How on earth to handle imaginary play?

[Pl242]

My DD has always been into imaginary play. She’s now 4 and started reception this year and I (perhaps naively) thought she’d have grown out of a bit. But it’s her entirely favourite thing to do and it’s my absolute least favourite thing to do with her.

How do people cope with it? I honestly loathe it. I know it’s my job to get past it and suck it up, but how, exactly?

I find myself getting unfairly annoyed with her as we’ll play that for a while and then I’ll try and move her onto something else like puzzles, books, games, books, colouring etc. But she quickly tires of these things and just wants to go back to playing families. Aaaah.

It’s definitely obviously harder at the moment. We were supposed to be at the theatre today which was cancelled as it’s tier 3 and just facing lots of days inside in the rain (as she’s also very reluctant to go out in poor weather).

Any tips? Also have DS who’s about to turn 2 so have the usual challenges of trying to entertain them both simultaneously etc.

I used to put a to limit on it, say 30 minutes but then commit to playing and engaging properly.
It's actually a brilliant way to teach your kids stuff.
Games where you have to prep stuff are your friend where you find this play hard. For example, agree to the tea party but ask the child to get it ready while you finish what you're doing.
Pretend cinema is another good one. You can make posters for the film, make tickets, get the audience ready, set up a sweet shop, etc. Then watch a film!
If you're feeling a bit tired, get some bandages out and lie down and be a patient.
Things like passing the wrong imaginary fork are actually a good way to model communication, eg ask the child to show you which is the 'right' fork.

Oh god I absolutely hated it too.

The only advice I can give is to find ways to make it bearable: for me that basically meant a lot of lying down

Hospitals is a good one. Pretend you're having a baby. Have a carpet picnic on a blanket on the floor and have something tolerable on TV at the same time.

Drink a bit lot. Wait for them to get older.

I have three year old twins and a baby. Both twins want to play imaginary play with me allllllllll day but not the same imaginary play. Girl twins wants to play farms, horses, vets, school; boy twin wants to play superheroes or police chase (mum you’re the bad guy -chase me, shoot me etc) Baby wants to be held constantly and doesn’t nap due to the noise of the other two who won’t bloody be quiet or even play together and I’m losing the plot on a daily basis. That feels better! No advice just a hug! You’re not alone!

When I was a kid I had no sibling until I was 7 (never wanted one then either) and was heaviliy into imaginary play. My mother was definitely not the type but my grandma was and for that reason I grew up much closer to my nan. When there was no one else I played alone for hours with my dolls or with an imaginary playmate. As a result I love my own company and have always been good at amusing myself.

Imaginary play is very important for kids. It expands the mind and teaches them creativity and inventiveness. As some have suggested you can probably get off with minimal partcipation.

I do it with nanny/babysitting children, but always with them leading the play so my input is fairly minimal. You can do less and less and they sort of start to play by themselves more as they’re engrossed in their own heads.