I am tired of playing "Ben 10" with AJ. I love the show, it's very creative, but... I am ashamed to say this: I DREAD when he says, "Let's play 'Ben 10!'" with all that enthusiasm. I don't have any IDEAS for Ben and Gwen and the DNAliens, I'm sorry.
I used to think of myself as imaginative. Or at least able to pretend! I was an ACTOR for a few years in high school, even. I played "improv games!" But having a child has proven that I am NOT, in fact, an idea warehouse. All of AJ's and my pretending scenes start like this: "So, [Michaelangelo or Ben or Hulk or whomever], what are we going to DO today?"
GAH. I feel like I need to work on this (maybe revisit some of the improv games?) but I just don't wanna. Whine. I love that HE has the desire to pretend, and want to foster that. And I know I'll regret it someday when he grunts at me and shuts the door to his room, turns the music up louder. I will. I'll miss it.
But I'm also tired of Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles in the tub! I have no imagination for these, either, except "Let's practice our ninja moves." *insert 4-yr-old king-fu sound effects here* Last night I finally thought of one thing: DIVE BOMBING. Meaning Mommy throws the Power Rangers into the water, splashing AJ. Good fun. Satisfying for me, too, tossing those guys into the water with a flourish.
We need a neighbor kid who likes these same characters to move in, stat. I will bake cookies. Come over to play.
Until then, CAN WE PLEASE PLAY A BOARD GAME OR DO A PUZZLE??
9 comments:
I was an active, working actor for years skilled in improv and comedy and I HATE HATE HATE the pretend games that we play. Mostly because I'm not interested in what these people (meaning trains) are doing today, thanks.
On the other hand, I love to play with Wallace and watch him play and usually when we get going he takes over my characters anyway because I don't know the internal script. One which usually winds up with everyone being "Vewy vewy cwoss INDEED".
What I've found helpful is to be the one asking the questions. Can you turn it around on AJ? "I don't know, what ARE we going to do today, Raphael?" and let him run with it? Or is he resistant to that kind of blatant manipulation.
Eventually, Wallace tells the story and I just kind of move the characters as he instructs. Until I get kicked out of the game for being not enough on the ball, of course.
He is resistant!! Have kinda tried that... I guess I need to be more specific:
"Where do you think we might see some bad guys, Ben?"
"Oh, no, what is that bad guy over there doing?"
(I predict "I dunno"s and "Ummm"s for answers, based on past performance.)
It's funny, too, because he has action figures (much like W's trains) that we would be more inclined to play with, really, because we'd just be moving them around. But he'd rather BE the characters himself.
It's not the same as playing "teacher" and "house" like I did when I was little. (Which are, now that I think about it, not as imaginative. More imitative.)
Do you have blocks??? See if you can convince himto go build house/building/roads/lair/SOMETHING to set the scene for playtime. Hopefullyit will take him a while to do it. AND while he is building, Ill bet it sparks his imagination as to WHERE/WHAT he is builidng it FOR and will take more charge of the game.
ALSO< you win. I officially SUCK as a prent .I have almost NEVER EVER played with my kid sto this extent...Hell, I was proud that I did two puzzle and a game of Cariboo, and SpongeBob Operation yesterday. Along with a little bit of "mommy school," I thought I had earned a damn Nobel Prize. Now, my pride is all deflated! Damn you overachievers!
Girl, you just expect too much from yourself!!!!!
Oh, and Grant now likes to ask me if I know how to make the "tooty sound" with my armpit? Are you feeling better now? I bet you are! When in doubt, just compare yourself to my laziness! Instant parenting self-esteem!
Also, if one of us would move near the other the boys could entertain each other and we could just drink coffee....Beleive me, Mr. Grant will have too many ideas and be a bossy-pants. You wonthave to think up a single thing!
I rarely play these kinds of games with collin ... he does a lot of it on his own with his trains (DEAR LORD WHEN WILL THE THOMAS OBSESSION END????) ..also, Eric does a lot of the eplaying with him ... the building, the playing memory over and over and over again... I have a daddy's boy on my hands!!!!
AND I totally wish we lived closer (even though the irony of that is we DID live close for YEARS!!!!) b/c Collin needs a friend and he is still talking about his friend AJ
anyway:
el-e-e playing pretend games with 4year old son: A++++++
Whatevs. SO NOT A+! I TRY to be more like you guys! I wish AJ wouldn't whine back when I say this: "You'll have to play by yourself."
Ha!
oh my 3 yr old is like this w/ super heros. I am SO not imaginative or I am too tired to be imaginative...
Hey, let's hope that girl's games are more fun! :)
I hate making up little character dramas. I'm not good at it, and I don't enjoy it. I'm always like, "Um, let's have him BRUSH HIS TEETH. And then GO TO BED EARLY!"
One thing I do with the twins is have "take-turns time." That is, first Edward gets to decide what we play, then Elizabeth gets to decide what we play, then Mommy gets to decide what we play. MOMMY likes BLOCKS.
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