When Moms Tire of Play

"Play with me, Mommy!" is a constant refrain in my house. And play I do. But sometimes I admit, I get really bored of playing. How many ways are there to play "Doggie" and what fun is playing when you, the mom, say "Let's make up a story, you start." and your child responds, "No, I want you to do it. I want you to do the whole thing." This isn't play. This is purely wanting to be entertained.

Don't get me wrong, I play with my kids a lot. But it's a long day between 8am when Daddy leaves for work, and 6:00pm when he returns. My kids no longer nap either (not reliably) so it's hard to get a break. Sometimes I clean the kitchen because it's always a mess, and because I know it will give me a little space and time to myself. At least for a short time. Even when I say, "I can't play now, I'm doing dishes." it can quickly devolve into Lil Sis pulling all the dirty dishes out of the washer and Big Bro still saying, "Mommy, let's play!"

This is something that adults and kids have dealt with forever. The episode of Sesame Street that we watched yesterday was all about Big Bird feeling sad because Gordon, Maria, and Alan (the adults on Sesame Street) couldn't play with him. Another episode featured Ernie feeling sad that he has no one to play with. It's a ubiquitous theme in children's shows, and in my life lately. I met a lady in a chiropractor's waiting room recently who told me her 9 year old just started being willing to entertain himself for 30 minutes. 9 years old??? 30 minutes??? Say it's not true!

So sometimes, when this mom is tired of play, and the kids won't do anything by themselves or with each other I started coming up with jobs for Big Bro to do. It's harder to incorporate Lil Sis, but she's easier to please these days anyway. Big Bro feeds our dog Pepper every day, and recently he sorted the clean silverware into the drawer for the first time. Sometimes I give him a spray bottle and cloth to clean the windows on some doors, or he sweeps the floor. The funny thing is he seems to think it's fun! For him it's doing something new while being with Mommy. For me it's doing something a little more adult (not that cleaning is super fun for adults) while still making space for my kids to be near me and participating. I think it's a good compromise, and my son is learning important skills/responsibilities in an age-appropriate way. The house gets cleaner too.