My DD's favourite game and thing to do with me is the game I detest! AIBU to not play it with her when she is an only child..

[PeppyPiggy]

My DD's an only child, turning 3 in October.

Her favourite game and thing to do, for a long time now, is to take her toys and say "mummy make them talk", I then make the toys into characters with little voices. It's very sweet and I understand why she loves to play this game the most. I am a very introverted personality type (INFP) anyone who understands introversion properly will understand why I can't play a game like that all day :( ..It drains me and I find it really hard work. My brother is also very introverted, he is great with my DD and chatting with her, He is super creative and smart! He went to Cambridge and yet he even can't hack more than ten minutes of the "make the toys talk game" It's incredibly draining for us. I will always try to introduce something new, reading, building, art ..But DD knows what she wants.

AIBU to play DD's game for a limited time of ten mins and then say enough? The game is clearly a good one for development and makes her happy and I hate that I get so drained by it.. Wish she had siblings

DS likes this too (though he "talks" for one of the characters too so it's not quite as bad as we can do a bit of back and forth). I play for a few minutes, then tell him to run and play. I think that's fair enough - it's only in recent decades that families have been so child-focused, and I used to play make-believe happily on my own with my little toys.

ROFL at this being unusual!

A way to do the voices but not have the pressure of making up a story is to read books with lots of voices. My boys still love that and it’s a lot less stressful!

I think you're overthinking and projecting a bit regarding her being an only child. If the game makes you lose the will to live, it's unlikely that any older sibling would tolerate it. A younger sibling won't be capable of joining in. Does your DD go to nursery or preschool? Does she have plenty of play time with kids her own age? If so, there are plenty of opportunities to play games like this and they will immerse themselves for ages.

I agree that you should play it for a short while then distract her or play something else.

I'm not an introvert but I hate playing games like this too. My DD is 4 now and nearly at school and is currently into crafts, colouring etc so these things do go in phases.

I also agree with Rainatnight and I'm unsure what going to Cambridge has to do with the price of cheese.

And YY to having children round frequently for playdates so that they can entertain each other while you and the other mum eat cake drink coffee. Or invite the grandparents round if that's an option - my in-laws seem to have endless patience for playing make-believe.

If you made 10 mins of playing that games you'd be a better human being that me.

I wouldn't last 5

She's two OP, playing with her is a bit tedious. It's absolutely nothing to do with your personality type or lack of Oxbridge education

I think playing these games is part of having children really, you just have to suck it up for a bit. Play them for half an hour, Encourage her to join in and eventually she will do it herself

I also agree with Rainatnight

Interesting so many people dislike this - my DH is far more patient than me. I quickly lose the will to live at pretending. Books, crafts and outings are fine.

Im an introvert too, and tbh had assumed this was an introvert thing. Please go easy, it's hard to know how other people's brains work when you see them managing perfectly well at something that crushes you. We all love a label even if it's not right in this case.

Why do people have to announce they're introverts? What difference does it make?

I’m similar even now the pretend play melts my head , I’ll play shop, hospital, make a band , sing every song , I’ll build the best sandcastle, I’ll even try hunting for pretend treasure and ball games even though I’m god awful at them but I’m not running around the garden pretending to be a fooooking dog while being told I must say “arf arf” and not “woof woof”.

I feel bad, terrible , I’m not good at it AT ALL and it’s all she wants.
My sister is brilliant at it but she only sees her for an hour or two every month if that 😂😂

The worst is when you go through a huge long game , rescue Elsa or whoever is stuck and think up a big exciting elaborate plot only for her to say “oh Elsa’s stuck again” well she may stay stuck this time !!!

The second worst is the moral issues, when she insists one character is mean or the villain and must be punished, as a parent I’m like “ok how can we forgive Elsa for wanting to make Poppy into soup and eat her “ but then another kid would probably just make enjoy the soup, do I let her explore the boundaries and vent her playground frustrations through play or do I try and use it as an educational tool ?

third worst is when you have to break character “no I have to make dinner now, answer the door etc “ but they still keep trying to engage you. Or you have to tell them off for doing something dangerous. “Yes Skye can fly but you can’t so get down off that noooowww” and so on.

I’m terrible. I’m trash.
At times I truly wish I was the type of parent to go galloping down the town pretending to be a horse or a badger or whatever it is today but I’m not . I’m a grown up and a boring one at that!

The irony is pretend play and making my toys talk was my favorite thing to do as a child so I can totally see why she loves it so much.

Sorry OP no advice but yea you’re not the only one who feels this way

Lol!! A year or so ago I started making a little character out of my thumb and first two fingers and encouraging dd to do the same because her pencil grip was poor and this was a great way of getting her to isolate and move the correct fingers. (The little puppet then asked if he could hold the pencil with her, which got her fingers into the right position)
It worked, her grip improved massively but I'm stuck with the stupid game (we call them meeps) she will happily sit there for hours whilst our hands talk in silly voices.... makes me lose the will to live!! I have introduced the idea that meeps need a lot of sleep and tire easily which means that after about ten minutes they "faint" and need to sleep for several hours before they're ready to play again. It saves my sanity!

Surely playing games you don’t like is just part of being a parent? Kind comes with the job I’m afraid.

It’s her favourite game, how could you not play? 10 minutes is bloody mean she’s 3 and she enjoys it

I am apparently an extrovert (I was forced to do Myers Briggs on a graduate scheme and was the exact opposite of you), and I’d find this dull and annoying and certainly wouldn’t play it for long. Surely most parents would feel the same? Us ‘extroverts’ weren’t born with an innate desire to play ‘make toys talk’ games! Nothing to do with you being ‘INFP’ (does anyone take these classifications seriously?)

One of the things I often find myself wanting to ask my fellow mumsnetters is “Have you never met a baby/toddler/teenager before? ^What were you expecting?? “

worraliberty It just goes part way to explaining why sometimes you cannot bear to be around people/listen to extraneous noise/why your brain seizes up and you need to get rid of all stimuli. That's all. It can feel physical and just as anyone who has a physical 'thing' sometimes needs to explain it, occasionally introverts do too. And occasionally not but there it is!

My dd’s soft toys all have a job so there is something for them to talk about. Oh, except the fox as he is an urban fox and a gangster.

One works in a green grocers, one is an estate agent, one is a waiter etc.

Oh yeah and my 4 year old hates playing games like this with my 3 year old (who loves them), so having a sibling wouldn’t necessarily make a difference.

I’ve never heard a supposed ‘extrovert’ announce that they’re an extrovert and use it to try and excuse their behaviours in the way that ‘introverts’ do. It’s very odd.

Yes, SoyDora, good point. Introverts have this assumption that extroverts are fine with all sorts of things, when it really means they're just happy to leave us to do the social heavy lifting. We often don't like small talk, doing voices, etc either but we suck it up.

Why don’t you record yourself on a good day, then when you have had enough she can have an extra 15 minutes watching you on a pad? That way when it’s finished, it’s finished.

Lol rainatnight, I've never seen a worse interpretation of what introversion means

prune, I understand perfectly, but as SoyDora says, introverts really don't do themselves any favours by constantly making excuses.

Also, DH got exactly the same ‘type’ as you OP on the Myers Briggs (we were on the same grad scheme and laughed at the fact that we were complete opposites). He also hates these games but accepts them an an inevitable part of parenting and manages to suck it up for as long as I do.