how much time a day do you spend actually playing with your children?

[NordicPrincess]

me? not nearly enough.

I cant help but really not enjoy it, its so tedious and makes me quite cross. I know that sounds awful

Do you actually play with your children or do you set up tasks for them to do?

How long do you spend a day?

Also yes i am looking for ideas or suggestions!

Not much.. DS is very much the type to just get on with it himself though, possibly due to my laziness benign neglect

We'll do something like painting/playdough/sticking for half an hour a couple of times a week.. a few times during the day I'll get down on the floor and play octonaughts for the millionth time :)

Not enough

I find it pretty boring to be honest, and start getting antsy that I'm not getting anything I need to do done.

Not much. I leave them to get on with it.

DH and the grandparents and the nursery are good at that stuff so they're alright

Fuck all. Thats why I had 3 children, so they could entertain each other!

glad i am not alone. I did sticking with him and set up his treasure island. its enough to drive me mad !!

so glad i read this thread! i often feel guilty for not playing with my dcs.

Play with my children? I spend a while interacting with them, cooking for them, helping them with their homework or piano practice, have a laugh with them, tickle them, but I don't really play with them for the reasons you mentioned, it's boring and it is one of the advantages of having two children that you can use the best line in parenting 'run away and play upstairs for 20 min'...

Same as onetoo

Always feel guilty though....

dpends on their age , doesn't it? When dd wassmall and since she doesn't have siblings, I did actually get down and play with her a lot.

Now she is 10 we interact a lot but we don't play games together much.

When my number 1 was small I played with her, because it was just us.

I have three now and don't have the time or the patience.

sometimes I'll kick a ball about (but bores me to death) or shoot baskets or play a game of chess. I hate board games though - Monopoly and so on, always have.

I tend to suggest something, help set it up and chat to her whilst she does it but I don't dress up and play alongside much tbh

I do try and play with them a bit each day. I actually quite like it but there's normally so much for me to do. I try to give each of them some one on one time a day, for ds it's when dd is having her nap and for dd it's when ds is at nursery. But it usually only amounts to half an hour to an hour maybe. But that doesn't include trips to the park etc..

Proper play? Not much.

Tickling, chatting, laughing, chasing them round the house, going on bike rides? No those kind of things I like.

Just think of all those mums who moan they have a "high needs" child and then proceed to say how they play with them all day and virtually never leave their side...

Don't feel guilty! Just think of how great it is that your kids can play and occupy themselves :)

exactly WestYorkshire :)

Some of my friends are so proud that they have timetabled activities with their 1yo children, and then in the same sentence complain that they can't go to the loo by themselves..

DS will play with his duplo for half an hour while I have a bath

I play with my 2 boys a fair bit, building duplo blocks or chase and tickle but it's ony way I can justify not leaving the house as I cant be bothered to pack 3 kids stuff up get coats, shoes etc on and battle with getting them to walk nicely in public without tantrums.

Not enough, I think.

DS is almost 9 and at school, so we talk etc and play some board games at the weekends, but I don't play with him as such.

DD is 21 mo and I'll do maybe 2 sessions a day of doing a puzzle etc, will stop for a few minutes here and there to draw with her or tickle her or chase her around the flat, but other than that she plays on her own or watches tv or hangs with her brother or we are out at the park/shop/whatever needs be done. But we do interact- she follows me around as I do housework so I'll let her hoover for a bit or help me load the washing machine etc.

Isn't not playing with your children called benign neglect and actually very good for your children and their imagination? That's what I tell myself when ds plays happily with his fire engines for hours on end.

waits for someone to mention the 7 story mansion with the henhouse.. or whatever it was

i think il make a list of things i should do each day. I just wish i genuinely enjoyed the playing :(

I too find it boring and I always seem to have other stuff to do which means that I never fully relax enough to find it fun.

DD1 is 5, do at school all day and quite tired after, but often wants to do the sort of role playing games which require lots of detailed instructions from her e.g "I'll be Mrs. XXXX and you be the child and you have to ask me to do so-and-so etc..." I drift off more or less immediately.

DD2 is only 8mo, so is happy enough if you roll a ball to her or give her something 'interesting' to fiddle with!

That all sounds awful, right?

I am so encouraged to read all these responses!

Not much. Whenever I get involved they don't seem very happy about it.

I'm always in the same room as them / or within earshot so I encourage and suggest things, I'm just not on the floor with them.

I like museums / gardening / reading with the dc's instead.

Never enough, but as much as I can manage!!

What's with the parenting threads in AIBU? This, and the bonding one. Just enquiring, like. :)

My DD is 17 now, but oh I wish I'd known other people felt just the same. My best friend was one of those wonder Mums with a cupboard full of things to make and do,her girls were always making things, doing things, going places. She was an absolutely lovely person and immersed herself in her girls completely. They are growing up to be kind, considerate lovely girls. I always felt very inadequate in her shadow, but am relieved it wasnt just me that found playing so boring

5dollar shake, for higher responce levels, bad me