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Original poster

This Morning: Do you find your kids boring?

24 replies

Writerwannabe83 · 30/01/2015 11:38

I'm watching This Morning and they have a phone line going about whether parents can find their children boring at times.

Some callers say they are bored when constantly trying to entertain their children whilst other moms say they absolutely love every minute of being with their children.

I was just wondering what the MN consensus is?

I love being with 10m old DS but sometimes I do leave him to entertain himself for an hour whilst I catch up on some TV

Surely they need to learn the art of self entertainment???

I doubt DS wants me in his face from the minute he wakes up until he goes to bed.

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Cupcakes123 · 30/01/2015 11:44

I have a 5 month old DS, I couldn't love him anymore but I do enjoy his naps. He gets shoved in his cot for an hour willingly I should add! and I get to have lunch, tidy up, watch crap tv

Cupcakes123 · 30/01/2015 11:45

And I've learnt the odd 20 minutes in the jumperoo whilst I hoover hasn't done him any harm either

Thumbcat · 30/01/2015 11:49

My DS is obsessed with Minecraft and talks at me about it endlessly. That's boring. I wouldn't swap it for the long dull days of babyhood though. I'm clearly not cut out for motherhood

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Sparklingbrook · 30/01/2015 11:51

I'm with Ruth on the messy play stuff. that was what pre-school was for. That said in the summer they could do whatever messy play they wanted. Outside.

AppleAndBlackberry · 30/01/2015 11:54

I have a 3 and a 5 year old and I find a lot of the stuff they want to do really boring (imaginary play etc). I will do art & craft, walks, lego, and board games occasionaly and I let them help me with things around the house but I also leave them to their own devices a lot and really enjoy my 2 days at work!

Pregnantagain7 · 30/01/2015 14:22

I have a 9,4,16month and 15 week old. Of course it's boring sometimes! Dd (9) takes an ten minutes to tell me so thing that happened to her which she could say in 1 minute half the time she forgets what she was telling me!
Dd (4) tells me the same story over and over again. Ds1 just like emptying cupboards over and over again, and ds2 doesn't really do much at all yet.
Some days I feel like it's Groundhog Day but on other days it's loads of fun and amazing watching them learn and grow. It's normal to find it boring sometimes it's impossible to enjoy it all of the time!

girliefriend · 30/01/2015 14:26

Yes it s boring sometimes, I am a single mum and find the evenings in by myself very boring as well at times!!

notonyourninny · 30/01/2015 14:26

Sometimes I find my 4 d s boring but then I'm not a teen, a toddler, a pre-tern or a 5 year old.

ouryve · 30/01/2015 14:28

My kids are anything but boring. Never a dull moment. (Though going through the complete works of IgglePiggle with DS2 for the third time in an evening can wear a little thin)

HyperThread · 30/01/2015 14:29

I probably wouldn't admit this in real life. I don't find my DD boring BUT I do find entertaining her really really boring! Considering she wants to be entertained ALL the time, it is very boring. I really don't know how to fill the time and it's such a struggle especially is winter as its too cold to be out. I envy those families that have lots of people coming in and out and live with extended family.

Fairylea · 30/01/2015 14:30

My ds aged 2.7 is obsessed with road signs. I challenge anyone not to find that boring. He has a road sign book which is his favourite thing in the whole wide world and if there are signs along a road he will want to stop and look at them (like diversion signs and cones on a pavement etc).

That said. .... Other times I find parenthood great. And I do fake amazement and interest in the road signs!

I think life is always full of boring bits. And some better bits in general really.

My eldest dc is 12 and regularly interrupts a conversation to show me a new blog post from some 20 something zoella type she follows on you tube. Yawn.

fattymcfatfat · 30/01/2015 14:34

I suppose im a bit different as I dont find any of it boring. Im a single mum with a 6yo ds and a 1yo dd and pg with number 3. Im also qualified nursery nurse so I love being around kids and finding things to do with them. It can be difficult to find something for both kids with such a big age gap but for me that justs adds to the fun!......it can be stressful at times but never boring!

TywysogesGymraeg · 30/01/2015 14:37

I found my babies very boring - eat, sleep, change, eat sleep change. Day in, day out. I loved them, but didn't have any qualms about going back to work for a bit of mental stimulation.

Toddlers, and infant/junior schoolers though are fantastic fun and not boring at all. THAT'S when I would have wanted my maternity leave.

Dontforgetyourbrolly · 30/01/2015 14:38

If my ds follows in his dad's and brothers footsteps and becomes obsessed with trains / planes/ golf and football then I am in for a very boring life!

At the moment at 12 months he is fascinating x

CoodleMoodle · 30/01/2015 14:48

DD herself isn't boring, but entertaining her can be. That said, she's quite happy to play by herself, "read", empty bags, etc, for a bit. I used to try and play with her all the time but now I think she enjoys a bit of independence (and I can watch TV or MN...) and playing is more fun for me because it's not constant.

