I've found out what hell is is and it's your kid wanting to play pretend ALL the time

[cabb]

Dd is 2yr5m, is very outgoing and sociable and has never been able to entertain herself but I've kind of accepted this now, but her latest thing is playing pretend and it's ALL she wants to do.
Shall we play bricks? No, be the mermaid!
Shall we do some drawing? No mummy be the mermaid!
How about some puzzles? BE THE MERMAID

Oh god, I mean I actually don't mind doing a bit of role play but it's definitely the most draining and pre 9am and after being up in the night with her little brother it's really hard to throw myself into the acting required to BE THE MERMAID.

AIBU?

I'm super Owlwings. And dh is Ghekko. With catboy we have to go from one end of the corridor to the other over and over. And attack bromeo or some such rubbish! I cant stand it!

Haha, my DS is like this and it's constant games of superheroes, dragons, monsters or explorers. I have learnt to give into it as otherwise he goes on an on and on. DH hates it but I've explained to DS that daddy has no imagination!

I used to look after an autistic boy who always wanted us to pretend we lived in a land made of Velcro, so we had to make the Velcro noise every time we did anything

Ha brilliant!

I also used to make my dad (with grey hair and a moustache) pretend to be my baby, I would tell him to go to bed and he would actually fall asleep and snore on my bed.

Hahahaha I like your dad, this is another one of her faves but instead it seems to consistent of feeding me (the baby) porridge for hours on end.

The tail makes it difficult to move around, so the Princess will have to put her own toys away.

Our pretend play thankfully was limited to a bedtime game of unwrapping imaginary parcels and describing in minute detail what was in them.

Yup, 4yo "pretend this and then pretend that". Try pretending she's the tooth fairy and you're the sleeping child, or she's Father Christmas and you're the sleeping child. Or she's got to get past the sleeping giant without waking you. Getting to lie down with your eyes closed makes it just about bearable.

I used to do 20 mins imaginative play, 20 mins chores while dd played by herself, 20 mins craft/play do etc

I dont know if you've tried this but...
I made dd some sock puppets for Christmas as I'm too cheap to buy things for a baby (20 months). It is slightly easier to play pretend when only your fingers and mouth are doing it and the rest of you can recline.

You have a second child so there is light at the end of the tunnel! The frazzled days of looking after a toddler and a small child are worth it for when they start playing together and you no longer have to be a mermaid/cat/gruffalo/bear etc etc. I’m not sure I’ve ever done pretend play with dc2

I feel you! DD age 3 is obsessed with playing mummies and babies, to the point that she regularly has ultrasounds on the lounge floor.

It’s wearing a bit thin, especially as we’ve just been diagnosed with secondary infertility

Ahahahahahaha...yep....pretend play is just awful. My dd creates long, complicated rules to go with pretend play and if I don't follow the incomprehensible and illogical script (that I'm supposed to mind read from her head) then she explodes like a volcano. I'm constantly navigating a very terrifying pretend play line that's been designed to trip me up

Get her a mermaid costume and tell her to be the mermaid.

Get one of those knitted mermaid tails and a tiara. You can lay on the sofa as the mermaid queen and your DD has to attend to your every need as a mer-maid!

. My dd creates long, complicated rules to go with pretend play and if I don't follow the incomprehensible and illogical script (that I'm supposed to mind read from her head) then she explodes like a volcano. I'm constantly navigating a very terrifying pretend play line that's been designed to trip me up 

Ha it's like being on set with James Cameron!

Argh! The pretend play!

Mine are in their twenties and you've just thrown me back fifteen or more years to endless ENDLESS games of 'you be the....and you say this...'

When it got to number five, I just used to open the back door and throw them into the garden to play with the (long suffering) dog.

It was like being in an endless improv theatre production of Chekov with a tiny teaset.

Dd is 3 and loves imaginary play.

"Come on mummy, lets play Paw Patrol. Look, Skye hurt her leg, bring the doctor bag. No, not that one, the other one. Quick mummy! The other one, not that one, Mummmmeeeee!!!!!"

get George Galloway to come round and be the cat.

(sorry for that image if you were eating)

my DD is off to uni this year but i still recall the horror of pretend play. luckily, DD invented an imaginary boyfriend and spent her spare time berating him for all sorts of misdemeanours, mostly related to doing the washing up.

I love pretend play! My mother used to refer me to the dolls and bears when she needed a break... and ‘pretend Sindy is mummy’ she used to say

We have been living in the world of Waffle the wonder dog for a couple of weeks now, DH has adapted really well to being called Simon but DS1 still refuses to answer to Doug! I have lived through this all before and during DS1's Fireman Sam phase I insisted on being Station Officer Steele as that meant I was in charge and everyone had to do what I said!

even get chuffing glitter out.

Nooooooooo!

I had forgotten this phase as mine are teens now ...... it all came crashing back when my friends 2 year old stayed the night recently and I was pretending to be a cat at 6am whilst waiting for the kettle to boil😊

Yep my 4.5 year old has an AMAZING imagination but it gets tiring sometimes! No siblings (well, teenage half brother) so it's me who gets to be Rapunzel/King Thistle/The Wicked Sea Witch/Wicked Witch of the West etc etc etc......but she is so bossy! I'm not allowed any input, she tells me what to say, do........it's a nightmare but then it's also so sweet watching her arrange her imaginary scene ready to play......should have twins also :)

DS got into Top Gear at a shamefully young age. This meant that I had to be James May and Jeremy Clarkson at the same sodding time while he was Richard Hammond. I did at least get to sit down 'driving' while I endured this hell, but believe me, there are no more depressing words than 'Let's play Top Gear'.

@spiderlight

And on that bombshell...

Reading the thread title was enough to give me the shivers 😂
However, I counter with a stubborn 18 y/o DD who, of course, knows everything at the moment.

Let’s play Top Gear has made my day!

My DD does not need me to get involved in pretend play but has a revolving cast of characters she has to be and gets very cross if I don’t refer to her / the car / the house in the relevant terms.

“NO MUMMY! You’re going to open the doorbridge so Princess Mouse can get into the palace.”

“Fine. Come on into the palace then Princess Mouse!”

“No. I’m Pirate Captain Barry [dont ask!]. Take me to my ship.”

All. Chuffing. Day.

She’s got more bloody characters than Justin Wotsit on Gigglebiz...