How much do you play with your kids?

[Helenemjay]

When at home, after school or on the weekend do you leave your kids to play together or do you play with them? how much 'stimualtion' do they get from you??

Quite a lot because I love it and it gives me an excuse not to do housework - i am either playing or mnetting!

As much as I can but try to let her have time to explore things by herself too

A lot. Probably about 2 hours a day during the week (after work) and more at the weekends. I think playing with your children, letting them take the lead is one of the most important things you can do with your kids. I wouldn't say I am "stimulating" them as such. I am just being with them and entering "their" world for a while.

It kind of occured to me recently that i dont really play with any of them that much ds1 is at school and ds2 is running around the house and dd has her naps and her feeds and we play a little in between but i dont really play that much with ds2, he is 3 and has a couple of afternoons a week at pre-school but when he is at home with me he just plays with his toys and watches tv while i scurry around doing housework, i cant beleive its only recently occured to me that he never gets much play with me and now im feeling so bad and sooooo guilty! not sure how to turn it all around

100% when I am alone with dd - 2.5 years. Not because I don't have a life but because dd demands my presence AND participation. Will it get better with 2 kids? When will it get better??

Am shockingly bad at this - must try harder. Any tips?

surprisingly quite a bit. We do lots of different things together each day with ds who is 2.6yrs. DD is nearly 5mths so I play with her in between feeding etc but also leave her to do some self entertainment same for ds..thats usually when I am mning. Like now ds is playing in garden I can see him and DD is asleep in my arms..lol

I play with them all the time in the days that I am not doing drudgery or have assigned dh to be in sole charge for a couple of hours at most if I 'm in the house or a whole morning or arvo on the occasionaly weekend.
Well actually not all the time anymore because as WelshBoris says I like to give them time to do things by themselves, especially ds1, 5, when ds2, 2.8 is having a nap at the weekend.
If they ask me to play with them I will drop almost anything and do it, but 50 % of the time they are just filling gaps with " Muuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm". You know how it is.

Is this a competition btw, what's the prize?

I dont tend to play with them that often, but will take them to the park, the rocks, where ever they want to go on demand and provide cardboard boxes/glue/paper maches etc on demand for when they are making things.
So just provider of services as opposed to active playmate.
If a partners needed will join in.
Also play noughts and crosses, do wordsearches etc on the bus to and fro to school for 40 mins day and night so that counts i think.
Im always here and ready to respond anyway :)

I don't play with my eldest (13) at all, but that is not surprising considering her age. We do have "girly" nights when the other two are in bed though, watching a dvd or something. We also have "girly" shopping trips when I can afford it!

I don't actively play with my son (9) but did play a game of football in the garden with him on Sunday. He always has a friend round and they just play in the garden or on his play station.

On a Saturday night (if the children are not at their dad's) I like to make an effort once the youngest is in bed to play a board game - if not Saturday, then I like to Sunday afternoon but not always feasible. We normally play chess, game of life, sorry or a game like that.

My youngest has delayed development so her play is mostly geared around learning - but then I suppose all play is learning. She loves cooking, so I try to make time to bake some cakes with her (out of a box, mind you, I am not very domestic in that way) but it is good for her fine motor skills. She also loves doing puzzles but I normally let her do these herself as it is good for her.

I don't spend nearly enough time playing with my children - working part time - and evenings spent doing reading homework, etc. but I do try.

lol sw!!
I don't actively play with 2.1 ds all that much. But he plays with his cars around me iyswim and i'm usually holding one going 'nee nah'. And we read a lot together.

I remember when my 2 were little,babies and toddlers,I used to play with them and interact a lot.Now they are 11 and 8 so sometimes we'll go to the park and play frisbe(which I hate BTW).Some evenings we will play a board game.Dh is much better than me at playing with them and grandad is even better at playing hide and seek and endless card games.I'm much more into crafting and would rather be making cards so sometimes they will join in on that.But playing as such does nothing for me I guess I'd rather be doing my own thing when I'm at home.But like someone said they have plenty of fun days out with them.I took courage and took them both ice skating for the first time the other week.Dh has a bad knee so he just watched.I was dreading it as I've only ever been twice in my life and I hate falling over.After 10 minutes of holding on to the side we were off and ds was off almost straight away.It wasn't as bad as I thought and we really had fun when we'd found our legs.I did fly up in the air though and land flat on my back lol.

Not that much because the DDs, at 3 (nearly 4) and 5 and a half, would simply rather play with each other or their friends. We don't tend to play with them so much as do stuff together; they'll help plant, weed or water in the garden (until they get bored and potter off to play their own game) or make a cake with me or even just play round us whilst we're concentrating on a chore -we grapple with clearing the drains whilst they play with their dolls and buggies on the drive stopping every now and then to take a look at and talk about what we're doing. I might get involved for a short while to help them stick a 'wing' on to an aeroplane made out of a cardboard box, push a swing, watch a 'show' they've devised or run races across the lawn, but that's about it. Strangely I don't feel remotely guilty about this: being a presence, an observer, a supporter, an occasional aide and an even more occasional referee feels like the right role for a parent of children this age.

i have fond memories of playing card games and board games as a child and i want to do the same with my children but only have 1 at the mo and she isn't even a toddler yet but I do interact with her lots

not that much really - more do things with them. If I try and play with them they want me to do it all for them. If they are playing well together it is much better to leave them to it, if I praise them or join in, it usually all ends up in screaming tantrums and competition for attention

I have to admit i don't actually "play" with my DS (16months) Its more or less he plays on the floor, turns round to show me something I tell him what it is, or he gives me a brick to hold so he can put another on top. We read and sing together (he has just started trying to sing... does a really cute little dub-a-dub-a-dub sound along to the music) I throw him around on the bouncy castle, help him up the steps to a slide at playgroup.

I never sit down and say "Right, Xavi, lets play a game!" Although I think this has more to do with his age, if/when he says to me "lets play -insert roleplay game here-" i think it will be much easier.

Lots - this afternoon was in the garden & was a part in their games as a princess!! & my 2yr old was playing supermarket & would come over to say what wasin her trolley. Just being involved when they want it great :)