What's the most fun thing you do with your DCs?

[WhyFrank]

I couple of threads recently (this and this) have convinced me that I need to have more fun with DS. Am inclined to be a bit introspective, bookish and serious, poor him.

I'm not sure if it's been done before, but could we have a thread for collecting ideas for fun, happy things to do together? I don't mean big expensive treats or anything, more cheap/free things for ordinary days.

Our new favourite game (DS is 5):
"Balloon volleyball" in the living room. We hang a piece of string net between two chairs and hit the balloon to each other across it. Discovered today that a long balloon makes a really good bat. Sometimes we put on what DS calls "lively music", and if you dance a bit while you're playing it makes quite a good workout.

Please add your favourite fun things!

Finding woodlice or beetles in the garden, putting them gently in the bug viewer and giving them a dandelion leaf to 'eat.'

Dd named the last woodlouse Tallulah and had great fun watching her.

She also made 'pets' of two slugs, naming them Oscar and Tisca. She left them outside in their natural habitat though. She did enjoy gently stroking them (eeeurgh)

My ds's love anything out in the garden.

So watering, planting things, playing in the sandpit, making dens with sheets over the climbing frame and washing line is always a hit. DS1 loves frogs,snails, worms etc, but DS2 is terrified of them, so we do our nature catching while ds2 has his lunchtime nap (I don my gardening gloves and pretend that I love too!).

They love it on a (not too) wet day to go to the park in their waterporrfs and have the place to themselves - the slides are ace when they're wet

Thanks everyone for your ideas. It's really helped just to ponder the subject a bit.

AnAngelWithin, just wanted to add, your list of "preferred activities" is very similar to mine - only that I don't have the excuse of a mum who didn't play.

Don't give yourself a bad time about it. Nobody can be everything a child needs. It sounds like they have lots of fun input from your DH and PIL (and each other, I guess) - and the things you do do with them are important too.

I hope you can rediscover a bit of fun for yourself after such a terrible experience Maybe thinking about what you loved doing as a child could give you some inspiration for things to do with or without the kids.

I agree, by the way, that your DS1 sounds totally normal.