Do your children play with toys

[Easystuff]

My children are 7 and 8. They do have toys but they don't really play with them . They do play on their tablets. When they are not on them. They play with things like boxes. Blankets, a broom, a shampoo bottle. Just random crap. Or ride on each others back etc. But they don't seem to play with actual toys . Maybe for 10/20 mins few times a week and that's it.

2nd time around for me, and I absolutely think tablets have sacked the imagination from kids. My older 3 played all day with various toys. My younger 2 would happily sit in a screen in their rooms for eternity.

Dts are 12 and still play with toys, they'd never tel their friends though!

I've got an 8 yo who'd prefer a box too, he makes costumes and friends. He plays with his plushie toys but more as mates so he chats to them. But yes, actual toys he plays with less and less and he has a good imagination but just wants to play with other stuff.

My twins rarely played with toys. Neither liked construction play and they never did imaginative a play or anything like that. They did play with their teddies a lot though. They always had each other so it's different to a single child. Maybe that's the case with yours being so close in age

My 7 year old rarely plays with toys. He never really has (makes Christmas and birthdays hard!)

My two year old loves cars and will play with them for ages.

@cocksstrideintheevening i wonder if it’s a twin thing having a play mate all the time because mine are 12 and still play dolls and sylvanian families (but would never tell their friends).

That's what made me ask the question I was looking for Xmas gift and thought what can I buy them. Then wondered if other children are similar

My 6 year old usually does colouring and drawing. Does play with some toys but given how many she’s got they don’t get enough use. Prefers to play outside but we are lucky as the street is pedestrianised so quite a few kids play out together. If I’m not allowing screen time and say it’s play time she always gets the pens and paper out or activity books. Making dens is also a favourite and doesn’t involve any of her toys. We do play games together like uno, snap and board games too. I guess as long as yours are playing with some things even if it’s not their toys they got enough imagination to entertain themselves.

My 5year ols plays with toys constantly - barbies, sylvanian families, dolls, play kitchen and lots of drawing. She doesn't get the tablet unless we are travelling - not sure if that plays into it?

I’d say my children only actually sit and play for extended periods of time with about 10% of their toys. Usually they tend to be toys that lend themselves to imaginative play (eg Lego/dolls/figures/construction toys). I try not to buy things that are too prescriptive because they’re pointless.

We don’t have many toys really as they don’t play with them. The toys they do play with are almost solely construction based - Lego (so much lego), magnatiles, that’s it really. Playmobil but we don’t have loads. Confiscated marble run as we have a baby now.

They make a bloody den every single day, play games in the garden, eldest loves any sport and never sits still, occasional board game, chess etc.

8 year old loves gaming, 5 year old loves crafts, playdoh (is that a toy??), kinetic sand, art.

A box is a most wonderful toy.
I remember when my grandparents got a new fridge freezer. We played with that box for weeks and cried when it was eventually so tatty it had to be thrown out. It was a house, a puppet theatre, a tunnel...

Our piano came in a box. We had weeks of children coming round to play with the wonderful box. It was huge and could fit 5 or 6 of our age dc in it at any time. Half the time they didn't seem to do much but sit in it and make up stories.

My 6.5-year-old plays with his cars, puzzles, lego, and he colours/draws. We are outside a lot too.

He can watch a movie on the ipad (not every day) but he doesn't get it for leisure/play time and never if he says he's bored.

A real mix. My 6 year old doesn’t play with many toys, loves a screen but does enjoy lego/playdoh too and general rough and tumble play. My 4 nearly 5 year old LOVES toys and plays for hours.

My DD 6 loves playing with dolls and animals, Polly pockets...was paw patrol figures and makes up stories.

Rarely plays on a tablet but does enjoy having TV on in the background... She tends to potter, watch a bit then back to playing... I did find in lockdown she used the shows for ideas for her play and it developed from there

My 8 year old would happily play Nintendo and watch YouTube all day, but does also play with toys. She plays sylvanian families and what she calls “table game” which seems to be an elaborate imaginary world on a coffee table populated by random plastic and wooden animals from other games (good thing no one else wants to use the coffee table ever). She also likes board games and drawing.

Our 5yo DD has a collection of about 40 barbies and they get played with a lot… friend’s DD7 just gave us some extra because she doesn’t play with them anymore. So it might be an age thing

My 8 year old still loves the building type toys - Lego /marble runs/ knex but he tends to make up zoos/battles etc only kid with 1hr a day on a laptop I guess you get on with what you have

Dgs is 4 and I have him for childcare he comes with loads of toys on the days he is here and judging by the photos his mum sends of him at home he plays with toys all the time. He brings cars, his track, board games, jigsaws, lego and duplo. Dd is really strict about screen time so he has minimal time on the ipad usually only in waiting rooms or waiting for meals out to be served and he gets only a short amount of TV (30 mins) to signal the wind down before his bath. He isn't allowed screens at all here (his dm's choice) but he never asks as he has never seen my TV on and I move the laptop

Dc1 occasionally played with dollies but preferred drawing and puzzles.

Dc2 loves lining up Playmobil or Lego people and doing lots of narrating and plays far more with toys.

We've not done anything particularly different but dc2 is far more into toys generally. Neither have had tablets.

Mine are tween and teen and still play with toys together. All summer about 2 hours of Lego every day, then an hour or so of Minecraft or Stardew Valley on the Switch.

Tween would give anything to play (soft) toys more often, but teen thinks she is too grown up for it (although when she DOES consent to play, she clearly has a blast, judging by all the voices and squeals).

They have always hated toys where the plot is suggested by the toy, though. So Moana/Mulan barbie or Ever After High dolls. But my little pony (they have millions), Lego or soft toys where it’s a proper “sandbox” experience are much more popular.

My younger 3 do (aged 9, 10 and 12). Older 2 do occasionally (17 and 15), mainly Lego and the trampoline.

Ds8 is a bit like yours. Loves den making, climbing, creating but little imaginative play. Loves to be outside. Switch and tablet are rarely on offer but often wants to watch cartoons after a long day at school.

Ds4 is completely different. He loves dressing up and playing with vehicles and paw patrol toys. He relives the adventures himself and makes up his own.

For Christmas we got them a construction set called makedo I think it was called. Screwdriver, screws, saw etc for cardboard construction with boxes. They love it