Do you PLAY with your kids?

And I don't mean just like tickling or goofing off with them. I am curious, how many get down and play "pretend" with them and their toys?

I should point out, I have NOT been in the habit of doing this as most of my time is spent cleaning up the messes they make. BUT for Christmas this year, I am changing that.

Ok I should say we do play with them and their new toys on Christmas, but then afterwards it's back to business as usual.

I have had some really bad few weeks with the boys, they have been REALLY destructive. My mom in aggravating mom fashion has been saying, "Boys need something CONSTRUCTIVE to do." Ok well, I kept ignoring her because I didn't advice at the time, I wanted sympathy LOL

Anyway, I digress....I started thinking maybe we don't interact with our kids enough? And if that's the case, what can I do to change that?

My daughter LOVES when I play house or Barbies with her. She's the only girl and it is rough on her.

So I was trying to find a way that we could ALL play together. I think I have found it, but it isn't going to be totally cheap.

There's these playsets called Calico Critters. They are actual little animal families dressed up like people. When I was a kid they were called Maple Town and created by Tonka. Well, Calico Critters was the closest thing I could find and it's by International Playthings (and probably made in China sigh).

Here's my idea. I have been scouting eBay trying to find a good deal on a family. Each family is a family of 4, mom dad brother sister (baby twins sold separate but whatever). NO way can I afford those expensive doll houses, and the family sets are $20 each in stores....so trying to find used sets for A LOT less on eBay.

Got a piece of plywood here...I figure I will paint it green, "survey" off 4 or 5 little lots (you know, one for each kid) and build a cardboard house on each lot. Maybe build a park, etc. This way we have built our own little town for our families.

And this is our new Mommy and Me project. I have this goal of using it to teach them about families, how different families my be, diversity, how towns work, etc. There are even grandparent Critters and I figured we could have some "Grandparents" raising kids etc.....Ok so I want to make it a hands on interactive playtime with me the kids and learning involved.

I figure each kid can decide how to layout their own "house lot" just like a home owner would. We can put on fake tree, fake gardens...I can superglue sand for dirt or small stones to line walkways etc.


Ok feedback....do you all think I am totally crazy here? I know it might not be totally cost effective, but houses out of cardboard boxes and used pieces of doll furniture as I can find it should help keep costs down...and trying to buy the families used (must confess, I scored 3 family pieces for $5 each..two sets of infant twins and a sister...no parents or grandparents yet LOL)

My kids seem pretty excited about it.

I played with my kids all the time, they have such imaginations, and love to play make believe, and whatnot. I play with my grandson too, we love to play in the sandbox making cities, and roads, and we have rocks and little plastic trees, we have a blast!!!
we also played with cardboard boxes too, you can make so many things with boxes, contact paper, markers, all kinds of stuff. I did that for years, and had a daycare in my home when my kids were younger, and we all had such fun. sure brought back lots of memories reading your post!!!
good luck!

When my kids were younger a cardboard box, markers, some tape and some colored paper would make a rainy sunday a blast. We would clear a spot in the living room and make trains, houses, etc and then they would play in it all day long. Sometimes the cheapest things around make the BEST toys.

Yes. We play with cars and trucks and tractors and trains and animals. We fly remote controled helicopters. We play in the water and in the mud. We also do learning games, etc.

When my girls were little we played tea set and dolls and Barbies has always been at the top of the list. We play dress up and climbed trees too.

Playing is essential to their development.

Check consignment sales and 2nd hand stores. You can score big on those types sets of family and houses.

I always played with them. My youngest is 8 and I don't play with her as much as I did with the older ones....I should change that. But we do play video games with the older kids now. Does that count?

lol... I remember Maple Town it was brilliant, and I am 55 so that shows my answer. I have played with it with several children.

My own sons are all grown up now, one is 35 and one 25, but as I was a single mom most of the time, I had to play with them, keep them occupied and also to try and wear them out some times.... lol...

We used to walk and have adventures in the countryside around where we lived and I would teach them about wildlife, and make up stories using the animals as characters. but we also had cop games lol.... I will never forget my eldest aged about 10 in his american police shirt being caught posing in a mirror with fingers extended to form a gun and his legs akimbo saying "Freeze Sucker"....lol.... he has never lived it down and the uncle that caught him doing it has never let him to this day. It is magical to play with children.

They see the world from a different perspective, and that is always refreshing, when the economy is getting us down we can escape with them for a while to play land, and feel better for the break.

It also build relationships and offers so many ways to teach good things. My sons still come to me now and then and admit that they did not really understand things I did when they were small but now they are adult they can understand.

They are good guys, and we have been through a lot together, and sometimes we differ, but we are strong because of those early years when we played together, through 2 generations because of the gap between them.

Enjoy your new direction and play for all you are worth.

Jena.

OH I am soooo glad to hear of other moms/dads playing with their kids! I was afraid people would wonder about me wanting to play with toys...it's not for the toys sake!

Jena, so glad someone other than me remembers Maple Town! I'm 29, and my mom who's 53 says she remembers Maple town as well!

I don't do imagination things with my son. We do bike, hike, fish, wrestle,
play video games, and lots of other things together, not nearly as much
as we should though.

Do lightsabre battles count?

I did when mine were young. Now I'm on the floor playing with the grandkids. Those who don't do it are missing out on a lot.

I roughhouse with my boys a lot. My four year old is getting to the stage where he likes to use his imagination. In fact, my two year old tells us he flies like superman. I don't play with them as much as I should but we are changing that. I am going to start playing football with them in the yard. They love throwing the ball. They have me build "forts" in their room and I should play with them in the fort after we build it for them. My boys love to help me work- collect eggs, bring in firewood, clean out the chicken coop, grain calves, etc.