Overcoming Playtime Boredom

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School has started. Fall is officially here, even if it doesn’t feel like it in Las Vegas. Soon, the weather will cool off. We will have to dust off coats and jeans and we might get to wear the occasional sweater. As my two sweet boys pointed out there will be Pumpkin Pie and colored leaves.

I love this time of year but it also a very busy time of year with school, activities and many holidays. There are so many wonderful things to do with your children and as a family but, with all the hub-bub it is sometime difficult to remember to stop and enjoy the season. It got me thinking about staying engaged with your children during any season and any age. I have recently started trying to make “bucket list” type lists for each season and we keep a jar of fun family stuff to do on the weekends but what I really struggle with is the everyday stuff.

My oldest is learning to read and sometimes it is difficult to stay engaged.  When my youngest just wants to play cars with me I sometimes get “bored” for lack of a better word. I always feel horrible but these tasks are not interesting and I am often distracted. The question is how to stay focused and enjoy the time with my children. One thing I try to do is encourage them to play together or on their own some of the time. I still want to spend time with them though so I have tried planning an engaging activity for us to do together.  I have also started reading a fun chapter novel to them after my oldest reads to me which moves the activity along and gives us all something to look forward to. These seem to be doing the trick for some things but I will have to keep working on it.

A friend recently said she heard about a website where parents “confess” their funny transgressions.  Parents were questioned on the site about the one job as a parent they would give up. One brave parent admitted their least favorite job was playing with their young children, she explained that it was tedious and boring. I actually like to play with my kids some of the time but, to be fair; I also find it boring some of the time. I guess that makes me human and a smidge older than my kids. I remember hearing someone say about parenting that once they finally get our attention they no longer want it. I will try to remember this during my