Do you PLAY with your kids?

[The Chicken Lady]

Imagining is where innovation and new ideas comes from. If we want to improve our country, we need to encourage our children to develop their own ideas rather than copy the ideas of others.

Instead of imposing a lot of rules on the kids' games, just let them go with it and follow their lead. Little kids are great at imagining, and they will tell you what your role should be and what you should do. Don't feel foolish about playing pretend; realize you're your kid's hero for entering their imaginary world with them.

Here are some ideas for making your house into a playground for the imagination:
- Get a big tub and fill it with dress-up clothes and accessories for guys and girls (my grandma used to get us all of ours at the thrift stores). Don't just stick with princess costumes if you have only girls: find firefighters' and police caps and doctors' coats and other things like that.
- Get a bunch of sheets that they can make tents out of.
- Get your kids a collection of puppets.
- Find them a huge refrigerator box. The possibilities for something like that are endless. It will become a cave, a house, a spaceship...
- Create a playroom in your house if you have room for it and don't worry overly much about the mess all the time. Just shut the door.

- Paint, draw, and write together. Hang finished masterpieces on the fridge. Frame some of their own artwork and writing and hang it up in their rooms.
- Wander the woods together. Take the time to look at the plants and small creatures you find there. Look at birds' nests together. Show them your own curiosity. Model wondering about things aloud and then going to books or websites to find the answers to your questions.
- Get your kids some LEGOs, some building blocks and a ton of plastic animals and people figures.
- Ask your elementary school and middle school kids lots of open-ended "What if?" and "Why?" questions, not necessarily because you want to give them the right answer, but just because you want to listen to them try to explain their ideas.
- READ to your kids, EVERY NIGHT, if you can. Get each of your kids a library card and celebrate it with a family party.

I hope these ideas help.

 

[hoosier]

I don't have kids, but I play with my nieces. We have played with plastic dinosaurs, dolls...

One of their favorites is to play store. I saved empty cans/boxes etc and I happen to have a set of empty shelves. They like to play cashier using an old calculator.

The time they spend playing with you will be what they remember - most can't remember what they got last Christmas.

 

[the1much]

i play hide-n-seek with em,, i locked myself in the closet,, they havent seen me for 6 years

 

[CarriBrown]

My parents never "played" with us, per se, but we spent a lot of time outside with the horses, chickens, dogs, etc and out in the garden, riding bikes, camping and all of that.
I never was a Barbie kind of girl. Never even owned one. Never wanted one. I don't remember having a lot of toys, really. Both my brother and I were always outside.
My DH was the same way. Not a lot of toys really but always outside with his dad. He did play with Leggos but being in the garage with his dad was his favorite thing to do.
I do remember my dad reading to us every night and I think that's important.
I like to color with my niece and nephew. They draw pictures for me and we'll color pages in their coloring book. I have to admit I like doing the outdoor stuff a lot better.

 

[gumpsgirl]

I love to play with my kids! We don't just play either, we do learning activities just like you're describing a lot. I will confess that my house is not the cleanest in the neighborhood either, but the house will always wait. The kids grow so quickly and will be gone before you know it. I think what you are doing is excellent! Great job in being such a good mommy and working on teaching real life skills to your kids! It should be a lot of fun too!

 

[Bec]

I do play with my kids all the time! My daughter is very crafty and is into art so we sit down and do projects together. I also sit and play horses, barbies or doll house with her!
I always did with my son too, but now that he is a big whopping 8 years old, he is more independent and cool I guess...lol..he does sit with us and play dollhouse and horses though

 

[TerryLee]

I still play with my kiddos and they're 28 and 23. Just went muddin with my son in Aug. and my daughter will come over to spend the night so we can have a "girls night". I fix hot tea and scones, rent a girl movie, and we do facials, nails and hair.

<sigh> I miss them being little, and I can't wait for grandkids.

 

[Teach97]

Heck ya we play...we love wrestling in the living room...mostly when Mom isn't home

...my youngest kid can flat dig a hole...my front yard is messed up...a few too many passing routes have been run and way too many grounders have been hit...we like cars when the weather is nasty...they are finaly big enough to keep up and not freeze so hunting has gotten back on my must do lists...most projects turn into learning/help sessions...do all boy's loose their Dad's tools? If I had grass, it would be dangerous to mow with the number of tools that are lying around...we also mess with our birds! My oldest got his first trio of his very own this weekend!

Another addiction is started! Looking for the right birds for the younger one now...if I had been blessed with girls they would have been the prettiests princeses in the woods!

 

[Harley's girl]

I have tea parties all the time with my girls. I also play barbies with them and we color a lot. Hide and seek is a big one here. We all play the DH has so much fun finding us. LOL

 

[L&Schickens]

My hubby is better about playing with our sons toys with him then I am. They also play video games together too. For some reason I am the rough-house momma and my DH is the Imagination play man.
We all three do things together though that could qualify as play. We all three ride the horses, walk the dogs and go exploring in the woods quite often.