AIBU to refuse to play "fairy doctors" for the millionth time?

[olivesandolives]

I'm a sahm, picked dd up from pre school and as soon as we get home she asks to play "fairy doctors". We've played this all week and I just can't do it, I offered alternatives, play doh, drawing, bricks, puzzles, anything but bloody fairy doctors! She got quite upset but I held my ground and now she's sulking.

I'm tired, her little brother starts the day at 5am and by Friday afternoon I'm done! I've now stuck the tv on.

She LOVES pretend play, but it is THE most draining game ever!

My dd is 23 and her father and I can still induce hyperventilation in each other by saying “Play jewellering shops. Hello, madam!”

I spent a year. Yes, a year! Being all 7 brothers from "Seven brides for seven brothers". I, as Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephrahim, Frank and Gideon spent a lot of time resting on the sofa, demanding that "Millie" bring them pretend drinks.

My best parenting afternoon ever was when the dcs decided to play spies.
They sneaked round the house being very very quiet and were highly pleased with themselves when I pretended not to see them.

I feel your pain I've had to play hide and seek and tickle monster with Dd after nursery today. I gritted my teeth and did it only because I felt guilty I've been working loads this week and have hardly seen her. I had to play trains the other day but I wasn't actually allowed a train so I had to just sit there.

My children are in their 20s and I'm having flashbacks about this sort of game. "Pick a card, any card" was my son's saying, followed by heavy breathing as he tried to figure out which card you'd picked.

My favorite was pirates, I hid the treasure, drew a ridiculously complicated map, then lay on the sofa saying hot or cold 

Genius

The best game I invented when da was a baby and dd was 4 was “mole family” We were a family of moles, and ds and I lay comfortably propped up in bed while dd burrowed under the covers looking for pretend things for ds to eat. She could tell me off if I approved something like a beetle which was too hard for him “he can only eat soft worms”

v bitter about being typecast as a goat

You have just made my evening, @Schnitzelvonkrumb

:) :) :)

Can't she play with ds? I would just refuse at this point - you've done a great job but she'll have to play alone sometimes!

It sounds v cute and my dds (7 and 5) would love it. They do a lot of imaginative play but luckily it's always with each other.

Pretend play is the bane of my life
I just don't do it any more
I don't feel guilty about that either
I am just really bad at it

We play rabbit vet!
DD gets all her rabbit toys, even puts on her rabbit ears and I have to make all the rabbits better!
As DD is obsessed with rabbits she has so many of them in all forms of teddies, toys, games! It takes an hour each time! 🙄

YANBU! I can't play one more game of "kittens".

Kittens involves buying a "kitten" (i.e. DD) from a rescue centre only to discover she's actually a magic kitten who can talk! But she doesn't know where her mummy is because she went to a different rescue centre, only to discover that actually her mummy cat lives with us too!

I just can't do it any more. But mainly because there is A SCRIPT! And DD will not allow significant deviation from it. She tells me what to do and say and it's the same every time.

I wouldn't mind a bit of pretend play if it wasn't the same thing every time!!! She wants to play it every day, before bed.

Do other people's DC do this - stick rigidly to the same story?

Can't she play with ds? I would just refuse at this point - you've done a great job but she'll have to play alone sometimes

They do sometimes! He's nearly two but his speech isn't great so although he's wonderful at being bossed around by dd some other roles are beyond him

Loving everyone else's repetitive pretend games! I might steal some of them just to have something else to play, if dd let's me!

It takes an hour each time! Wow! You need a (and some )

OK, I must be a cow then! Our game is only 10 minutes before bed. Poor DD, it's not much to ask I suppose!

I'd love it, though, if we made new stories up together. Or even if DD made up new stories and still told me what to say, that'd be OK! It's the mind numbing repetition I can't cope with.

You have my sympathy. Not at that stage yet but absolutely dreading it. I'm outdoors mum. Not one for crafts, baking and definitely not imaginary play.

'Doughnut party' was ours. Pretend-eating imaginary doughnuts for hours on end makes you feel pretty hungry, and acutely bored.

DH has invented a new sub-genre to 'The floor's lava' btw. Good lava and bad lava. Good lava is wherever he is sitting/standing, so he doesn't have to move.

*Sub-category. Honestly, brain is mush today.

Wow! You need a  (and some  )
Wine helps!
I think I have got used to it. DD is my 3rd.
My eldest used to ask me to do crocodile olympics! She loved me taking a little crocodile and doing olympic games with him! This could go on all day!
DD2, well she is easy but repetitive! She is obsessed with colouring! She can sit for hours just colouring, wanting me to help her! I am now bored of colouring. As her favourite animal is octopus I have coloured in so many of them!
DD3, rabbit vets!

This weekend I have decided to mix things up a bit! We will be making slime and having competitions with them! I am hoping this will give me a little break!

I used to collect my neice from nursery on my days off and keep her entertained for an hour until my brother could collect her. I spent the time on a pretend bus journey, with DN as the ticker collector. I was only ever allowed to travel to Brighouse because the bus was always going to break down there so no-one could go all the way into Halifax.

She's 35 now and has since apologised.

Play jewellering shops. Hello, madam

crying at this.

DS is at this stage and decides what kind of baby animal he is going to be when he wakes up each morning. Wolf, baby (called Bong Bong 🤷‍♀️) or sometimes a peregrine falcon. Wow betide me if I deviate from the script which is hitherto unknown to me

My brother always made me play burglaries. He broke into houses, stole things and put them into a pillowcase. I was the robber’s dog. All I had to do was follow him around on all fours. I couldn’t bark until we got home in case I woke up the people we were burgling. I was then given a biscuit to eat on a saucer.

My favourite game was 'hairdressers'. I sat on the floor with DD behind me on the sofa then she would brush my hair and put loads of clips, bows and bands in. It was so relaxing that i would find myself nodding off.

God, I loathe pretend play. I feel acutely guilty about it but I just hate it so much.