What do you do to have fun with your children?

[Marshy]

Does anyone else out there feel that they spend all their time nagging their children? You know 'get dressed, eat your breakfast, do your homework, tidy your toys' etc etc.
I feel like its ages since I had a really good time with them (dd 8yrs, ds 6yrs) mostly because I'm so bogged down in keeping everything running!
Have just been reading on another thread some wonderful memories some of you have of your mums, and thinking mine will just remember a nagging hag!
Just off to watch Pop Idol with them. Does that count as having fun?!
Any suggestions/thoughts most welcome.

A walk in the woods today catching falling leaves ...d 7 years and ds 4 years

I am really enjoying re-reading all my childhood favourites to my ds. We've read the BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and are now on Charlotte's Web. He's 6. We also loved the museum (free too!) and the cinema last weekend and dp does football in the park with him. I reckon Pop Idol counts if you're all enjoying it! It's often the being with them that counts I think from their point of view.

Very sad I know but my dd and I like nothing better than hot choc and muffins in starbucks followed by a mooch round the shops - she's more of a shopaholic than I am I'm afraid!

Reading, playing board games, doing jigsaws, racing around in the park kicking the leaves...when it's getting fraught I try to break the mood. Tonight I'd asked them repeatedly to get into their pj's quickly as we were late and was getting quite annoyed. SO I said "I bet you can't be in your pj's by the time I count to 40" and it worked. They got into their pj's really quick, we had a giggle and they didn't go to bed cross

HTH

sobernow - I LOVE the Mummy's Naughty game!! Going to try that with my ds sometime soon I think

On my days off, dd has her milk in bed with me and we watch Maisy Mouse or Jungle Book until I can be bothered to get us showered and dressed. www's right - if you're all enjoying it, it's got to be the stuff fun memories are made of. Kids love it when you devote time (even 5 mins) to something entirely for them. Dd also loves it when we pretend she's a baby (even tho she's only 2 now) and I rock her like a lunatic and she shouts "Wah Wah!"
Naughty Mummies sounds fab!
[me and dh might even play it later....!]

Ds and I do the 'I'm going to GET you' game, where I stealthily creep up to him (he is looking in my direction though! ) and grab and tickle him. He loves it so much that he tries to copy me saying 'I'm going to get you' to encourage me to do it again! He also commands that I do 'moo-ore' (more).

We also play the game where a car drives all over him (toy car BTW ), and we say 'Oh no, oh no, the car's on you'. I have discovered that toddlers love slapstick humour (I suppose that they don't appreciate irony yet ) Anything done with a silly face makes my ds giggle...

I love going to the beach with the kids in Winter, all wrapped up with wellies on, we can have a good run about and let off steam.

I had some one to one, with one of my DS twins today, DH and I sometimes go off and do different things and take one each, we seem to get more done and have some bonding time. DS and I went to town did some shopping and had a huge iced doughnut each in a cafe.

DH has gone out with his mates tonight so my DS's and I watched "Aristocats", in my bed, ate some Thorntons chocies, and had a lovely cuddle. Their now fast asleep, and I'm having a nice glass of wine. I've really enjoyed today !!!

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Tickle torture.

Thanks all for good suggestions.
We were in the garden this afternoon, enjoying the late autumn sunshine, ds digging a hole, dd skipping. Later discovered dd had trodden cat poo all through the house! Cut from happy family garden scene to ranting mother on knees in hall, with cleaning materials, trying to locate source of vile smell!
Ah well, off to Cornwall for a few days over half term and someone else will be doing the cleaning - yippee!

sobernow - that game is a great idea!

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Twinkie i do that with my dd too! Usually spur of the moment though, she loves it if we're out shopping and i say"would you like to go for a cup of tea madam?" (apple juice). Also she loves the library, museum, beach,wacky warehouse.........making cakes,painting,playdough......bless, having kids introduces all the natural highs back in your life!

cook?

Because my son is autistic we tend to go to structured activities but only if he enjoys them and we have fun. Some of these sessions are straight after school so I either take baby with me or get someone to look after her if poss so we can have 1:1 time. Each week we have aromatherapy, swimming, trampolining, horse riding and then just shopping, going for milshake etc. Its been really important for me to spend 1:1 time with him since the baby came along. She's only 7.5 mos so I hope I will be using some of your ideas with her later on