3.5yr old's pretending games - annoying or normal?

[louby78]

My DD has a wonderful imagination but I'm a bit stuck about what to do with her current games of pretending. Basically, all she does is say "tend that I'm Alice (as in wonderland)/Cinderella/random girl from nursery and that you're (their mummy) daddy is ...(whoever's daddy) and Charlie (her brother) is whoever's brother. Then 1 minute later she changes who you all are without having pretended anything other than saying....."hello cinderella's mummy". If I tell her off for something using her name she tells me very firmly...NO, I'm Cinderella. It's such a random game that literally lasts from the moment she wakes up until I tuck her up in bed. I can't keep track of it and it interupts on our day to day life as she has a strop if I can't get who she is.
She goes to pre-school on a morning and I'm at home with her all afternoon and I love her imagination. Often we'll pretend we're flying in the car and comment on how we can see the fields below or the rug in the sitting room is the beach. I love that pretend play but this is just annoying (I feel bad for saying that). Also, it's not just pretending to be characters from fairy tales, but her cousins are other favourites.....pretend that I'm Jessie, you're aunty kate etc etc.... hello aunty kate!! Anyone else have the same and what would you do?

No advice but sounds normal to me (sympathy though, I agree it can be wearing).

DS1 is 3.5 as well. I have to spend a lot of the day pretending to be a car from Disney's Cars. Like your DD he will tell me which car I am, and which car he is (e.g. "mummy, I am Lightning McQueen and you are Mack"). He also likes to assign car roles to any friends who come to play, and to his 9 month old brother ("DS2, you be Sheriff. NO DS2! Sheriff needs to chase Lighning McQueen, not just chew the stacking ups! Sheriff doesn't chew stacking cups!".)

It won't last forever. Compared to pretending to be a Disney car, pretending to be Alice or Cinderella's mummy sounds like bliss to me .

Nice to know it's not just me!!! I know it's good to be imaginative but sometimes I just want to wake up on a morning instead of pretending to be 5 different people who don't actually do anything!!!

I know in 15 years time I'll probably just hanker after these days so I will try and enjoy the 'tending more!

My DS pretended to be Batman for four solid months when he was three. Wouldn't answer to his own name. I thought it would never end and then one day it did. Sorry I don't have any tips but I do appreciate how annoying it can be.

My ds is 2.9 and plays the same games. Some days he is a princess mummy is a boy, daddy is a girl. Then the next day he is Mike the Knight/spiderman/kung fu panda/raa raa the lion/mr bean/woody/buzz...the list goes on. They do a lot of pretend play at nursery too. We just tend to go along with whoever he says he is and 'yes daddy is a princess'

I forced my mother to call me Wilma (as in Flintstone) for months when I was three, and I called her 'Betty'. How she survived I do not know, but I did grow out of it eventually...

thank goodness, I'm penny from fireman Sam I'll have you know, my husband is Elvis and grandad is station officer steale!

DS is the same, one of his favourite ones is to mix up family members. I often say the wrong name, he says "No, you are not Mummy! You are DS!" and I say "Oh, sorry," and substitute the "right" name and he's happy. I'm sure he'll grow out of it!

It's quite fun though to see how he interprets "being" different people, and can be quite fun to play along in a token way. I never change what I'm doing unless I particularly get into it, just say "Yes, I'm being Daddy, on the computer doing some work" "But that's Mummy's computer!" "Don't be silly, can't you see this is Daddy's computer?" etc etc until he laughs and accepts I'm playing along in my own way.

Yes I get the same "mummy you be Incredible Hulk and I'll be humungosaur" or more recently, "You be the Wicked Witch and I'll be the scarecrow". It does become wearing, especially when it goes on for hours. It's rather sweet though

My DD (3.5) is the same but fortunately if I say I'm too busy to play with her she simply carries on in her imaginary world on her own, so at least for me it's not relentless.

Sounds like she is perfectly normal and has a great imagination which is good.

My DD is 4 years 8 months and she loves pretend play. She goes from being Rapunzel one minute with me being Mother Gothel lol to being a dinosaur, a bird while we walk to nursery but we have to pretend to fly to me being a baby and her Mummy. If I feel it?s not appropriate for me to be a baby while outside I usually will say Mummy has to be Mummy now and she is quite happy with that.

I have a friend whose child never pretend plays and her Mum is actually quite sad about that and always comments on what a great imagination my DD has. Enjoy what you have with your DD even though it can be annoying at time.

In the car I am always mummy pig my ds is Peppa and baby dg is George. He is onle 2.6 so I look forward to what is to come! If I get it wrong and call him by his name then am firmly told off. Only in the car though so can see that it might get wearing everywhere else!!

My dd is 5, will be 6 in may..she too loves to pretend to be someone else, mostly princesses or peppa pig, and we have to keep up with all sorts of changes in her games which she very helpfully forgets to inform us about until we get it wrong and she has to explain whats going on as if we're completely stupid...lol, I have to say I find it funny and quite interesting to see what goes on in that head of hers day in day out, but to be honest me and dh do get alot of time off with it as dds older brother (8) will join in with her and pretend to be the "bad guy"..which is so sweet and he actually seems to enjoy it...I wonder who will grow out of it first..him or her...anyway I think its something we just have to do (within reason of course) but there does need to be a cut off point cos of course we're adults and alot of us just don't enjoy that sort of play anymore..if it wasn't for my son I too would be much less amused by it as I'd be the one having to join in all the time. I have to admit it would really do my head in if that were the case..I think Beertrickspotter has some very good tips which I'm gonna keep in mind for my next dc(due in 2 days).

:o Wilma and Betty :o

That's hilarious.

I've got so used to playing various characters in DD1s games that it never occurred to me that I had any choice in the matter.