What do your 8 year olds do?!

[LegoCardSwapper]

We've just got back from a week in the countryside and all of a sudden the rest of the summer holidays are feeling a bit of a void. We've got the odd thing booked and I intend to book some more bits with friends and some play dates but...

My girls and my toddler boy play. Happily. Will play together/alone/side by side. Happy in the playroom just pottering (pulling everything off the shelves every day). My 8 year old boy is a different beast. Will happily stare at the iPad/tv/switch all day if I let him. Long story, but due to some circumstances at home today he watched iPad for 6 hours! Plus some time on his switch and some time watching the Olympics. I am mortified.

It got me thinking though (as I have put some time restrictions on his devices) and there is literally nothing I could point at as something he enjoys. He likes building Lego sets but then doesn't play with them, and doesn't play with the huge box of lego.

So, what do your 8 year olds do?

He will play in the garden, read, colour/draw - he's not a total sloth!

Mostly whines about not being allowed to spend all day every day on the iPad

Thankfully he's a bit of a bookworm so he does spend a lot of time reading as well.

But in general it's hard. He has never been one for imaginative play. He loves board games but insists that I and DH join in; he won't just play with his sister. He is not capable of entertaining himself. We have strict limits on screen time but that hasn't made any difference. I don't know what the answer is but you're not alone!

No advice but following as my 8 year old daughter is exactly the same! Only child, lots of books, toys and games but cannot entertain herself unless she’s on the iPad 😖

Basketball (we have one of those goal things), scooter, skipping, archery (Decathlon have a fab portable set), swimming, climbing wall, bike riding, plays with the neighbours' kids. She also likes baking but not washing up. This is interspersed with long sessions watching absolute shite on YouTube, Roblox, Minecraft and currently chain watching CBBC Millie in the Middle. Occasionally plays her cornet. Comes up with increasingly creative excuses why she can't do any holiday homework.

Tbh though we have to do a lot of this with her. My basketball and archery technique is coming on and I'm quite enjoying Millie in the Middle .

10 amd 11 year old boys. Still play endlessly with marble runs, complex train tracks, train tracks that become marble runs, Gravitrax (and lots and lots of football. And screens) 😊

Have great neighbours if you've got an only and treat it as a chance to get fit (I forgot Just Dance, my god it's exhausting...)

I LOVE marble runs. Much more than the child does!

Reads a lot, goes on the trampoline, potters in the garden, plays Lego or cars with her younger brother, makes me play games such as junior cluedo, junior monopoly and connect 4 on repeat, whines a bit about not being allowed on a screen all day.

Plays with her dolls, slaps her play makeup on (bloody relatives bought her it), draws, paints, reads books, makes a mess in her room, annoys her teenage sister, plays in the garden in paddling pool, whines about not being allowed to watch endless Disney+, hides with an iPad to play Roblox and watch YouTube, annoys her sister some more, does play boxing/judo/whatever Olympic sport she's been watching, demands snacks, plays board games with her sister. I organise to go swimming, cycling, meeting up with pals, adventures with picnics. It's all exhausting.

Sounds like my 8 year old boy. We have to limit screen with him or he would be on it all day if allowed. Same with Lego loves a new set but after doesn't play with it. He actually will make up his own build stuff more with kid k'nex and duplo (belongs to his younger brother) because it quicker I think. I send him to the garden and he will bounce off some energy on a trampoline. He likes skateboarding down our street (on his bum mostly) I get him to help me with chores, like come out food shopping ect. I will get him a new book once or twice a month as he enjoys all his age group books, and I will get him to make me cups of tea and make his own lunch whenever he happy to. He quite likes puzzles toys, like has a collection of magic snakes and has learnt all sorts of things you can make on YouTube (I will let him use screens for education in between). He mostly likes xbox he plays with his friends on Minecraft a little which helps with a bit of socialising....but as it summer I send him out to the garden or go out with him as much as possible when I am free, to do swimming etc and arrange to see friends. Today I sent him to clean the car..even if it's not about actually making the car look good it gave him something to do for an hour.

Oh and like everyone else's does alot of whining in-between screen time and snack eating

Every day (except Mondays) he goes to the stables to ride his pony and look after him. He goes out for a run whilst he is there for Tetrathlon training. We also go swimming most days (for fun and training). He loves riding his bike and going for walks (Treasure Trails are awesome). During term time he does swimming lessons, Beavers, cricket lessons after school. We build on all of these during the holidays as well. Beavers badges can be worked on at home which helps! This weekend we've gone to London with friends so he's been doing some really great things here.

