playing with kids, it's just NOT NATURAL
Rebecca and I were just talking about how hard it is to get down and play with cars and trucks and knights and "guys" with our sons. I was somewhat pathetically pitching the idea that building things (with blocks) can alleviate some of the boredom- you can channel energy into an awesome fire house instead of fighting fake fires all morning. But the truth is we both find it weird, boring, awkward... It's not coming to us in some organic, natural way: should we really be pretending to be three-year-olds? When my kid first started saying, "Moooooommmmmy, come and play!" I regretted not having conceived a playmate sooner. Only MINUTES after our conversation, I read this. And learned that maybe playing with preschoolers is, indeed, not the most natural thing in the world. But yet another trapping of my abysmally thoughtful middle-class life. Not sure what my options are though. Really, he gets plenty of TV and is ignored as much as human(e)ly possible. And, on that note, there's a fire in the hallway I need to go put out.
in daddy world | parenting | the balancing act
comments
I agree that playing "garbage" as it is called in my house (primary actor is a green Tonka garbage truck) is boring after about two minutes, but what he really wants is for me to just sit next to him while he plays. Blocks are indeed more fun, but maybe for double the time... four minutes? Anyhow, lately I've had success with getting my little man (will be 3 in Oct) to just come play next to me in the kitchen. I can read at the counter, cook/organize, and just call out the occasional "You sure have a lot of garbage to deal with, Mr Garbage Man."
comment by RookieMom Whitney at July 26, 2007 3:15 PM
