4-6 yr old how much do you play with them?

[lau86]

My eldest is 4.5 he's not at school yet. I still play with him most of the time eg making a train track, playing alphabet lotto, if he's painting I have to do it too. he can't/ won't play by himself for very long he gets into mischief and will start messing. They have Didi cars which I used to allow in the house but 1) they destroyed my skirting boards 2) the baby can't sleep with the noise on the tiles.
I'm just curious how much of the time you spend playing with kids of this age as opposed to supervising. And do you allow toys like Didi cars in the house?

 

[gingajewel]

I very rarely play with my lo and she is nearly six. We play board games, jigsaws and things like that together but other than that she is more than happy creating her own games and playing by herself! She spends hours making up dance routines and listening to music so is more than happy!
Just googled didi cars and hope wouldn't let them indoors 😃

 

[pandacub]

My 5 year old still wants me to play with him all the time. Occasionally he will build with Legos by himself, but more often than not, he will want/need me to play with him. Once he's into a game, I try and sit back and let him and let him play but it doesn't always work.

It gets tiring (and I'll admit, a bit boring!) after a while, I'd love him to be able to go to his room and play independently for half an hour, but he won't. He's always been very sociable, and been in nursery nearly full time since 20 months though, so I guess he's used to having someone to play with.

 

[caz_hills]

My son is the same - he is 4.5 and just won't play on his own. He wnts me or his Daddy to play all the time with him. He will colour on his own but prefers someone sitting with him joining in. I see some kids who play in their rooms on their own for age - Ajay will barely go upstairs on his own he aways wants me to go with him!

He was at nursery 3 days a week and then at school he plays with all his buddies. But he just gets upset if he is playing alone. I do, like others have said, try and take a step back when he is independent and try and etend those periods. So if I'm cooking I'll say 'why don't you set that up for us to play wit later' and he will do it himself then.

I always thought it was because I am very hands on wth him and as I work part time wanted to ensure tat when I was with him, he had my full attention but now he just won't play alone!

But I know he is young still x

 

[Quartz]

I would say I had to play with mine really until she turned 6 then she started playing by herself. We still do things together though just that she can happily play by herself.

I think she plays with her friends all day at school, her brother wants time with her as do I that she is happy with the time she has to herself

And no no Didi cars in the house!

 

[dani_tinks]

I don't often play with my son (just turned 6). He's always had an amazing imagination and gets frustrated if people interrupt. I'm the opposite and lack imagination so I guess it works out well.

We read together, snuggle up to watch movies, i'll sit with him when he draws/paints etc and we go for walks together with his bike/scooter/go kart.

 

[Natasha2605]

I rarely play with my two who are 4 and nearly 6. I do arts, crafts, board games, puzzles, outings etc happily but I'd rather not sit and play with toys/figures etc. Thankfully both my two are very happy both playing alone and with one another. When they start to play they can be at it for hours, wrapped up in their own little worlds and imaginations!

 

[suzib76]

Lana isn't demanding in the slightest, she was 6 in January but she has always been happy pottering about with her toys or sitting doing art etc. It may help that her toys are mainly downstairs (she shares a room with her 14yo sister) so while she is playing in her own one of us is always here.

 

[Cattia]

I very rarely play with my 6 and almost 5 year old. I think because they are so close in age they have almost grown up like twins and had one another to play with. I wonder if it wi ne different with my youngest as she doesn't have a sibling so close in age. Argh, maybe I should have another baby quickly lol!,

 

[george83]

I play with my 4 year old quite a bit. If his brother - aged 2 - is awake they play together a lot but if it's just my 4 year old for some reason he likes it being just him and mummy or just him and daddy and likes playing 1 to 1

 

[lau86]

Well we had some nice weather so the boys were out in the garden. I was watching them on the slide etc and I was really bored so although it's boring playing sometimes at least I'm not sat twiddling my thumbs