When I was a nanny, I hated imaginary play, and will probably hate it just as much when DD gets to that stage. But I always liked doing it by myself because other people, including DM, just didn't understand my complex storylines and were therefore rubbish at it Hopefully she'll be the same!

dreamydross · 30/01/2015 14:49

Before I had children I thought I'd never find it boring, that I'd always want to play. That I'd never be too busy. And tbf I was probably like this for the first year of being a parent. But then I had more than one child, sleep deprivation hit, I grew tired of living in a mess, got sick of just being mummy, wanted some time to read a book or dry my hair...
And now that my children are old enough to entertain themselves they are increasingly left to their own devices. I'm always there for a cuddle or if they want totalk, and we have trips out together regularly, play board games together etc etc, I'm just not often willing to watch Ds play fifa when I have 101 other things I need to get done. And some of dds stories go on for hours so I do tune out sometimes.

It makes me feel sad sometimes that I'm not the attentive mum I thought I'd be, but I don't know how to be as well as get everything else done...

NickyEds · 30/01/2015 15:53

I wouldn't say "boring" as such, i don't find ds in any way tedious or dull but all the accompanying crap is. Cleaning up the highchair, picking up toys, washing up etc are just monotonous. I enjoy playing with him but often find that doing other things does take over a bit. DS is 13 months and he's reasonably good at entertaining himself whilst i get on with things but to be honest he's just always had to be. I have to admit that come 5.30 this evening CBeebies will be on and I'll be sat reading a book rather than playing with him!

Redling · 31/01/2015 16:39

I think there's a difference between finding aspects of life with a baby/child boring, and just plain finding children boring. I don't tend to find play with my 5 month old DS boring BUT he can lie on his mat for 30 mins himself squealing and chatting to the ceiling light if I want to switch off, and he's quite a noisy, cheerful and full of expression baby, so I get a lot back from him. If he literally couldn't be without me in his face all day I'm sure if go mad. I also worked with under 5's and with Sure Start so I had ideas of HOW to play with a baby and what it entails, which helps, athough it's a lot more difficult when it's your own and all day obviously! But some people do and always will find very small babies and toddlers boring, but might find them much more engaging when they are older and able to play defined games, talk more etc. Which is fine if you can cope with the boring bits. There are many stages to childhood and just because you don't adore babies doesn't mean you'll not love other stages. I have a high tolerance for repetitive nonsense though :)

Lovelydiscusfish · 31/01/2015 16:49

Like others have said, I don't find my dd boring in and of herself, I find her funny and charming, but some of the stuff she wants to do can be boring. Like reading Matty the bloody Koala for the millionth time (it's a rubbish story, I suspect her of not even really liking it herself). Building stuff out of stickle bricks is really boring to me - some would love it I guess. And sometimes it is boring at the playground for me, because I can't go on all the stuff she can.
On the other hand, other stuff she likes doing, like playing with her dolls house, toy farm, my little ponies etc, I do actually get quite into!
I suppose it's a bit like any relationship - some of the stuff my dh likes doing can be boring, ditto my friends, but it doesn't mean I actually find them boring as people. Everyone's tastes are slightly different!

rosedavo · 07/02/2015 18:21

Im pregnant and not had baby yet but maybe its not finding your child boring, just child-related activities can get boring at times because your an adult and need to engage in adult activities as well even though you love entertaining/looking after children as well? Not sure as i have yet to have mine!

squiz81 · 09/02/2015 14:03

Oh I get bored!! Love both of mine to bits, but I'm a stay at home mum so never really get a break from entertaining them. Some of the games I do enjoy but pushing a train round and round and round a track grinds me down and breaks my spirit!

Thurlow · 09/02/2015 14:19

DD herself isn't boring, but entertaining her can be

Oh this, definitely this.

She's hilarious and I can have a great time with her (3yo), but my god, some of the things she wants to do are mind numbingly boring. The first five minutes of lying on the floor pretending to be a patient are fine. The next 15 minutes... Gah.

mrsannekins · 09/02/2015 19:48

Repetitive, rather than boring I think. My 3yo loves her routine, which is fair enough, but playing the same thing every day, 7 days a week just kills all the remaining brain cells! I've lowered my expectations a lot as to what we'll do, and if I have to be the patient to get a rest, then fine, but over and over and over again...

pictish · 09/02/2015 19:53

I agree Thurlow. I'm crap at playing on their level with any conviction. I'll give whatever it is a wee go, but I tire of such things quickly.

So do I find my children boring? Sometimes yes. I sometimes find my husband boring. I am certain that the kids and my husband would be lying if they said they weren't bored by me at times too.

Playing shops is not my idea of fun. Going to actual shops isn't theirs. We muddle along.

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