My son is 2, and is seemingly a perpetual motion machine.
He constantly wants me to "play cars" (we stand at a window sill and smash matchbox cars into each other), play "tag" or "chase me" around the house, or get down on the floor with him to play with his train sets.
On the one hand, I love it. Its cute, healthy, and flattering that he so clearly wants me to participate in his activities.
On the other hand... keeping up with him is hard!
Its not just the physical aspect that is difficult to keep up with (although I am constantly astonished by just how much energy he seems to have!). In all honesty, some of the things he wants me to do are just so boring I have a hard time keeping at it.
There's only so long I can smash matchbox cars together, or push a wooden train around a track, or spin around in circles until we become dizzy, before I want to add some depth to the game, or move onto something new. My son, however, seems able to do these things for hours on end.
I think its great that he can focus on something he finds fun, and stick with that for extended periods of time. I don't want to discourage that behavior.
How can I find a proper balance between participating in the activities he enjoys, and wants me to share with him, and my limits of endurance/patience?
Most of the time, I am happy to jump in for half an hour to an hour and a half (sometimes more, sometimes less), and generally he seems quite content with that. But how do I approach this when I'm feeling particularly stressed/tired/sick, when my ability to do these sorts of things seems much lower than normal?
Is it horrible for me to find myself bored with some of these games? It makes me feel like I may be doing a bad job as a parent.