if you have boys, what do they play together?

[beclev24]

If you have more than one boy, do they play together and if so, what kinds of things do they play? Eg sports/ board games/ imagination games of pretend etc etc

I have 3 DS's ages 8, 5 and 10 months All my friends with girls of similar ages (at least of the older two) say that their girls play together for long stretches, often in pretend kinds of games- eg playing school/ shop/ princesses/ families etc etc. My boys don't play like this at all, or very rarely, and only if I play with them. Do your boys play imagination type games? How can I encourage this kind of play? These are some of my happiest childhood memories....

My boys play “beating the living shit out of each other” on a daily basis

My boys have never played imagination games with each other, it's a shame as the youngest does if he is playing with girls at school. They do craft, drawing, lego, games and video games with each other, as well as the most fun game, poke each other, have a play fight then someone says it goes to far and they come complaining to me!

woohoo1 . yup- same here! how old are yours?

mrsjamin yes! mine will play these games with other kids- especially girls but my oldest sometimes with boys at school (will play spies etc) but never with each other. I find it really sad, but maybe I have to just let it go!

lego
playmobile
drawing, painting
mini table ice hockey and table football
outdoor chasing, ball games
indoor den building aka get all the nicely ironed stuff out and fling everywhere with pegs, string, and go camping aka then empty the entire cutlery draw, all the tupperware etc and fill with random crap like stuffed tissue, rocks, or 'treasure'

They are 5&7

Mine play power rangers, spies, tag, hide and seek, ninjas. They play a lot with Lego men, little superhero characters and imaginex sets. My big two are 5 and 4 and my little one is almost 2. The two year old tends to just follow them around.

I’m with WooHoo - 13, 11 and 9 and it has always been the same.

They will pair off and do things occasionally - top trumps, lego, x-box, board games (as a family), baking.

Same as @woohoo1

I suppose I could call it the ‘who will get a head injury first’ game?

FML 😂

Mine were inseparable until they were about 11& 9. They weren't always playing together but they would be in the same place.

They never played board games, ever, that was one perfect family image that never happened for me (I could never get them to do arts and crafts either, or sport!).

They'd sit alongside each other watching TV or playing computer games or colouring and they made elaborate set ups with the brio trains, toy cars and hot wheels tracks. And building dens. There wasn't a lot of imaginative play, they never created characters for their toys etc.

They also spoiled each others games.... A lot

thanks! I wonder if boys in general do play less imaginative type games or whether that's just the ones I've met. If so- I wonder why.

Mine love stuff like lego, keva blocks, making potions, looking for bugs and insects, making forts etc but it usually ends in a big argument and some form of physical violence....

My boys used to and sometimes still do( they are now 15 and 12) spend hours playing with toy soldiers. We had thousands of them, and tanks, and helicopters and trenches. They are different arnlmiea doing different stuff, and they would plan and act and play for days on a specific settibg

DS plays loads of imaginative games both with his sister and with his (male) friends at school. It’s not a female trait at all but all children play differently and some just aren’t into that. There have been threads on MN about whether or not you do a lot of daydreaming as an adult which are interestingly divided so I think it’s just the same for children, they all have different interests. Some need more of a focus for play than others.

penguinsaideverything that's really interesting. I would have never said it was a gender thing at all, but then again I do know from my line of work that men do buy/ read more non fiction and women read wayyyyy more fiction than men. This is probably all a socialization thing, but I wonder how and when it starts.

I have a 16 year old and a 9 year old...quite often find them sitting on the floor building Lego! DS1 was obsessed with the stuff when he was younger and DS2 has only really gotten into it in the last year or so it's lovely to see them enjoying it in different ways, DS2 just growing his enthusiasm and DS1 still happy to sit and play. We have 2 little Nerf guns that are endless fun for them (and DH...) too.

DD is actually the one who is less likely to join in games here, she just wants peace and quiet to draw and do crafty things!

Mine play cars, races, hide and seek, making dens, hot wheels, Lego, all sorts but all active and most of it quite noisy.

They do use imagination to create but they don't make little worlds with their toys as I've seen girls tend to do. Ds1 in particular is spectacularly lacking in imagination or inclination to pretend play. He likes it straight and real.

My boys do a lot of imaginative play with their cuddly toys. They still do it now they are 10 and 12! Also imaginative stuff with Lego mini figures, used to have dinosaurs doing bizarre things (driving fire engines for example). I’ve got a younger daughter and I don’t see any difference with the amount of imaginative play TBH.

My boys 10 & 8 spend loads of time playing imaginative games. Everything from being pets to spies and ninjas. My 6yo daughter joins in too but is more of a do craft or write stuff type than imaginative play.
They also play Lego together, a lot!

Interesting replies thanks! Lovely to hear tales of all these brothers having fun together :-)

Mine are 2 and 6. It’s basically balls, bricks and sticks!

Yes imaginative play but usually with a boyish theme. Lots of dressing up. Pirates, avengers, etc. Lots of wrestling scenarios.

I have three boys 8, 6 and 3. The lego is very popular, as is the wooden trainset. Occasionally they'll play a simple board/card game (apart from youngest who makes up for his inability to full participate by annoying the shit out of he older two). There is a LOT of imaginative play spies, being baby animals, having a pet, emergency services (fires feature a lot!), World War II airplane fights etc.When the weather is fine they will spend hours in the garden digging holes in the lawn with toy vehicles or riding on their bikes.
As to fighting, they are either playing beautifully or winding each other up fighting over toys or just getting too boisterous and physical. Surprisingly little dressing up though, despite numerous outfits in the toy cupboard.

Mine are eight and 10. It took a while for them to play together but they do more now a lot more than they used to. They play:
“Creatures” - one of them pretends to be a small creature that needs looking after. I love this as I see it as a way for them to express tenderness for each other in disguise!
Complicated games they make up involving paper, pens, numbers, drawings, dice, which I don’t understand at all but often seem to involve Pokemon.
Battles with vehicles and weapons they have made out of Lego, or ones they already have
Imaginary games again often involving Pokemon or wizards or Jedi
Football

My two do a good line in accusing each other of malicious breathing. They’re not good at sharing space, and I’m not sure if it’s sibling issues or ASD issues. Either way, if they’re playing in the same space for more than about ten minutes things can get very hairy with practically no notice.

They’re 11 and almost 7.