what do kids do on playdates once they stop pretend play?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an 11 year old and I think girls secretly still like pretend play at that age, but think that they shouldn’t. My dd and her friends are not much into boys yet (thankfully!) so when they’re together they do art projects, bum around outside on our swing set, write and act out plays, make a huge mess in my kitchen. I only recall one time that my dd and her good friend were bored and I didn’t intervene. Nothing wrong with feeling the discomfort of boredom and getting through it. Still not a fan of screens at play dates
, but I’m sure that will change next year when they’re in middle school.

+1

Friends of ours with a ten-year-old girl were visiting, and she was really thrilled to be playing pretend with my nearly seven-year-old. Her "cover" was that she was playing to be nice to the younger kid, but it was so, so, so obvious that she was really into it.

[Anonymous]

I have a 9 y/o boy and they do yugi oh cards, baseball, nerf gun fights, some sports outside and they like to go to a wooded area near my house. I’ve been wondering if they’re the age where I “should” allow more screen time or video games at play dates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 9 y/o boy and they do yugi oh cards, baseball, nerf gun fights, some sports outside and they like to go to a wooded area near my house. I’ve been wondering if they’re the age where I “should” allow more screen time or video games at play dates.

Nah, sounds like they're doing great without it. Once you go there, it's hard to go back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 9 y/o boy and they do yugi oh cards, baseball, nerf gun fights, some sports outside and they like to go to a wooded area near my house. I’ve been wondering if they’re the age where I “should” allow more screen time or video games at play dates.

Nah, sounds like they're doing great without it. Once you go there, it's hard to go back.

Agree! When my son goes to a friends house I love when he comes back saying “we jumped on the trampoline and had a nerf gun fight” versus “we sat next to each other and played Minecraft the whole time.”

[Anonymous]

Video games. We limit it, but video games.

[Anonymous]

I have an 8 year old who despises pretend play, so that’s never been in the mix.

She and her friends build giant blanket forts, hide and seek, make slime, do craft projects, scoot and bike in the alley, make elaborate sidewalk chalk drawings, bake if the play date is inside. One friend loves puzzles so she’ll do that with her. She also plays Pokémon (the card game) with one set of friends and loves tag. I’ve also noticed quite a bit more talking this year, particularly among the girls. They will be sitting there making friendship bracelets and just chattering away about school, their sports teams, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 9 y/o boy and they do yugi oh cards, baseball, nerf gun fights, some sports outside and they like to go to a wooded area near my house. I’ve been wondering if they’re the age where I “should” allow more screen time or video games at play dates.

Nah, sounds like they're doing great without it. Once you go there, it's hard to go back.

Agree! When my son goes to a friends house I love when he comes back saying “we jumped on the trampoline and had a nerf gun fight” versus “we sat next to each other and played Minecraft the whole time.”

Lol ok thanks - both your kids are welcome over

[Anonymous]

Legos, video games, just hang out and talk, pokemon, wrestle so much wrestling.

[Anonymous]

My kids (5 and 8) still do pretend play, but also have a tool chest and they and their buddies take apart printers and vcrs that have stopped working. They all love it.

Other things they do are write/illustrate books and make up stories or plays (that seems to last longer than pretend play), have nerf gun wars, build things, play outside...

[Anonymous]

Music. 8 year old boy here...they do go outside to play but if they can't they watch music videos on you tube, and usually sing. I love the idea of a karaoke machine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Play nerf war, hide and seek, dump all the liquid soap in the sink and fill it with water, break things in search of dominance, followed by video games.

Lol. You can definitely tell who the owners of boys are versus girls.

NP. 8 yo DD and her friends do all of this plus play outside a lot. They like to ride the scooters in the driveway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, we have same situations here. I think it really is up to the parents. My 6yo will have friends over --whose parents always entertain them and give them the latest and greatest -- and they are not entertained by our basement full of imaginative toys and they keep popping back upstairs to try to get me to entertain them, tell me, "I'm boooooored!" or, "I'm hungry!"

However, even my 11yo (less and less so, but still!) will still lose herself more often than she would like to admit in imaginative play with her younger 6yo sis.

So, try to align yourself with similarly minded parents, who do not provide their children with the latest bells and whistles all the time. Remember, the simpler the toy, the more creativity the child brings to the table. Your kids will be better off in the long run! Stay the course! : )

Wow. I also have a daughter who is into pretend play, but my best friends daughter same age is not anymore. Her mother raised her the exact same way, it’s just a maturity thing, her child is now into boys and other things.

Don’t praise your parenting so much sweetie, it’s personality of your child not your expert skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, we have same situations here. I think it really is up to the parents. My 6yo will have friends over --whose parents always entertain them and give them the latest and greatest -- and they are not entertained by our basement full of imaginative toys and they keep popping back upstairs to try to get me to entertain them, tell me, "I'm boooooored!" or, "I'm hungry!"

However, even my 11yo (less and less so, but still!) will still lose herself more often than she would like to admit in imaginative play with her younger 6yo sis.

So, try to align yourself with similarly minded parents, who do not provide their children with the latest bells and whistles all the time. Remember, the simpler the toy, the more creativity the child brings to the table. Your kids will be better off in the long run! Stay the course! : )

Wow. I also have a daughter who is into pretend play, but my best friends daughter same age is not anymore. Her mother raised her the exact same way, it’s just a maturity thing, her child is now into boys and other things.

Don’t praise your parenting so much sweetie, it’s personality of your child not your expert skills.

Kind of sad that you think you have 0 influence on your child!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, we have same situations here. I think it really is up to the parents. My 6yo will have friends over --whose parents always entertain them and give them the latest and greatest -- and they are not entertained by our basement full of imaginative toys and they keep popping back upstairs to try to get me to entertain them, tell me, "I'm boooooored!" or, "I'm hungry!"

However, even my 11yo (less and less so, but still!) will still lose herself more often than she would like to admit in imaginative play with her younger 6yo sis.

So, try to align yourself with similarly minded parents, who do not provide their children with the latest bells and whistles all the time. Remember, the simpler the toy, the more creativity the child brings to the table. Your kids will be better off in the long run! Stay the course! : )

Wow. I also have a daughter who is into pretend play, but my best friends daughter same age is not anymore. Her mother raised her the exact same way, it’s just a maturity thing, her child is now into boys and other things.

Don’t praise your parenting so much sweetie, it’s personality of your child not your expert skills.

Kind of sad that you think you have 0 influence on your child!

how typical of gender normative bland parenting. You say creative, but you realize you are following stereotypes of child rearing? Doubtful your “creative” play actually does anything outside of norms. Quite average, which is I guess where you spend your life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, we have same situations here. I think it really is up to the parents. My 6yo will have friends over --whose parents always entertain them and give them the latest and greatest -- and they are not entertained by our basement full of imaginative toys and they keep popping back upstairs to try to get me to entertain them, tell me, "I'm boooooored!" or, "I'm hungry!"

However, even my 11yo (less and less so, but still!) will still lose herself more often than she would like to admit in imaginative play with her younger 6yo sis.

So, try to align yourself with similarly minded parents, who do not provide their children with the latest bells and whistles all the time. Remember, the simpler the toy, the more creativity the child brings to the table. Your kids will be better off in the long run! Stay the course! : )

I usually try to stretch my children by exposing them to different types of people. But, YMMV.