Things other moms do with their kids that you would hate doing with yours - Page 9

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by darcytrue

Disney is another one for me. I don't see the attraction. I think it's a tourist trap. We have the money and the time to go since we are self-employed and homeschool our kids but I don't see the point in going to stand in lines all day, get tired out, have cranky kids and not really have any real enjoyment of close, family time.

As much as Disney isn't my thing, I have to say that we spent remarkably little time in lines. The Fast Pass system actually works very well. Most of the lines we spent time in were for food (and I managed to avoid a lot of those, too - bought snacks at the fruit stands, and lunch from the Moroccan pavilion, etc.). Since we were going, anyway, I focused on the stuff I did like (in something as big as Disney World, there's bound to be at least a few things for pretty much everybody, yk?), and had an okay time. But, I truly don't get the attraction. It's so expensive and there are so many other ways to have a good time.

(My in-laws will treat us to another trip a few years down the road. The first one was really meant for ds1, and they want the other kids to have a chance to enjoy Disney, too. I'm just going to take it the way they intend it, and hope the kids enjoy themselves.)

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by GISDiva

People in Target who say to their kids "OK, let's go to the toy aisle!" Really, you want to willingly fight that battle? If it's up to me, DS won't even know that there IS a toy section until he's 12...

my mom and i have always done a LOT of shopping with ds1. we'd hit the toy aisle and let him hold toys and then put them back. he knows that when we look at the toy aisle, we don't always buy it's worked out nicely. he's an easygoing kid though; we'll see how that works with ds2.

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by BellinghamCrunchie

Man, I wish you lived next door! I could sure use a friend just like you.

maybe she DOES live next door but doesn't know how to make friends with you

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by choli

Homeschooling. No way, no how.

DEFINITELY that. i don't have the patience.

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by lara1828

Oh, I hate CEC, but my kids love it so much. I take them during the day when it's quieter and drink LOTS and LOTS of sugary pop - pretty much the only time I drink pop except for the occasional rootbeer float.

we don't have that here. i'm not sure we have restaurants like that really. is it that bad?

[mummyofan]

not sure whether this has been said yet, but Dressing up for halloween and going around strangers' houses asking for candy and saying'trick or treat' (that HAS to be the unfriendliest phrase in the language of children) even dressing up as something different freaks me out - I think it's a phobia!, but definately going in the dark to others' doors and ughhh.
The other thing is Hanna Montanna type things .movies/ shows/ commercial paraphanalia that goes with it!! YUK
Mine are 3 and 1.5, so we haven't had to do either yet (though we'll NEVER do HM and I'll have to take some serious coffe or something with me to go around the streets with them if I do it.

Anyway sorry if this is already said, just wanted to do it before mine wake, and read the reast till they do

[ginadc]

The thing I hate most: playing pretend. I used to love it as a kid, of course, and somewhere along the way I just totally lost touch with my "pretend" gene. I think it's why I'm a nonfiction writer instead of a novelist. While I love plunging into the imaginary world of a book someone else has written, it's hard for me to start making up my own--or carrying out the imaginings of a kid.

I love doing projects with my kids, building, doing puzzles, making things out of Play-Doh, reading with them, doing active play (running around and climbing stuff)...but when it comes to pretending I'm XYZ and she's ABC, or getting out the dollhouse and inventing something for the dolls to be doing, I'm looking for the exit.

[BarefootScientist]

Originally Posted by BellinghamCrunchie

Man, I wish you lived next door! I could sure use a friend just like you.

Originally Posted by tjjazzy

maybe she DOES live next door but doesn't know how to make friends with you

Ha! No, it looks like she's on a star, and I'm in Colorado.

[Unicorn75]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet:

I DESPISE going to kids birthday parties. They are almost always at an inconvenient time, guaranteed to interrupt naptime for DD. The ones at the "kinderplay" type places are so loud with Abba blasting that it puts my teeth on edge.

