playing pretend and my stubborn little 3 yo, lol ( am I the only mom who just doesnt have... - Page 2

[dauphinette]

I wish I had more storage space so that I could employ the rotating toy method too, but alas I have no room to store them out of sight, any ideas on that are of course appreciated, lol!

Originally Posted by MadameXCupcake 

So glad I am not the only one feeling like this. I play with DD non stop and its like PLEASE LEAVE MOMMY ALONE for 30 seconds! I try so hard to get her to play but even putting out paints and stuff its constantly Mama, mama, mama, mommmmyyyyy in the background.

Someone mentioned the magnetic dolls like the paper dolls, that is actually one of the only things she plays with on her own! I'm not allowed to play with her. :lol

I try and pull something out she likes and go mama has to do XYZ I will be in the bathroom cleaning come get me if you need me, play with your toys. It works for like five minutes sometimes if when she follows me in I tell her I am busy and to go play.

I also rotate toys which seems to help, I leave out a third and the rest are out of site, when she is driving me nuts I pull out a toy she hasn't had in a while. Only buys me a min or two but it helps!

Hope someone posts some good advice.

I love her to bits but it makes me very frustrated to have to play non stop all day.

[dauphinette]

Originally Posted by nelson 

I disagree.

My DS does not play by himself well at all- always wants me, DH or friends to play with him.  I think he is just very social and enjoys the company of others.  It's not that he doesn't know how to entertain himself, he would just prefer to have a playmate.  He also does extremely well in his classroom once a week because he is so excited about large group activities and listening to the teacher and playing with the other kids.  I actually believe that he is leaps and bounds beyond most other toddler's his age in terms of social skills because he does interact with people so often.

I do agree that dd is verrrrrry social and is also leaps and bounds ahead of her age-mates in that arena and is being put in the 4yo playschool class in the fall even though she will still be three for a few months because when we visited she just fit in so much better developmentally with the 4's than the 3's.

 

[dauphinette]

Originally Posted by ElliesMomma 

you're an introvert (i am too) and your daughter might be an extravert (mine is). it gets better with time. can you get her in a good play based preschool?? i did when my DD was 3.5 yo and it was the best move i ever made. she is highly sociable. she gets so much out of playing with the other kids. i could never replicate that with her at home. there are still requests to play with her, and i occasionally indulge her with limited bursts of doing it. i will ask, "what do i have to do?" and she gives me a usually simple role to play. i will say, "ok, i'll do that, but then i need to move on to get some work done." and then i do it, and then i try to engage her with her dolls, etc. i have found that she loves that burst of attention, even if it's just for 5 minutes (which it usually is) -- it's better than none at all.

I guess my frustration comes from the fact that I do think I muster up the energy to do often enough but the hunger from her for it is INSATIABLE and thats what drives me crazy it is truely NEVER enough.  Never e-freakin-nuff, lol!
 

[dauphinette]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan 

You know how to get a 6 year old who can play alone (which is a developmentally appropriate ability)? By playing WITH your 3 year old (which is a developmentally appropriate need).
 

This is something I have been wondering, what IS developmentally appropriate to expect of her?

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by dauphinette 

I wish I had more storage space so that I could employ the rotating toy method too, but alas I have no room to store them out of sight, any ideas on that are of course appreciated, lol!

You could try something like a locked chest if you have room for that. Or bins under your bed or a section of a closet... I don' t know your living situation so maybe those ideas won't work... Or swap toys with a friend once a month (if you don't mind possibly not seeing the toys again!!)

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by dauphinette 

I guess my frustration comes from the fact that I do think I muster up the energy to do often enough but the hunger from her for it is INSATIABLE and thats what drives me crazy it is truely NEVER enough.  Never e-freakin-nuff, lol!
 

Is playing with you part of her regular routine or something that only happens when she asks for it? If she has to ask, do you play with her as soon as she asks (or after a very short time where it's clear what you're doing to get ready to play with her) or do you wait until she's worn you down with asking and asking and asking?

If you're 100% sure that she knows that she will be getting to play with you and when and/or has no doubts whatsoever that she'll be able to play with you "soon" (in her 3-year-old concept of the word), then it's time to increase the other people she can play with. But if you aren't 100% certain of that then start with fixing that.

[jaelsunfaire3]

I gave this comment a thumbs up simply because I can relate to the pretend play thing.  It has been very challenging to pretend play with my little girl.  Nice to know others feel similar.

[biophdmom]

my 3.5 yo LOVES to play pretend and will bake me pretend cookies and we have to have tea parties and "drive" places. She gets very involved (and is also quite stubborn, especially if I "forget" the "rules", like the invisible doors, etc). But she only just started doing that on her own full force maybe 3-4 months ago, so I'm guessing yours is on the cusp. Also, if I am playing with her and I do have to go make dinner or some other household chore, I try to work it into the game/scenario she has going. If that truly doesn't work, which sometimes it doesn't, we go back to something like coloring that she can really do on her own. I think if you just keep confronting her with activities that are okay for her to do on her own, she'll eventually find them interesting. Maybe let her do things like paint or glue or cut with scissors (obviously where you can still see her) that she doesn't get to do often and that might entice her to do it, even if on her own!