To not stop my 3yo being a dog?

[TheCunnyFunt]

DD is 3, one of her favourite games is being a 'DD Doggy' and she does the following commands - sit, lie down, roll over, stay and while she is being a DD Doggy she'll only do something you tell/ask her to do if you say Doggy after your request.

DP thinks we should stop her from being a dog as 'it's not right, is it?' and because of the request thing I mentioned up there ^^.

I think it's fine, she loves pretending to be a dog, she using her imagination well and that is healthy!

Who is being unreasonable?

[PlacidApricots]

My DD does this, also 3yo. Will just decide on a whim she is a dog, and if you call her by name she says 'I not [DD] I doggy, oof oof!' and will play fetch.

It's just roleplay, all part of kids learning etc.

[PlacidApricots]

MrTumbles too late here, DD says she is the princess, daddy is the knight, baby ds is little knight.

And Mommy (ie ME) is the witch..

[MrTumblesBavarianFanbase]

Negril :o

Placid when DD was about 2.5 (nearly 9 now) used to make me be the "naughty queen", she'd be a princess, and she's make her little brother, who was about 8 months old, be a dog... as soon as DS1 could crawl, he had to be part of her game (not that he minded) and all he was good for as a crawling, non verbal baby was dog... that would go on for ever. Once he could walk she'd dress him in her clothes and make him be her sister, as well as all sorts of other things - until he turned 3 and started Kindergarten and began to assert his own will and say no to her!

I used to hate DD'S role playing before her bothers were old enough to play an active part, because she would want me 100% invested all the time, telling me what to say, how to act, not to do such and such because it was out of character (she didn't actually say "out of character"... but still).

Was worth having more children just to hand over new role play mates :o also the reason I hosted multiple "playdates" a week when she was 3 or 4, and was very happy once she took over her own arrangements when she turned 5 and welcomed her friends through the door happily :o

DS1 only really role plays when swept along by DD or DS2, but DS2 is even more constantly in role than DD was at 3... luckily his older siblings play along and although I accept a role, I don't have to be as fully invested in it as I did for PFB DD (who also expected me to play with her friend Shoola who lived at the top of the climbing frame, and to be afraid of the Shookie monster that lived under the slide... every day for at least a year)

[CheesyBadger]

My 3yo has been a cat for half of the last year.
I made her a tail. She is only herself for about 30 seconds in the morning then remembers she is a cat, meows, and that's it for hours!

[ClairDeLoon]

Absolutely dying at negrils baby carrot!

I used to steal mums washing basket and crawl around with it on my back, tied on with a dressing gown tie, so I could be a snail. I would crawl reeeaaallly slowly too. She, ever supportive of my life choices, bought me deely boppers to be my eyestalks.

[Funkytown]

don't worry my 6year old is currently a dog and demands that throw him cherios to eat off the floor

[MrTumblesBavarianFanbase]

TheCunny of course its a normal developmental phase for many or most children and generally considered healthy (pretend play and staying in role, not exclusively being a dog) - obviously your DH is BU.

[Hakluyt]

My dd liked to be a basket of washing and I has to peg her on the line. She once said "Now, we are a family of pencils...."

[FroyoBaggins]

I was never a dog, but my younger sister was. I remember her eating her food on a plate on the floor. This was when she was about five, if I remember. Since I was the older sister, I found it supremely embarrassing snobby older sister :)

To be fair, when I was her age, I was a horse. A lot. All the time. I would trot and prance everywhere and answer everything my mum asked with neighing. Oh, and I think I may have been She-Ra, Princess of Power as well...

[Gileswithachainsaw]

This is so my dd.

I've spent hours playing fetch and have repeatedly had to pull her away from drinking out dog bowls at other people's houses while dogs look on with this face.

Your dh is miserable

[fish88]

Surely this is a very normal stage of development!?

I was an elephant called Dumbo, middle sister was a dog called Prince and youngest sister was a lion called Simba.

We were all adamant that we had to be male animals. Middle sister was worst and used to run around town on all fours, barking at strangers!

[WookieCookiee]

I have a 7yo DS who is also a dog and communicates solely by barking. I made him a kennel on the sofa and his brother (who at the age of 9 is far too cool to be a puppy any more) gets him to perform tricks for treats.
I will be a bit sad when he becomes 100% boy again.

[slackcabbage]

My 11 year old still morphs back and forth from child to horse. She was a horse for a large part of her infanthood too.

Arf at the basket of washing

[hamptoncourt]

DD was a tiger for about 6 months.

She used to growl at random strangers from her buggy. I remember one elderly lady in Boots being rather alarmed but aside from that it was all good fun.

DH needs to relax.

[FetchezLaVache]

Love the basket of washing and family of pencils! Your DD is surely destined for great things, Hakluyt.

DS was a cat when he was 3, and I had to be Mummy Cat. He doesn't do it much any more, and I really quite miss it...

[Topaz25]

It is cute but I think children do need to learn to do what you say rather than arguing with you. There isn't always time to reason with them, for example if you tell her to get back here because there's a car coming there might not be time for her to ignore you because you should have said, 'here Lassie!' In an emergency, you will instinctively use her given name so she should know she has to respond to it.

[TheCunnyFunt]

That would never happen Topaz, she's always on a lead reins :o

I'm loving all these other stories, they're brilliant :o

[TheCunnyFunt]

That would never happen Topaz, she's always on a lead reins :o

I'm loving all these other stories, they're brilliant :o

[ThatBloodyWoman]

DD2 has been a boy for a while a couple of times.
He wore a hat with his hair tucked up, but I can't remember the name we had to call him.
He married his sister at one point.

[MrTumblesBavarianFanbase]

ThatBloody my -DD does that too - she wears her brother's clothes and they pretend to be twins (they also pretend to be twins when being "themselves" sometimes - they are the same size but not the same age) - sometimes they try to fool other people, who generally go along with it - you can't really challenge a slight effeminate looking child on their gender! They only do it for a morning/ afternoon before DD gets bored of it - sometimes this upsets DS1 as DD has a lot more time for him when pretending to be a boy, and he'd rather she did it more! DD is usually called Max when she is a boy, and oddly when they are doing the twin act DS1 changes his name to Leon too...

[lynniep]

PMSL. My DS is 4. He found a dalmatian suit in the dressing up box at nursery the other day. Being of a bossy disposition, he insisted that the nursery staff take him for a walk around the town in it, with a leash on. He refused to wear the hi-viz jacket (cos doggies don't wear jackets).

They aren't busy at the mo because of the summer hols so they did his bidding. I wish I could have seen it!

[Staywithme]

These stories are so cute. My niece used to have conversations with my tattoos right into her teens (she has SN) and -I- they had to answer back. It sometimes involved a very, very long conversation. I miss those days.

[Gruntfuttock]

Do you keep her off the furniture, OP? I don't mean to be rude, but frankly your daughter sounds barking.

[StoneFoxMama]

Ds used to want to be a pigeon when he grew up. Now he has pledged his life to becoming a cat.

[Cheebame]

It's reassuring that it isn't just DD with a very active imagination. She has several non existent sisters and a super-hero alter-ego.