My "favorite" was a party for 3-5 year olds at a bowling alley. Imagine 20+ kids (oh the horror) taking turns to bowl, with the balls dropping on the floor, lights flashing, loud music, kids screaming, kids arguing over who gets to use the pink ball, why did Jimmy get two turns, etc. Then, let's feed them crappy pizza and soda or red fruit punch. then, all the parents standing about, because there is nowhere to sit, and trying to make small talk over all the noise, while simultaneously keeping an eye on your own kid to make sure they do not drop the 7 lb bowling ball on their toe.

Yeah, good times.

[InMediasRes]

Wow. So many people hate pretend. I love playing cars and animals, building block houses and the coolest train tracks ever. My DH and I built a cool train track after bedtime one night. But then again, my family had tons of model trains when I was a kid.

I don't much like cooking because DS eats all the ingredients, but otherwise it's fun. So is playing bubbles in the sink. DS also walks freely in the grocery and "helps" me shop. We count peaches and throw things into the cart. Sometimes it doesn't work, but I can't imagine doing it otherwise.

I also love to sing and dance and do crafts, but DS doesn't let me sing, or he only lets me sing this one song that I hate. I hate going out to eat also. I never get to enjoy it like I think I should.

I don't do day trips. More than 20 min in the car makes me really cranky. I don't do bedtime routines either, although putting DS to bed usually takes up to an hour anyway.

I think I will hate reading aloud as well. I have a mother (who I think is dyslexic) who ALWAYS reads EVERYTHING aloud, even when I am sitting right next to her trying to read it myself. I think listening to a kid dragging on and mispronouncing everything will drive me batty.

I also don't know how people listen to their kids use bad grammar and not want to correct them. Our neighbor kids always say "her" instead of "she" and "them" instead of "they". Of course, I have a very hard time not correcting adult's grammar, so...

Too funny listening to everyone's version of princess. DS plays cars (boy thing, right?) but they are always nursing and going to sleep and kissing each other's owies. It's decidedly un-masculine, and I love it.

[BarnMomma]

I love outside activites with DS...hiking, fishing, horses, skating, skiing, gardening have gone great and DS is only 2. We will drive anywhere for fun! Under 1.5 hours is local!

But ask me to sit and play on the floor with his toys? No thanks.

And frankly, our day begins at 5 AM. Leave me alone time happens at 4 and a movie is played while I cook dinner in peace. BUT, DS is very agreeable in the kitchen so if he wants to help I have no qualms.

[hipumpkins]

Originally Posted by Crystal_R

Playing pretend. I hate that. Building things, playing outside, games, reading, whatever, I'm ok with. Pretend I haaaate.

Originally Posted by Jessy1019

What I don't like and don't want to do with mine is pretend play. I was really into it as a kid, am still really creative in lots of other ways, and I think my imagination is still pretty sharp . . . but I don't want to talk for dolls or pretend to be a character or whatever. Just NOT fun, and I know other parents who do it happily. I'll play games, read books, do crafts, but when it comes to actual PLAY, that's on the kids.

Sitting on the floor trying to make toys talk literally makes me fall asleep. My kids have yelled, "mommy!" to wake me, many times during that kind of play.
With Dd it ends as me putting on a play with toys whiel she watches with very little participation. Ds is happy to play blocks and cars so I don't have to talk as much.

Originally Posted by rainyday

Getting out the flour and cookie sheets and letting the kids play with their dump trucks and excavators and shovels in there, plus with water to mix in when they want - all inside the house during the winter. A mom told me how much fun her kids have when she got that stuff out for them and all I could think was how I would be cleaning that up forever! It sounded like that was a regular wintertime activity for them, which sounds great for her kids, but I couldn't do it.

I tried this and OMG the mess. the kids have done it again but I have million rules now and I sucked the fun out of it.

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by BarefootScientist

Ha! No, it looks like she's on a star, and I'm in Colorado.

damn! wouldn't that have been a happy coincidence??

[NightOwlwithowlet]

I love to play pretend! I joke that I had my son to relive my childhood with money and driver's lisence. I even play Barbies with my nieces. Two hours building castles and setting up train tracks to carry the invading dragon armies? I love it.

