How to play with my child?

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Exactly this. I don't know how.

What is your favourite thing to play with your child?

Mine are 5 and 18m.

I let my DS lead and just join in, so it changes with age - from play dough to drawing together, to cars, and now current favourite superheroes.

Love hopping from square to square playing follow the leader on the tiles, also what time is it mr wolf, then orchard games such as smelly socks, connect 4 (for 5 yo)

I struggled with this. One thing I found was doing something I enjoyed like gardening, and getting the kids involved. Tickle fights, water fights, duplo, colouring, stickers, building blocks, magnets, kinetic sand, that sort of thing. The only imaginary play I think I’ve done is racing toy cars (engine noises) and going on walks pretending there’s fairies and giants, pretend shop and being on a bus.

Luckily for me, my kids have never really shown masses of internet in playing imaginary games with me, they hate dress up and like doing stuff. Neither are in to dolls or playing house.

Once you’ve spent 10 minutes or so playing you can sit back and watch!

I used to do lots of nursery rhymes with actions, stories etc when mine were that age.

I would do jigsaws with them, asking them what do they think goes where etc and doing a running commentary for them throughout.

Imaginary play so cooking in a toy kitchen, setting up teddy bears picnics, making obstacle courses out of cushions, playing with duplo building stuff etc.

For the 18 month old, I would make a sensory basket and put things like small kitchen utensils, feathers, curtain tassels etc in them and then would let them bash about with them.

Painting, baking, silly dancing etc.

All the time I would give a commentary of what we were doing, so stuff like "is mummy making you some cakes. We will put x, y and z in there and do you want to stir it etc"

I sit down next to them and see what they do. I then react joyfully, receive what is handed to me, pretend to eat the imaginary food, drink the imaginary tea etc.

schemas are quite interesting. They explain why children repeatedly do the things they do (I will try to find a link).

What do they like to play? Mine never really did the whole 'pretending to be other people' type thing.

I used to set things up for them. So I would tip the duplo out and build something for them to play with/add to. Same with the train set and the toot toots. We used to tip the dinosaurs out and I'd build a scene for them. Or even better we'd build something with the trains and toot toots and then the dinosaurs would attack!

I prefer doing things like playing with playdough, building with Lego, or crafts… I’m less keen on role play, playing with barbies or hide and seek but will do it if they ask me to and I don’t have other jobs to be getting on with. I try to make time to play each day as I think it’s really important and a good way of connecting with your children.

Schemas:

www.onehundredtoys.com/blogs/news/understanding-schema-play-in-toddlers

Can't remember 18 mths but by 5 we were getting them to join in with things DH & I like doing - gardening, swimming, dancing, cooking - standing on a decent set of kitchen steps so they're up at worktop level - they love anything that needs a lot of fiddling like stirring risotto. I got myself an adult kick scooter so we could scoot together. Happy Land & Lego were played with by both of them.

I like playing Sylvanians with my 2 year old we dress them up then they have tea parties.. also like doing craft stuff, painting with her easel or splodging glitter glue onto card. Jigsaws are popular too.

Hospitals, specifically when I get to be the patient and lie inert on the sofa.

With my 2 year old we dance, throw a ball to each other, run round in circles chasing each other and then he gets kisses when caught, make megablocks dinosaurs. I also ask him to help when I’m cooking so he will pass me a plate or stir (make a mess) the food. All sorts really- they just like to spend one on one time with you, don’t think it matters too much what you do.

My 2yo likes to turn the hoover button on for me, then charge around the room with his walker "helping" to hoover. He likes helping to mop things with kitchen roll too.

Recently he has liked role playing with his plastic dinosaurs. Generally one of the dinosaurs gets up to something nefarious, for example knocking his friends off the table. The offending dinosaur them gets a good telling off.

Building tall towers with megabloks together, the knocking the towers down.

He likes it when I suddenly point to him and say "YOU!!" in a fake angry voice, which he then copies. Or " Slowly I turned, and saw.... NICHOLAS!!" followed by him being grabbed and kissed.

Monster box is a good one (and Halloween themed!). Make a monster out of a shoe box, with a big hole cut for the mouth. Then say "Monster's hungry, Monster wants to eat X!!". It can be anything lying about - plastic food toys, socks, a toy dinosaur... Monster then enthusiastically eats what the toddler bring, if it's right, or is outraged if the wrong thing is brought (our boy sometimes cheekily gets the "food" wrong on purpose, and goes up to the Monster giggling and eager for Monster to get offended ❤).

How have you played with your 5 year old so far ?

Oh, and hiding behind door / sofa, and jumping out. Acting surprised when we does the same. Getting down on hands and knees and slowly going towards him to catch him makes him absolutely howl with laughter.