What do you enjoy doing with your 8 year old boys?

[parrotonmyshoulder]

I sometimes (often) feel like I don’t spend enough time with him. There are things that older DD and I do together, and at his age she really wanted to be read to, which he doesn’t. He doesn’t like sitting still long enough!
I’m not really expressing this very well! Activities like games, drawing etc last a few minutes - maybe that’s enough. I just don’t feel we ‘connect’ often.
He doesn’t seem to enjoy things (walks, meals etc) as a whole family. Prefers 1:1 time I suppose. In the winter we did a short night walk every day (started when we were looking for Christmas lights) and that was a nice thing to do together. I’ll try that again.

Sporty games, swingball, badminton, hide and seek?

If he does lego, maybe you could do a lego challenge together? Try and build a vehicle or similar? Or if he plays a computer game, maybe to that. Ours live it when we join in with mario kart etc on the wii

Agree Lego is usually good because there’s no pressure when you’re busy building. Maybe going out on bikes if you have them?

Bike rides? I’ve just been for one with my 7.5yo which we both enjoyed.

Thank you, they’re good ideas. He would like teaching me to play on the switch I think. Bike rides just with him would be good, but with the rest of the family it ends up with me refereeing constantly.
I don’t know why I’m complaining. Right now he’s playing happily with his sister outside. I think I’m feeling a sort of loss at her growing up and thinking I don’t have the same relationship with him. Deeper than I thought when I made the first post!

Walks
Bike rides
Gardening
Watching wildlife programs and Saturday night tv/snuggles on the
Sofa
Lego
Baking
Games like dobble/top trumps
Reading
Talking about minecraft

My DS likes Lego, playing board games, days out. He loves animals so trips to the farm or zoo are his favourites, we don't have pets but we take my mum's dog for walks. We watch YouTube together. He's not into sports thankfully as that's not my cup of tea.

This will probably be frowned upon but we watch my TikTok account together. My feed is animal mad, so lots of funny dogs and naughty pups, cheeky cats. Also a guy who rescues fish and other aquatic life and rehabilitated them.

We usually end up belly laughing.

We do it for 10-20 mins while his bath runs of an evening.

Similarly we might have a YouTube session. We are animal obsessed so it's singing huskies or a woman with a Guinea pig farm.

Then there's the more usual - nature walks, identifying birds, trees and flowers (my mum bought him little pocket books so he'll bring one along to help as I'm pretty clueless)

We have a pup and we take her to the dog park, he's quite social with the adults and loves interacting with the dogs.

Kick around football in the garden, scoring points for hitting objects while the other is in 'goal'.

Bubbles - he loves playing with bubbles - I am the bubble blower while he chases them like crazy.

Play minecraft!

*just to add about TikTok. It is very much an algorithm and shows you what you like. So I know my feed is safe enough (with me present) because for the past year I actively "like" and select "this doesn't interest me" when unsuitable content comes up. I wouldn't recommend sitting down with a fresh account and a young child by your side!

DS1 is this age. Things we do together:
Watch Joseph's machines on YouTube and try to make our own machines
Go for walks and cycles
Go litter picking
Cook - he doesn't like baking so much but enjoys choosing a meal for dinner and making it together with me
Listen to music while playing lego - I do the music, he does lego and I search for pieces when he needs them
Play with a tennis ball in the garden
Lie on the sofa together talking about random stuff he's interested in (right now: Gravity Falls and ocean stuff) and reading together (currently reading the Phantom Tollbooth)

And when not in lockdown: swimming, trampoline park, museums, riding on the top deck of london buses, going to bookshops, going to the library and then sitting in a cafe reading our new books with a hot choc

PokémonGo, Just Dance on the Wii (or on YouTube), Lego, and cooking.

Oh yes, Pokémon Go walks always ended with a hot chocolate!

Mine are girls but stuff they like doing as a family...
Walks with a map and compass
Canoeing
Camping (even if it's just in the garden at the moment)
Lego
Board games
Jigsaws
Cycling
Watching a film or TV

my youngest boy is 9:

Play Minecraft together
Draw things from "art for kids hub" on YouTube together.
Bake
Let him choose dinner and we make it together
Jigsaws
Board games
Card games
Crystal art pictures

My ten year old and I are going to do a couch to 5k together . We will see how that goes!!

Pokemon Go. I've been playing since the game launchrd, and now the whole family has an account each. The 8 year old is particularly handy for tough battles that the grown-ups can't win

Have you tried geocaching (is it even still a thing?)

My DS loved it at that age. We could go out on foot, or on our bikes; or take the train or drive somewhere; we’d always stop for a coffee (/hot chocolate) and would have loads of time to chat but with a purpose/focus.

(DS is 19 now, but probably still would do it!)

(BTW, in my parenting experience (B/G, now late teens) 7/8 year old boys are golden, so enjoy! It was one of my best times )

Bike rides, lego projects and we learned chess together.

Creationary. Like Pictionary, but with LEGO models. Hours of fun except when you try to build a watermelon

Lego, walks (Mummy and DS1 time is how I sell them...leaving DS2 with DH), board games (cooperative games are a big hit), TV like Countryside, Top Gear etc, just sit and chat with him when he’s in the bath. We do still read to him every night.

Baking
Cycle rides
YouTube drawing tutorials (usually Pokemon)
Board games - chess, Catan etc
Lego
Cuddling up and watching films
Discussing Minecraft or his Week Jnr
Build kits (eg robots) or do science experiments

I can see myself having a similar struggle to you, though, OP, when his younger brother is that age. He’s very happy on his own and I already struggle to feel like I do enough with him!

One night a week my 9 year old comes up to bed with me and we watch a show of his choice. It’s so lovely. We cuddle and often fall asleep together.
I have two other kids and he’s the middle, so definitely feel he misses out.

Play roblox together. Some other games like lego shave the sheep, dobble, uno, pass the pigs.

Bike rides
Drawing
Going to the beach
Building Lego
Board games
Watching Horrible Histories
Cooking
Crafts