Playing with your kids...

I'm with my kids all day long and I interact with them all day long...talking, hugging, cuddling, disciplining, laughing, what we all do But I wonder if I actually PLAY with them enough. Sometimes we chase each other around the house or I'll pretend to be a princess or a pirate or something for a game, but not every day certainly. I feel like perhaps I don't because they have each other and play together all the time... plus, well, I don't always feel like chasing them, etc...I remember seeing a similar post in the second year forum awhile back and the consensus if I recall was that it's okay to let them be, they have each other, etc...and while I agree, I feel guilty that I should be interacting, roleplaying, playing games, even more with them...anyone else feel this way? Thoughts?

 

Honestly it really bores me so not much...

 

I really like it when they play by themselves, so I can get some stuff done! :blush: It's rare though; they always come find me within 2 minutes of me slinking off to the laundry room.

My guys like me to at least sit and pay attention while they play, but don't really involve me that much (I WOTH so this is limited to evenings and weekends). The exception is Tinkertoys. I can sit for hours and play with those suckers! :lol:

So I'd say the amount of time I spend playing with my guys really depends on if you mean active play, or just sitting in the same room and watching. With the former, I'd say less than an hour per day and not every day (maybe 4 hours per week); with the latter, it's probably another 4-5 hours per week.

I think that if they're happy, then there's nothing wrong with letting them play by themselves! :good: Or having one day when you play a lot with them, and let them do their own thing the next. Sometimes I feel like when I'm playing with them I'm "directing" them or that they are taking their cues from me instead of making up their own play. I love to see what creative (or destructive ) things they come up with on their own.

 

I work FT so my time with them is somewhat limited. I usually dont play along with them but often talk to them about what they are doing. They will be asking me for help with something or help them to find a toy they cant find. If it is coloring now they want me to draw them things so stuff like that. DH can be more silly than I usually am and will do more of the pretend play stuff.

 

i try to make an effort every day of some sort of activity we can do together. today i had them help me bake zucchini bread, then after that they went off and pretended to make their own breads/cakes. i notice that if i spend a little time with them doing some sort of neat activity (playdoh, crafts, painting, "school", etc) that they play much better on their own for a good amount of time afterwards. so i'd say about an hour a day of them and me and some activity. i hate playing pretend/dressup so i try to avoid that, and i hate pretending to be a lion chasing them around all the time, too ... i leave that one to dh lol

i also have noticed that during those sit-down activities is when i have the coolest conversations with my girls

 

With my older 2 kids I had to play with them a lot! My oldest was an only child for 4.5 yrs and we used to play everything together (before FB and msg boards were big ). Then I had my dd, and my oldest was in school so I kept her entertained until my older ds got home. But I'm finding with the twins that the older they get, the less and less they "need" me to keep them entertained! It helps that they have their older siblings to play with them too.

So over all, actual play time is very limited, I'm gonna say less than an hour and not every day. However, the time we do spend together is usually doing things like reading, wrestling, tickle fighting, giggling...etc. I love that time together!!!

 

My girls tend to get annoyed when I try & play with them. :laughing: I'd say it's kind of a 5 minutes here & there sort of thing. Usually when they want some mommy time they want quiet, cuddle time. With DH they tend to want more physical play. I don't worry about it - I figure if they want/need me, they'll come find me.

 

I'd say I play with my kids quite a bit. If they're starting to go off the rails bored I find I can usually calm them down by showing them another way to use a toy or starting a different activity. Lately all they want is for me to put on a performance for them so I have done an itsy bitsy spider/head, shoulders, knees & toes/little green frog medley about 2342485471394872 times a day. But, I do like to encourage them to play on their own and they do very well at it. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people come over and try and correct how they play (i.e. trying to make them use a toy a certain way or forcing them into a game they don't want). I like that they're independent!

 

I don't. I wish I did and I should.. now that I'm having a singleton my most basic fear is that he will want to play with me all of the time. I'm hoping that doesn't happen. I'm with them sOO much and they play together well.. but I know they'd like me to join in. UGH.

 

This is what I was going to write!! My boys play better together when I'm not there. I don't know why, but they start fighting or just being naughty when I try to play with them. I end up getting mad and they end up in timeout. I always try to do something like a craft or cooking with them a few times a week. Now that the baby is coming I can't help but think of how she isn't going to have someone to play with all the time!! Sadly I'm scared that person will be ME, but thankful I will get that experience.

 

My pediatrician recommends 15 mins a day at least of play where you are interacting. I probably do that while DH does more because he doesn't cook or clean. They do a lot of circle time at daycare so when they are with us, it is a lot of free play.

 

I would say its maybe 20 mins here or there through out the day but most of the time I'm just sitting watching them play or cleaning (does it ever end?!?!). When my MIL watches Hannah once a week and I only have the boys I let them do "messy" things that I can't with Hannah around...this week it was out in the driveway with a bunch of bowls, water pitchers, flour, baking soda, and vinegar They LOVE doing stuff like this and as much as I want to get in on the action with them, they play so well and do so many things I wouldn't think of without me there telling them to do this or watch me do that