The things are I hate are kid's music, especially in the car. I hate playing board games and doing puzzles with little kids. I really, really hate doing arts and crafts. Luckily, my son dislikes kids music, he prefers Woody Guthry and Steve Earle and Willie Nelson. He thinks board games and crafts are boring.

My deep dark confession is I really don't like is sports for kids (under 16). I can't stand attending games, practices, or sports banquets. I don't understand what the fuss is about, why the parents get so worked up, and how come I sould give up three afternoons a week. I'm secretly thrilled that my son quit at t-ball and refuses to sign for team sports. I'm glad he prefers swimming, Tae Kwon Do, and running.

[mjg013]

I despise craft time. I only do it with my kids once in a blue moon. It basically entails covering the entire room we're using with old sheets, stripping most of them naked so they don't ruin their clothes then trying not to freak out while they make huge messes, fight over the red paint, or get mad and want me to fix it for them. Inevitably one of the 2 year olds make off with a black crayon or a red pen when I'm not looking and proceed to decorate whatever room in the house was repainted most recently.

[Down2Earth]

Originally Posted by stormborn

Oh, music counts? Good. I loathe any music made for kids. So far anyway; if Tool wants to produce a kids album I'll try again.:
Until then, Manowar has put both kids to sleep just fine without making me want to put out my eardrums with an icepick.

Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news? There is Tool children's album. It's called Rockabye Baby lullaby renditions of Tool. And depending upon how much you like xylophone, you might like it. Personally I can't stand how much they slow down the songs. Thankfully my DD is okay with the original version.

ETA: Ooops! Someone beat me to it! I guess I should read the WHOLE thread before posting.

[Down2Earth]

Whew! I finally finished reading this thread. Too funny!

I don't get the nightly bath thing. It's such a PITA to take a dry baby and make her wet right before bed. I just put her in the tub while I shower and her butt usually plugs the drain enough to give her something to splash in.

Disneyland is not high on our list of priorities. I guess we will go eventually. But DH and I loved Disney before baby. We bought season passes and would go almost every Monday (DH's day off.) We would pack bread, cheese, grapes and water and would spend the whole day there. We would spend maybe $10 or $20 tops. It was cheaper than a movie!

[erratum]

I dig playing pretend. Except, this kid I babysat for used to make me be more than one character at the same time. So you're talking to yourself AND having to come up with twice the inane dialogue as usual! It makes you feel totally schizophrenic!

[Cascadian]

Ok, I know this might be a totally unpopular one, but I *hate* dragging my kids with me to every single errand I have. Sure, I'll do it on occasion, but it always takes 3x as long, in and out of carseats, needing to pee, hungry, bored, fighting, etc. etc. ad nausum. And the whole "Can I have a candy/toy/thing that look like candy but it's an adult suppository.." followed by the (hungry, tired) meltdown. Dh and I usually take turns running out to do errands ALONE. Just isn't my thing. And they'd rather be in the backyard playing.

Oh...and I can't stand organized sports, mostly b/c of the other parents :P

[nina_yyc]

I hate playing pretend. I don't really like playing at all. It is not my responsibility to entertain DD. Ditto colouring. I thought I would really get into it since I loved colouring as a kid, but she just wants me to draw things for her. Meh.

Also, kids' music, TV shows, and crappy books. I'm not as fundamentally opposed to TV as our home life would lead you to believe. It's just that you could not pay me enough money to watch that crap, or hear very annoying songs repeated all day, and our house is small. Luckily, DD's TV time is limited and she's currently watching a bunch of Muppet Shows from the 70s and 80s, which I find hilarious. Then there's the seemingly endless number of kids' books that have absolutely nothing to offer in the way of writing or story. Just because there are words on each page does not make it a book. DD has been pretty much limited to the ones that have at least some sort of beginning, middle, and end. I don't really mind Eric Carle but I did think this article was hilarious -http://www.slate.com/id/2231033/

OTOH, I don't mind cooking, cleaning, or errands with DD one little bit! It may be slow progress on my chores but I still make progress, and she gets to feel good about doing something 'real.' I could see this changing when baby#2 comes along....making one kid part of your own life is one thing, but two kids??