When your kids ask you to play with them

[Santa01]

I love my children more than anything but a shiver goes down my spine when they ask me to play with them, specially anything Lego/play doh or Sylvanian families related...

Please tell me I'm not the only one or else that I'm the worst parent for not getting excited about little rabbits or square pieces of plastic....

Lego building delights me. Imagination games however should be confined to children playing with each other. I normally cope because it’s only two days a week. Now however...

Oh my heart sinks if it's playing imaginary volcano emergencies or other imaginary role play games. They never end and just get wound deeper and deeper into a nightmare scenario where problems mount up on top of each other and it gets more and more surreal.

I prefer making cakes where there is a finite process and you get to eat somethung at the end.

I’m the worst mother in the world because I say ‘you know mummies don’t play’. Awful, I know. But I will gladly bake with them, draw, colour, let them ‘help’ with gardening, take them in walks, cinema trips, do any craft etc.

All DD has said since lockdown began is “Me want you play with me” or “you want to play with me?” She sounds so cute but her games are very repetitive.

I hear you! I'm a single parent on lockdown with 6 yr old ds. I'm guilted into playing as its just the 2 of us I can't say no really. I don't mind board games, sports or crafts but " pretend " is my nightmare.
Mummy pretend this pretend that..... it just goes on and on. He's so weird as many pretend scenarios centre around The Chase, we regularly pretend he's Ann Hegarty!

I love Lego! Except DS doesn't want to play with ME anymore.

Thought this was just me.
Why does it always have to be on the floor? Why does it always have to be as I dare to sit down with a cup of tea when he's been playing so nicely on his own for ages or watching TV?
Like a PP I can deal with it two or three days a week. Not 24/7 like it has been for the last two months.

This morning I was the pretend doctor. The 3 year old mummy brought the doll in because the doll had been vomiting after eating glass. I got carried away and scolded the three year old Mummy for letting the doll eat glass, and almost made her cry.

I do find it doesn't last that long if I fully commit to the role. It isn't improv. I've learned not to say "Yes..and". I just do as I'm and everyone is happy.

I find that the more effort I put in when DD (3) asks me to play, the more engrossed she gets on her own and the longer period I get to sneak away and go on my laptop/ whatever.
It’s a false economy to bat her off because it makes her more needy!

"I just do as I'm told"

I love my son to bits. BUT he keeps wanting to play the blowing game. He blows and I have to pretend that I've been caught up in a cyclone. Didn't mind it in the beginning. But I berate myself in my head for coming up with the game. Still do it. But im actually cussing myself out in my head.

That's why my kids have siblings and devices, and usually long hours at childcare, plenty of extra curricular activities, and lots of trips to the park or soft play. I like playing board games or cards and can sometimes be roped into other things but not often. I always think it's my job to facilitate their play not to actually play with them.

Yes! ‘Play with me mummy!’ are the dreaded words. I oblige and play with him as he’s an only so I feel bad. Also I know one day he’ll grow out of it.
He likes playing with happyland so we do a lot of that, anything like Spider-Man role play though I hate! And hide and seek haha

God yes,playing playmobil is the worst,I detest it lego second,I'll colour,craft play board games,garden games etc all day but hate pretend,an hour and I'm absolutely done and put my foot down.

I would happily go for walks, cycles, read and lots more activities with my little ones,but the lock down has limited a lot of that, we live in a small village and walks and cycles have become a little mundane, I'm grateful for the lovely weather so I can at least throw them out in the garden.

I dread a rainy day where my three year old will begin every sentence with pretend... Pretend.... Pretend and pretend... Maybe I should do as I'm told and just submit..

I used to love imaginary play when ds was little...we'd take all the cushions off the couch and pretend to be Stephanie and Sportacus in the airship or pretend to swing around like Spidey. We loved playing shop with our son and at 14 he still has his little doctors kit he used to examine us with, fixing our imaginary ailments. Our ds had a really active imagination and was a great one for dressing up costumes. Really cute. I remember he always used to say "I'll be(insert name), you be (insert name)" and he used to involve my mum and dad too. I loved those days, brilliant memories and great bonding times. Wouldn't have missed any of that for the world.

I find with these games that I’m somehow always doing something wrong with ever changing “rules”.

One of mine ONLY wants to play Zombies or Pirates, there the same game. I chase him then I chase him then I chase him.
My heart sinks tbh

Nope nope nope

I feel like I don’t even know how to play.

So glad I am out of this zone!
DD was obsessed with let's pretend games and would play as long as I could tolerate. Regrettably I was quite good at these and her excitement would ramp up! I had to limit the duration for my sanity but would commit fully for the time I'd agreed to
My Mum on the other hand was simply amazing. She had mild dementia and never got bored or distracted and would play as long as DD wanted. It was blissful.

I quite like Lego or play dough but the only pretend games I will play are hospitals - I am the patient and lie on the sofa being prodded and bandaged or cafe - I am the customer who reads their book whilst being brought pretend cakes and cups of tea.
Luckily my 3 will do imaginary play for ages on their own now!

I also get the shiver down my spine. At home alone with one DC aged 5, constantly demands playing. I end up feeling awful guilty if I don't play, so I play for a bit and then she has to play alone. Mummy will play until I finish this tea and then I have to go do dinner etc. It's so boring but I feel so bad for her!

You're not a bad mum. You just need to know your limits and I really know my limits on this one. I HATE free play without end so I've always left that to my husband.

I prefer to play a specific game with an end point or do a puzzle.

I'll happy do full on half an hour if I know I can do something else when it's over.

I’ve never been the “play with my children” type either!!! I wish I was I really do, but I’m not, it’s so tedious and I feel like a horrible mum and person for saying it but I don’t enjoy one little bit!!!