his favorite toys, put on a fun CD, and leave him alone in there to play. If an hour is too long at first, start smaller (maybe 15 minutes) and work your way up gradually. If he refuses to stay in his room you could try the super-nanny technique of simply returning him to his room every time he comes out. You have to be very consistent and eventually he'll realize he'd rather sit in there and play than doing the back and forth game.

Like Denise advised, "get him going" on something and use a timer -- mom will play X with you until the timer goes, then it's your special time do what you want, son. It's easy to say, "Go play," but to kids this age that means nothing; they need a little push on what to do. Set him up with whatever you feel he can use -- paints and an easel in the kitchen, while you're doing dishes nearby; puzzles in his bedroom (try easy 3-D puzzles if he isn't into flat ones); suggest he make a meal (with plastic food and a couple of your unbreakable plates) for his stuffed toys; whatever he likes. But "Go play," like "Go clean up your room," doesn't work well for a while yet -- they need more specifics. And resist the temptation to stick him back in front of the TV or he'll learn to depend on that to occupy himself, and won't learn the imaginative skills and self-reliance of being alone some of the time.

My daughter is the same way and she is 6. She is an only child so I know that is part of the problem. Since she was about 3 years old, I have taken a timer and set it for a certain amount of time (usually 30 minutes) and tell her that we will play what she wants and then when the timer goes off she has to go and play by herself and then I would set it for 30 minutes or an hour and then when it would go off, I would return to playing with her. She used to do really well until the past year or so when we've been dealing with some separation/anxiety issues. She is seeing a therapist and she said to keep on reinforcing the timer because they understand that more so than "I'll play with you for so and so amount of time" - they don't understand the concept of time and the timer will help with that.

Oh my kids are like that too.

I have noticed my kids play best when they are supposed to be doing something else. Cleaning their room, getting ready for bed, it time to go out. When I want them to play they don't. Try letting him play a few minutes before bed. May be he can get a good game going the he will want to continue in the morning. Try you can play then we are going to the grocery store. Make sure you aren't really want to go.

Set up tv times, snack times, right after exercise. So he knows when the tv goes on and when it doesn't.

Does he attend preschool or school?
This might be good for him and to build more skills....

It is also a personality thing.
My daughter was like that. Too.
My son is not and is very independent.

When my kids say they are bored... I tell them "That is GOOD. It means your brain is thinking..." then I tell them to THINK of things, they can do... even if painting a rock or doing a craft, or doing imaginary play etc. I make it fun and like a game... to have them think of as many things as they can... to do...

all the best,
Susan

My kids sometimes go through phases like that. The best thing to do is make yourself busy. Cleaning is a great way to make him play by himself.
When my kids get especially whiny, I turn on the vacuum. They disappear. :)
Needless to say, I love vacuuming time.
It's a short-term solution, but it'll get him in the habit of occupying himself.

This is a problem with "younger" only children (once they are proficient in reading, you can set a 'reading' timer). It's hard to play pretend all by yourself. I have an only child who is a girl.... it's no fun to play barbies or polly pockets without somone else and if you're a boy - well, you can't kick around a ball by yourself....
The only thing my daughter really wanted to do by herself was water play - we had a whole set up in the tub of pouring containers etc - she would have LIVED in the tub if I would have let her (just make sure he's supervised).

You can also ask him to do something for you.....

Jimmy, would you please color a picture for me? I'd love to hang something on the wall.

Jimmy, I'd love to see you build a house out of your legos... how many rooms should it have etc etc.

Aside from that.... why do you want him to play by himself??? He can be 'helping' you. 5 is big enough to:
help you fix breakfast, lunch & dinner - he can rip up lettuce for the salad, get the veggies/fruit from the fridge and put it in the strainer, get the ice cube trays out etc etc.
help you with laundry - he can 'help' you put the clothes from the washer to the dryer. he can get the dryer sheet for you.

Has he made any friends - can he have some playdates a couple times each week? My daughter was MUCH more self-sufficient if she had some social interactions.
Is there a mothers day out or park district program he could go to a couple times a week so he can play with other kids?

Good Luck!

Why is it important for you to have him play alone? Is he "getting in your way" or you just want to be able to get things done?

He is of school age, so I would suggest giving him some activities to work on that would be challenging yet fun. Let him work on them and then you can check them after he is done. (coloring, puzzles, painting, etc or let him help you do chores that will keep him busy for a while.

Mine does have a very hard time playing by herself. and still does after 7 years. SO, I guess I spend sometime with her in a game or something. Then I say, if you can make an effort to do something creative until the buzzer rings, I will let you watch tv . ds. or computer for 30 min. That works great too. And love getting them started with a couple projects and leaving them . Sometimes you have to give them no choice so they build their imagination. From this time to this time you have to find something to do in your room

Well I was going to say that he probably is just craving your attention with having a new baby in the house.. but seeing as you say he never really has played by himself before that obviously isn't the answer. Is there anything that he is really interested in? My son is 4 and he is overly obsessed with trains... he has too many trains and train track to count but they sure do get their moneys worth because he plays with them day and night. Maybe what you could do to slowly change the process of him playing with you to him playing by himself is giving him a time limit, for example "mom will play with you for 20 mins while baby is sleeping, but then you have to play with your toys by yourself for another 20 mins". Does he like Lego's or building blocks? You can ask him to build you a really big tower while you are busy with the baby and you will come back in about 30 mins to see it. Just some ideas, hope they work. I'm a nanny to an 11 month old and bring my 4 year old son with me, so I kinda know the situation you're in. Hope it works out well :)

My son was like that at that age. Get him some Duplo Legos and a few small toy fire trucks. Now have him build a fire station. My son would spend hours building fire stations and then show me how they work. He had some pretty cool ideas!