Parents Find Playing With Kids 'Boring,' and Kids Know It

I think it's bad when adults lose the fun in life. I love playing with my nieces and nephews. I always wanted to play monopoly with my mom, but she was never interested. I can't wait to have kids. Camping, biking, board games... all the things I wish my parents did with me. Parents, your kids will be better behaved if you just did stuff with them. DON'T HAVE KIDS IF YOU CAN'T KEEP UP WITH THEM!! I see so many bad parents nowadays. They talk to them like adults. HINT: get down to their level. Parents are boring not kids.

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I do get to play with my girls every other weekends but durning the week it is HARD for those of us that work. I miss more than anything being able to have the time to play with them and miss being that stay at home mom. When you are a single parent it's a lot harder. I do have to work that 8-5 mon-fri job and durning the week i feel guilty that I have to say no to playing with them but I will tell them no instead of halfway play with them (why do anything half hearted, it just says what you are doing is worthless to you). They understand too, they get up and leave with me at 7:30 and get home with me at 7:00 and then it's bath, dinner and bed. Our kids are only showing what they are being taught which isn't the quality of life but quantity(of money in the bank). People are that way with their money and their time. Doesn't matter how good life is there is always something more, bigger and better that you got to have. If we all were concerned with what our family NEEDED than what they WANTED(or with what the kids down the street has so if I don't get it for mine then I'm a bad parent crap) then our children would be better adjusted we wouldn't need to work so much for all the junk and would have more time to spend with them, teaching them. My grandma didn't play with me but she taught me when the right time to pick a tomatoe is or when to hang out the cloths so they wouldn't be stiff or how much is too much soap in the laudary. our parents didn't 'play' with us they taught us life skills that the childcare providers aren't teaching them while the adults are out working for money. I am still trying to figure out how we as a society are working so hard for a piece of paper that is worthless? Money sucks, it's the root of all evil ...... but you can no longer live without it.

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Through the course of life (not trying to be too deep here) we'll all be faced with activities that bore us, whether it's playing the umpteenth game of checkers with your child, listening to Great Grandpappy's umpteenth WWII story or calming the neighbor who's just split up with her umpteenth husband. Sometimes you just do it to be nice or because you're soooo aware of Karma. Kids on the other hand, and not just the ones with your name stamped on them, remember a lot more than just the big things in life. They remember the little things, like playing those checkers. Try to find a common ground, set limits ("Ok, one game then I need to mentally compose my presidential speech".) and sometimes, you need to be frank and let the child know there's something else YOU'D rather do, child inclusive. Anyone stuck doing things solely for the benefit of others is a doormat and that's not beneficial for anyone.

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I think that perhaps the meaning of "play" has been lost in this article. I can freely admit that some of the stuff my kids want me to do bores me. It does, okay? I'm being honest. That doesn't mean that I don't spend time with my kids or that I don't like them and want to be with them. But "play" has a different meaning to my preschooler than it does my teenager. I really don't think my teen thinks me making faces at her and tickling her is fun, but my preschooler loves it. I also don't think my preschooler gets much out of the time I spend making jewelery or shopping at the mall with her teenage sister. Not "playing" doesn't have to mean not spending quality time with your kids. Cooking, hiking, crafts, etc. are not things I would list as "play" time and yet we do a lot of those activties together. I don't really enjoy running around playing tag or playing video games and I don't think that makes me a bad parent - just human.

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Parents are parents, not playmates. Parents should love, feed, nurture, teach and discipline their kids and raise them to be intelligent, creative and independent beings...not sponges who demand a constant input of entertainment.

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I'm a stay-at-home dad with two children. I love playing with my children. I take them to the zoo, museums, play board games, play hide-n-seek, discuss life issues, golf together, miniture golf together, read books together and much more.

The summer is my favorite time!

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Have to admit that playing board games was always boring to me, and my kids knew it! However, there were plenty of things we all liked doing together, like bicycling, throwing or kicking the ball around, dancing, swimming, reading, singing, cooking or baking together, making things, etc. Kids have some pretty cool toys too, and It was fun to play with them when they were making things with an erector set, legos, trains sets, doll houses, etc. Unfortunately, most of us don't have enough time in the day to play with them as much as we might like. When I was a child, some of my best memories where those when we were playing with our parents. Play is healthy for all of us and now that the kids are all grown up, I miss it. Playing with grand children will be fun too, but it won't be the same because we lack the same physical stamina we had with our own children. We can't get it back, but we'll always have the memories.