THANK YOU for all of the suggestions but mostly for making me feel like I'm not alone and a total failure of a mum! I think it's not helped by the fact that we live in an affluent area without the disposable income of others and simply can't afford to do 3 or 4 big ticket days out a week so on the (Instagram) face of it, our lives aren't as exciting as some of his friends.

Our garden is out of action for one more week due to some over running building works but after that he will have the lawn/goal/swing ball/trampoline and climbing frame back.

Lots of drawing and making.
Will play out - football etc if there’s someone else to play with.
Will play board/card games with another person.
Plays with her bunnies and sylvanians.

7 year old DSD- her gymnastics, swimming and pony club is still on so she has that 2 weekday evenings/Saturday mornings. She comes for a run with me every morning with the dog, I've promised swimming 3 mornings a week to help her confidence and we've wrote out a list of films we want to watch over the summer holidays. She's got friends on our street too so she plays out with them for a bit and we've a few activities for the girls too as a collective group ie climbing, seaside day & a local maze. She has an iPad but doesn't use it but we don't limit tv time as we're so much on the go it's nice to just chill and watch one of her shows or the gymnastics/horses/trampolining at the olympics.

OP, if your son likes puzzle solving, Google Treasure Trails in case there's one near you. They're quite fun and cheap.

Oh mine is like this too!

I take him out most mornings to do something physical then I feel less bad about the screen time. He loves swimming and cycling so those are easy enough to get him to do.

He also really loves the drawing videos on YouTube, he can draw his favourite game and tv characters.

New books from the library regularly as he gets bored very easily and always needs new stuff.

His brother isn’t like this! He can regulate his own screen time, potters around playing with toys etc. I guess it’s just a personality thing!

Sounds similar to my ds, the last year really hasn't helped with the technology has it?
Otherwise he:
Plays on the trampoline, swims, plays in the sand pit, draws, reads, makes up songs, plays imaginary games, makes dens and talks a lot!!

He's recently been learning to cook which he enjoys and he loves games like Uno and Dobble but only in a bigger group.

7 year old makes Lego (she likes sets), with her dollies, bakes, craft, drawing, colouring. 9 year old creates huge Lego worlds (hence 7 year old's kits are never complete), draws his own comics (but he has dyspraxia so they are huge and unreadable). Plays board games but usually with us not his sister (or against himself)

But also want to watch Topsy and Tim endlessly (the 7 year old) or beat new Mario worlds on the Wii endlessly (the 9 year old).

Drawing, painting, baking, craft, Lego, making slime 🤮, making up dance routines (a lot!) plays on the garden, writes songs, practises her instrument.

Leaves a mess everywhere she goes, plays music too loudly, doesn’t have enough space to dance......

My 8 year old loves watching you tube while playing mine craft, roblox and Toca boca. But she also loves making and playing with slime, drawing/painting, she will still make up games like shops, play with dolls. She often goes out and just plays with other kids in the neighbour, they seem to just run around and amuse themselves. She’ll happily play at a play park especially with a friend. We don’t have a garden so no trampoline etc.

@Phineyj

OP, if your son likes puzzle solving, Google Treasure Trails in case there's one near you. They're quite fun and cheap.

Oh these look brilliant! And I could take the stroller for the 3 year old who might not make the distance. Thank you.

You're welcome - my 8 year old has walked a significant distance on them -- if I'd said 'let's go for a walk!' I don't think it'd have had the same effect .

My 8yo ds is the same. Would happily play fortnite all day or watch videos on youtube. We have to limit screen time but then he moans. He will play football outside and likes playing with kids in the street. He used to love lego, drawing etc but seems to have lost all interest in things he deems qs toys

Sounds like all 3 of mine (9, 7 & 4). I just leave them too it, every hour I tell them tablets & tv off and make them do things, clean up, go outside and play, play a board game…. They take my “go play for half an hour” literally and now set the alarm on Alexa 🙄

When the weathers nice they have been spending a lot of time in the pool, but then I have the opposite problem and need to drag them inside out of the sun, they are all very fair and my 9yo burnt quite badly a couple of weeks ago, so they get half an hour in the pool, dragged in to cool off in the shade before being allowed back out.