I cannot stand watching my child do dance /shows !

tickle games are fun

Oh my gosh....YES! I cant count all the year end assemblies in primary school where the audience had to sit through excruciating singing and recorder / violin exhibitions by barely capable and glaringly untalented children. The thinking seemed to be that everyone should get to have a go no matter whether they were ready or not.

I now go and watch my adult ds play in his very heavy rock band .
it’s amazing !
And his friends and audience are amazing .
They look like you’d cross the street to avoid them sometimes but they are the sweetest folk .
We get welcomed with open arms and ds always jumps off the stage and gives us a hug at the end !!
so those ear bursting practice sessions and “listen to this “ were worth it!

When they are all grown up and have children of their own and they live far far away, you will reflect on this post sadly. I really miss those days with my kids.

I've retird after being a Nanny for over 30 years and can honestly say that's my favourite part.i remember when I was a child my mother had no interest, but a kindly neighbour would let me put on 'shows'.I felt her interest was genuine and it boosted my confidence, that I lost in later life, but I always remembered that kind neighbour..fast forward and I have loved watching various children in my care.The last one I have video's and rewatch them occasionally. Sometimes I send them to the 'child' ,who is now grown up.i never found it boring.same with Barbie and Disney.

You wanted to be a parent
> goin to the shows IS part of bein a parent
if you dont want to be a parent
> never go in without a skyn
other condoms are available

Some downright weird responses on here. What some people don't appear to understand is that there are parts of childrearing which ARE downright dull and mind-numbingly boring. That doesn't mean you are an awful parent and should never have had kids.

My dd was happy to be on stage performing in front of hundreds of strangers, but didn't much like me watching, and never did any 'shows' at home.

I think they’re agreeing with you, saying watching your kids do stuff is part of the reason you have kids and if people don’t want that then they should have used a condom. A bit of a strange post though.

I’m sorry I don’t understand a word of this answer!

We enjoyed taking them to country parks, museums, galleries, cinema, days out to the space centre or conkers in Leicestershire, the Eden project was always a favourite in Cornwall, climbing Conwy mountain, we’ve taken them all over the uk. Camping as a family and also in scouts and guides, Disneyland Paris, the local swings at the park. Throw in the odd brewery/distillery over the years. They’ve had a great time with us. Baking, I taught them both how to cook, do washing and ironing, taught them to swim, ride bikes, play games, all sorts and we took them every week to see both sets of grandparents.

Mine were never into performing, I feel I’ve missed out.

What do you like doing with your children, then? Genuine question.

That IS part of the reason - you BECAME a parent
Other options are available - never go in without a skyn
> Other condoms are available

We don’t sit there with a face like a slapped arse. When they’re doing their ‘bit’ of course we’re encouraging and tell them how fabulous they are. We’re just glad when it ends.

I feel the pain in so mentally exhausted from caring for my autistic daughter and never actually shuts up because she has a vocal stim when it comes to making any sort of effort to listen to my other kids or anyone for that matter I just can't I've got nothing left to give and if you are not into it then it's ok to not be interested but maybe just say ok quickly and maybe tell them I love everything you show me but can we keep it for say after tea or before tea ect to try and not hurt feelings ?

Sorry, I can’t agree. I bloody love everything she does, even if it’s objectively a load of crap. I love seeing her being creative and interacting with her mates. It’s lovely.

My children & now my young grandchildren are talented in mainy fields including music, sport, theatre, dance & performance. I've always been a huge supporter of both generations making the most of their talents along with accepting their enthusiasm to show me what they can do. If I had the time I would happily watch them & encourage them all day long. I consider it one of life's pleasures & far from being boring or a chore. As far as going to shows or various types of competitions, I absolutely love this & that includes seeing all the children take part.

I am not a parent but if I were to find out that the endless fashion shows, plays, concerts and everything else I put on for my parents and my friends parents where mind-numbing or boring I would have been devastated. I am a natural born performer but opportunitues were limited in the depressing backwater town in which i was raised so I had to make-do and express my creative juices to those who were there. Get you head out of your arse and support your children in any way that makes them happy, it is NOT about you!

Ah that’s wonderful! My eldest plays the flute and at his last woodwind school concert the single oboist played Gabriel’s Oboe by Morricone and reduced me to tears! Completely wonderful in amongst all the slightly tiresome jazz (not a big fan).

Now my kids are teens the standard of the concerts is extremely high actually, can’t complain there, but I do remember the screeches and farts from primary!

Yeah I suppose the set up of both running and football doesn’t involve sitting through lots of other stuff like that! The most tiresome it gets is the travelling and the hanging around beforehand as you have to be early and that’s no more than an hour normally (although sometimes an hour in the wind and rain etc). Looking forward to track and field season now 😀

Oh honestly!

I love my DC (now both at Uni) as much as any mother.

I am pretty creative in hobbies and work - I love music/art/theatre/film/dance and have encouraged all these things in my DC.

I have enjoyed shows and performances and silly dances and terrible magic shows over the years...

But MY GOD there are limits.

Daily recorder recitals and 'freestyle' dance shows that go on for half an hour and have to endlessly re-started because of a mis-step, that involve lengthy intervals, ticketing, fussing around seating and multiple costume changes, are to be endured not enjoyed.

Wanting to stab yourself in the eye after the fourth attempt at 'Oh Little Town of Bethlehem' on a squeaky descant recorder, does not make you a shit mum.

I don't think you're being unreasonable. We all have parts of parenting we dislike more than others.

I love the shows and imaginary play personally; I'm a writer so it's all par for the course. I love seeing my DS's imagination flourish and am enjoying watching where it takes him. We're always being told by parents at nursery that their kids chat excitedly about our son all the time. At his parents evening we were told he had 'leadership' qualities. Both me and my husband recognised this as what we'd done as kids; created involved, complex games that were in effect plays or shows, which other children became invested in and wanted more of! It was only as an adult I realised not everyone can do that. And here both me and DH are now, making our livings doing more or less the same thing. Pays well too!

I can't imagine being so invested if DS excels at accountancy, although I'd still support him, obviously. Accountancy is necessary too...

My DS plays the oboe. Its a beautiful instrument but not so much in the learning stages. Imagine the sound of someone strangling a goose.

I've also sat through many learner music performances which can be rather painful but worse, the honking, fart sounds and screeching that comes out at random can be hilarious and so having to keep a straight face can be almost impossible.

I am regularly reminded of one of my favourite book quotes which is “there is no worse sound in the world than someone who cannot play the violin but insists on doing so anyway.”

I should add that it's complete karma though as I quite frequently put on shows with my sisters, well into teenage years. The shame.

My three kids wanted to do a Strictly Dancing competition at home one evening. I gave them all 10, they were insistent that I scored them properly and not 'like a mum', so I gave them all a more honest score and they all started crying at my honesty...to be fair, I think I was pretty generous all the dancing was way below Strictly standards😁. They didn't ask to do any more competitions, although I still had to watch a lot of singing shows, and them hopping and saying 'Look mummy'. These days I just have to admire their delts, or triceps, or how much protein they've eaten that day, which is even more dull!