...to HATE pretend play?!

[Randomname85]

Am I?! Tell me I’m not the only one. Any sort of ‘mummy you be this and I’ll be that’ - I cannot bear it! Baking, drawing, anything else but if I hear the words ‘mummy let’s play frozen/paw patrol/moana’ I can’t help but internally make this face 😖

I think lockdown has only exacerbated my hatred of it.

Yes I hate it too. I loved barbies and dress up as a child but I'm not a child for God sake.
2 hours of pretending to be Anna and elsa yesterday and I had a raging headache.

Thing is I don't remember my mum ever doing these things with me and I think I turned out ok.

I agree!

And it was even worse when my daughter would tell me what my character should say and do as well! If I have to play this bloody game, at least let me decide what I get to say.

In our house, “mummy will you play with me?” basically translates as “mummy can I boss you about and tell you you’re doing it all wrong for half an hour?”

Hahah I’m a nanny and I never do it! I’ll set them up with it sure and throw out a few scenarios for them but Christ no I’m not going to ‘be’ Anna in frozen and then they always tell you you’re doing it wrong anyway 😂

With younger ones I have been known to play hospitals and I just lie prone on the sofa. I don’t mind that one.

Bet someone will be along in a bit to wheedle ‘oh it’s so sad, can’t you just do it for a bit, it means so much to them at that age’ etc etc....

Haha yes exactly, I just now say ‘well you tell me what I have to do’ because otherwise I’m told I’m doing it wrong anyway 🤣

@Thatsmycupoftea two hours?! You deserve a medal!

That’s longer than the actual film 😂

I think from all the threads I’ve seen on here about it, most parent’s seem to feel the same way! I hate it too.

There’s no beginning or end to it, or visible structure, it’s just following them about endlessly being told what to do. And you’ve got so many other things to be doing!

I think grandparents some times excel at this as they have more time or are freer on the days they do see the kids. I remember my grandfather doing this for hours with us, and my mother is more likely to play these games with Ds when she sees him. She even plays it over the phone!

I can not stand it ! Have no issues with jigsaws , play dough , colouring , lego but role playing , just no 😭
As there are 12 hours to fill during the day I must spend about 4 hours being bossed around by a two year old. Older dd won’t even play with her now because she’s too bossy . Not allowed see anyone , everywhere is closed . It’s like a living nightmare 😐😐😐

Completely, as a grown adult I can't think of anything worse but I get so much mum guilt for avoiding it!

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing definitely but also speaking to my mother in law there’s the inevitable feeling of ‘they grow up so fast’ so they miss the kiddy age. I’m sure I will too which is why I try really hard to be patient with pretending but it’s just not for me 😂

@Understandingnotignorance so do I 😫

These comments making me feel so much better about my parental capabilities - I barely play these games because I can feel the life drain from me immediately. I feel like I physically grow weak at the suggestion. And yes, whatever I do, it’s always wrong! 🤣🥴

@Thatsmycupoftea

Yes I hate it too. I loved barbies and dress up as a child but I'm not a child for God sake. 2 hours of pretending to be Anna and elsa yesterday and I had a raging headache.

Thing is I don't remember my mum ever doing these things with me and I think I turned out ok.

That's funny, I was just thinking the other day that I don't remember my parents playing with me like this. I did SO MUCH imaginary play, but not with my parents that I can remember. I'll ask them.

For what it's worth, I think it's perfectly acceptable to set boundaries around play - I have to stop myself feeling guilty for saying no sometimes. I'm mog stopping them doing it, I just don't enjoy joining in like that - as others have said, I just get told I'm doing it wrong constantly and it's no fun!!

I was a firefighter for 30 minutes the other day. So many fires to put out in my living room.

Know people who work as a nanny who say this is one of the worst parts of the job. One of them stopped a job with a 10 year old boy as all he wanted to do was play battlefield role play lego games.
Sounds horrendously boring. I have done my fair share of childcare over the years and wouldn't have had the patience to roleplay different games for longer than 15 minutes. Structured activities are different but role play games are awful.

I find it unbearable! 😂 I read something about children needing your attention during play for a set amount of time so I started setting a timer for 30 mins, right before I start cooking dinner.

It doesn't help that she plays one character when I have 10-15, all with different voices. I also have to control multiple barbie dogs who have their own personalities. Even 30 mins of that is enough to bring on a headache.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE 🍷

@Potterythrowdown 😂😂😂

The worst is playing shops with a till and plastic food. It used to make me feel like crying with boredom. I wanted to shoot the person that bought them the till.
Luckily they are past that and till/play food safely in the charity shop.
I can tolerate Barbie but only dressing them I don't mind putting the clothes on but that's it!
I don't remember a single occasion of my mum doing pretend play with me, at most she would watch a puppet show of ours for 5 minutes.
As pp said J igsaws,(some) games, playdoh colouring etc all fine.

@Randomname85 yes, that’s true, I’m sure that is part of the mindset. I must remember it will all go by in a flash really.

Have no issues with jigsaws , play dough , colouring , lego but role playing , just no 😭

^^
Also this! I do say to Ds “I’ll come outside and play football with you / play lego/ jenga/ whatever” but it does want you to play is imaginative game!

It’s much worse with schools closed and not being able to see friends. Parents in years gone by wouldn’t have done this as kids could “play out” with their friends more. It was never even thought of that our parents would play make believe!

@BabloHoney

In our house, “mummy will you play with me?” basically translates as “mummy can I boss you about and tell you you’re doing it all wrong for half an hour?”

Same here!! I get told what to say and am remonstrated with for any deviation from DD's script.

OP YNBU

You are meant to treasure these moments but they are so boring!

At the moment, while my daughter is off preschool and is watching TV all day while I work from home I feel obliged to play her games as she needs that interaction to feel happy. I can’t wait until she is back in school and can play with other children who actually enjoy those games too.

I also set a timer and play with her for blocks of 15 minutes.

I done it for hours with my first, same game, same script, her rules every evening
Once DS arrived I learned my lesson to avoid starting it by looking busy.

Just say no....

No need for “mum guilt”. It’s good for children to learn to occupy themselves with imaginative play.

I currently play I am the baby and she is the mummy. Essentially it involves me lying still while she brings things to me 😅