What toys do your 7yr old DS play with?

[Shybairns]

I have wrongly allowed my 7 yr old DS so get totally into games on his DS and now minecraft. Not to mention the free app games on my phone.
During the holidays on the days when we have stayed in I have enforced a 3 hour period in the middle of the day when there is no TV or computer games allowed. DS has struggled to entertain himself during these times and has almost clock watched till allowed back on tv and games.

Obviously this is both sad and worrying for me.

He is a fairly mature 7 yr old however surely there should still be toys e enjoys? He's not sporty, apart from a bit of tennis and when friends come to play they mostly enjoy play fighting or wrestling with each other or playing hide n seek or such like. He loves board games and card games but obviously that involves another person and sometimes I just have to get on with jobs in the house. He is not crafty at all and not in to music.

Apart from further and greater limitations on tv and video games what can I buy him or play with him to reignite his ability to play? Ideally he would be able to play alone however am happy to play with him for a bit to show him how a toy or game works.

Please don't be mean and judgy with me. Have stayed away from mn for a while because of the reaction I got to my last conversation.

Thanks in advance for any advice offered

[butterflyroom]

Lego? Meccano? Knex? They focus on building, creating, problem solving at various levels of difficulty.

[Looby2k]

My ds (just turned 8) is also obsessed with games. I've been weaning him off with Lego and angry bird sets. I've found the physical things of the games he is into helped a lot. I also got him a bike to get him to leave the house. He has ASD so it's a slow process but we are down to playing on his ipad/consoles to about two hours a day and he will sometimes actually come off himself to play with real toys now.

Good luck!

[Needingthework]

Lego, army figures, action figures, football, loom bands...but mainly Lego.

[Needingthework]

Oh, and board games. He also loves Top Trumps

[Shybairns]

Thanks. We just had a game of cluedo! Army figures might interest him. He likes his top trumps. I have tried several times to interest him in lego and although he plays with kenexx at school he's not so interested at home. He has a bike and a scooter but no where to go on them by himself and he would rather walk to the park when we go anyway.

I will continue to further limit the screen time and see what he can come up with.

[Eva50]

Ds3, just turned 8, is very into Minecraft. He watches Stampy Longhead on you tube and plays Minecraft on the iPad or x box with his (much older) brothers. He rarely watches TV. We don't allow any games in the morning so when he's at school by the time he gets home does homework, piano practice and evening activities he doesn't get too much game time. During the holidays when we have been at home he has pretty much played from after lunch onwards with enforced short breaks for piano, 10 minute maths and an odd story.

He otherwise plays with Knex - we have a huge box which belonged to his brothers, likes to bake or cook (doesn't get that from me), make loom bands or draw. He likes making things out of wood but that involves supervision. I am thinking of getting some Minecraft Lego although he is most interested in Lego if someone will play with him.

Mine is not sporty either and doesn't like playing outside.

[atticusclaw]

No computers allowed in this house apart from an hour each day at the weekends on the wii.

DS2 is seven and DS1 is 9

lego
star wars figures
top trumps
chess
Zoobs
Knex
Hotwires
magnetic darts
board games
riding bikes
football
archery (soft tips)
spy/army stuff (dress up camo jackets, box of snaps, nerf gun)

[giantfloorpuzzle]

My 7 year old ds plays alot of things and is really into make believe play. So still lots of dinosaurs, train tracks, toy animals etc. He also loves crafts. We have no tv or computers though. I do find when we spend time at his grandparents he watches tv for about 2 hours in the morning and after this it takes him quite a while to play again, as if he can't figure out how to entertain himself after being passively entertained. I usually then have to set up a game for him or at least suggest a game, then he gets into it. He also loves to play dress up with dd.

[Athyrium]

Loves Star Wars lego, loom bands at the mo too, playing with his soft toys, roller skating, football in back garden, reading (mega into Beast Quest at the mo), chess, top trumps, arty/crafty stuff (mosaics, hamma beads) and then of course pestering me! Gets obsessed with computer games and the like if allowed them so they are limited to weekends and holidays. Plenty of TV too to be fair tho. We go out plenty so less bothered about telly, but like you op I also worry about how pc games etc suck children in.

[Fuzzymum1]

My 7yo loves playing outside with his friends on his bike, Y-flicker etc or just running about playing an imaginary game.

He loves practicing magic tricks, he plays school - he loves to pretend he's a teacher. He makes animations - it does involve software on the computer but most of it involves setting up scenes with lego people and taking lots and lots of photos. He builds things with K'nex or lego. Builds forts with chairs and blankets, helps cook etc. Because he enjoys so many active/non-screen things I don't mind the odd rainy day spent on rollercoaster tycoon etc.

[thegreylady]

Dgs is 7, 8 next month. He has a ds but is only allowed to play on it for short periods, never longer than 40 minutes and maybe twice a day at most.
He loves Lego, especially Ninjago and Star Wars stuff. He enjoys remote control cars and planes. He likes loom bands. He makes endless models of 'worlds' for Moshi Monsters and Smurfs. He plays board games, does puzzles, plays brio trains with his younger brother and acts out various books and plays.
He cycles, swims and plays tennis and football. He goes to Beavers (Cubs after next week) and a sports club. He likes to read but mainly non fiction. He is fascinated by wildlife, the stars and medieval castles.