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 DSis and I may have been rather demanding in our requests for pretend play. DM had a ‘secret room’ she used to go to if we got too much. It was full of plush green hippopotami of all sizes and I used to be desperate to find it as it sounded so exciting. DM spent quite a lot of time hidden behind the toilet door to get away from us apparently.

I loved playing pretend. My 18 year old miaowed at me from the sofa yesterday and when I asked him why he said that he wanted a glass of milk. He knows how to manipulate his mum!

Thank you Pamela. It was boring and I had chores to do or we had to be somewhere.

I wanted to do stuff for myself if I had a spare moment not have my dc dictating.

Get her to swap roles so you can just lie on the sofa!

@Iputthescrewinthetuna Re: DD2
Show her this. She won't want to colour any octopus any more (just repeat with any YouTube videos of other animals she wants to colour in)

I stupidly introduced "playing dentist" as DD has an appointment coming up and I want to get her used to the notion. Now she wants to play it at all sorts of times. At least I get to lie down (and she gives me imaginary stickers after) but the downside is that she basically tries to perform a tonsillectomy on me with whatever implement comes to hand. Also, we have to keep swapping over: "Now you be the dentist mummy! Now I want to be the dentist mummy !" I am 39weeks pg with #2 and after 10 or 15 minutes up and down on the bathroom floor like a sodding yoyo I've had enough.
Will definitely be suggesting "pirate treasure", "hairdresser" and "guarding the prisoner". Thanks MN.

Just say no you don't want to.

It's all about dc learning that they can't make or coerce people into playing their games. The very first lessons of consent.

I play The Wizard of Oz with my four year old dgd.
I'm aunty Em, Glinda the good witch, the wicked witch and the wizard. Dgd is Dorothy, the scarecrow, tin man, the lion, all the munchkins and everyone in the Emerald City!
We do all this to the soundtrack courtesy of Alexa, and as soon as we finish she wants to play it all over again.!

DS use to play a game where I would have to wear a bucket on my head and lie on the sofa, I have no idea what the aim of the game was, but he would just sit there laughing for a good 15 minutes.

Now all he wants to talk about is fucking Star Wars, I use to dream of the days when I no longer had to watch fireman Sam and now I am dreaming of those days back

Oh God, painful flashback of the year of playing 'Mummy lion/Daddy lion/Baby lion'. A solid year. Every day.

I do generally love joining in kids' role play to be fair, it would just be nice if they'd allow some variety!

*Just say no you don't want to.

It's all about dc learning that they can't make or coerce people into playing their games. The very first lessons of consent.*

Crikey that's a stretch!

My DD is obsessed with playing pretend too. Sometimes it helps - talking to her as though she's a puppy usually means she's much more likely to do as I ask ("Can you be a clever little puppy and put your shoes on/take your plate to the kitchen/brush your teeth?") but god it's draining. She's also extremely specific; "Mummy, pretend I'm a puppy and you're the mummy dog but you don't know where I am and you're out for a walk then you hear me but don't see me and don't know if it's me, ok? Ok?"

Thankfully both of mine are not into pretend play at all. i hate it. oldest loved building things, jigsaws etc
youngest books, books, books. and playing outside (both). i’ve spend hours on a playground in the pouring rain though....

I can't work out if @LazyLeann is taking the piss or not, that's how bad Mumsnet is these days!

I love this thread though - thanks OP.

My DS isnt quite 2 yet so no pretend play yet. BUT he has recently learnt incy wincy spider so at night time I have to sing it a million times before I put him in his cot!

Each time I stand up with him he goes 'no mama! Sit down, spider'. ARGH!

@aprarl I assume not.
It's all about dc learning that they can't make or coerce people into playing their games. The very first lessons of consent

They get plenty of that from friends and from siblings, and 95% of the time from their parents. My DS3 would do pretend play all day if he could, much as I dislike it, it's hardly a consent issue for him to beg me to be a pretend monster truck for 15 minutes a day (even if it feels like hours).

I've also noticed that when we get stuck into a game of pirates. I have to be half a dozen of the little characters, complete with different voices, elaborate plot lines etc. Whilst my son only wants to be one character and mostly just sits and listens to the 'show' that I put on!

Oh yes Imogen. I can relate to the endless descriptions before the game even starts 😐

Pretend play is a hard limit for me.

Get a book
Get a game
Get the craft stuff
Go to the park
Play outside

I will do anything except pretend play. Luckily I had a ton of kids so they usually just go find one of them to rope in

What a lovely thread.
When dd1 was 3 she went through a phase of making us all be birds in the garden. We had to fly around and flap our wings and sit in nests made out of whatever she could find. Goodness k does what the neighbours thought!

Ds just makes me read the same book over and over and over and over...

My 3 year old niece recently got tearful explaining what had happened to her imaginary sisters “a witch ate ‘em”. I quite miss this stage actually

Pinkie my girl has only just turned 11 so she isn't quite at the goth stage yet but I sense it is coming!

*Just say no you don't want to.

It's all about dc learning that they can't make or coerce people into playing their games. The very first lessons of consent.*

Peak mumsnet

My mum indulged all her GC in role play games, 4 solid hours playing cafes was the record. She didn’t have that kind of time or patience as a parent but does as a GM, v lucky GC.

DH gets regular health check ups from DC2 age 8, who also had a longstanding imaginary friend.

My kids eventually stopped wanting to play imaginary games with me. I was not sad. I HAD DONE MY TIME.