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I think many people are missing the point. I didn't want my mom to play with me after about age 5 or 6 because she was no fun. My father was a different case, I remember him telling us stories and playing eye spy whenever we had to wait in the car when mom was shopping. On weekends if he was in a silly mood he'd say he was turning into the tickle monster and chase my brother and me through the house. I think that's why it was easier for me than my husband to play with our own kids, he didn't have any examples and I did.
I don't think it's even so much what you do, just as long as you want to be there.
You're missing out if you don't get silly with your kids once in awhile. You have to be able to remember what it was to be little, and all the silly things that gave you so much happiness. I played games in the back yard with my kids that I liked when I was little, mother may I, red light green light etc. Often the neighborhood kids would come over and we'd have enough for a good old fashioned game of freeze tag. Another great game to play in a waiting room or standing in line situation, is a game my kids named bridge. It sounds really stupid and it is, but for some reason most kids under 5 and even some over, love it. The child points their hands toward each other and touches the fingertips making a bridge, then you use your index and middle finger and make a little "walking guy" while he's walking across the "bridge" he accidentally falls and says "oh nooo" in the silliest voice you can do. It doesn't have to be loud to be funny. My kids delighted in having major bridge collapses before my fingers could get across. Sometimes the dumbest things mean the most. I can't remember what my dad gave me for my 8th birthday but I do remember the stories and the fun little things he did for us.

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yea its never the good things that get their attention
Im sure they feel the same so like whos got a match

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I had some memorable moments of play with my firstborn, because she sought out my company and participation, but that got more difficult when her brother came along 5 1/2 years later. The age gap meant they were not close buddies, but we could all sit down to a board game now and then. I remember feeling a time pinch because of homework sent home by the primary grades in school. Finish that and you're lucky to get in a bath and a story before lights out.Single parents know special guilt about not 'playing' enough; with a military spouse, I got that experience more than 75% of the time. What I found challenging was that kids always want to engage in what you are doing, which sometimes takes more time than fits into tight schedules. You just do the best you can and sacrifice some o' that Computer Time. My son would drag a chair over to the sink to clink dishes together to 'wash' them, so we bonded with that...he would also drag a chair over to the oven and think he could scramble his own eggs, so we had to get him to agree to never do this without Mom in the room. Thank goodness for the noise a chair makes as it scrapes the floor! I found that my daughter wasn't getting real cooking lessons whilst heer brother was getting into everything, so I let her take some cooking lessons with a group elsewhere. She was proud to show us all what she had learned, and we could build upon that.I coveted the pricey toys; they didn't seem to care about 'stuff' when they were small. No matter what you do, some things might have been different. If you put your heart into things as often as possible without driving yourself crazy, things tend to work out OK, long-run.

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Get them outside (and yourself) and run around wild. It's healthy, you get fresh air and sunshine, and it's fun. If you play games that stimulate the mind, or do something creative with art, then the task won't be so boring. You'll also be surprised how talented your kid really is!

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Ohmigoodness! I think my children are the most amazing little creatures on earth! I am totally blown away by them! They are 4, 17, 25 and 26 with a 4 year old granddaughter in the mix and I simply cannot get enough of them! Hence, the 4 year old! I'd have even more if our budget and my husband would allow! So, I take in all of my friends' children! haha
Children are a gift! A precious, precious miracle! They are simply amazing to watch! They are constantly changing and learning and growing! They are NEVER the same! They emerge from a tiny little cocoon and blossom and grow and bud and bloom!
Just sitting and observing them is a joy! To watch them discover the world around them is a blessing in itself! I even enjoy watching my child sleep! Just to marvel at the tiny miracle he is encites total joy in my soul!
Please step back and think about the miracle before you. Once you do, I believe that you will realize what you are missing. And, allow YOUR inner child to come out! You'll enjoy your children much, much more!

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And, might I add that a "spotless" house is not a requirement! A neat, tidy house can be accomplished with the help of your children! Make a game of it by enlisting your child's help! My kids have always helped with the housework and now my two eldest are great homemakers! My two youngest love helping around the house and don't find it a chore at all!
I don't have the cleanest house on the block- I have a warm, welcoming house that is lived in! And, it's apparent that we have children! People love coming to our home.
Relax. You can have the spotless house once your children are grown. They're only little once. Enjoy them while you can!

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I would gladly give up house work and some cooking to play doll house and video games. My parents never played with me and my older sister(5years) hardly did. I love playing with my kids. I am a pretty strict mom as well.

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These statistics are just a bunch of rattled off nonsense. And, gee, a study conducted by *Disney* is pointing out that parents just don't spend enough time (and money, I'm guessing) playing with kids. How suprising.

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