Questions tagged [play]

Activity engaged for fun, recreation or enjoyment. For time spent having fun, use [play-time]. See also: [games].

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Five Year old structured playing

My child, who will be five soon, enjoys structured play more than unstructured play. For example, he loves puzzles because they have a clear goal and a right way to complete them. He does not like ...
Regular Guy's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
277 views

How rough can rough-housing get for a toddler?

My daughter is almost 16 months old. Last night I was holding her with her back to my chest and my arms around her chest and swinging her lower body so that her legs swung up by almost 90 degrees. ...
Daniel Walker's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
816 views

Is there such a thing as too much machine time?

My 1 year-old toddler is addicted to the Roomba. First thing when I walk in the room, he points to the Roomba and wants me to pull it out. He'll push the button to start it, and will watch it ...
Travis Well's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
394 views

Teaching an 8 year old that he doesn't always get to dictate exactly how we play?

My nephew is 7 years old and is use to leading the games and make believe we play. He often decides what games we should play and exactly how he wants to play it, down to telling me what I should say ...
dsollen's user avatar
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4 votes
5 answers
474 views

How do we help 2 yo play independently when we’re busy?

My wife and I have a 2 year old boy. He's very attached to my wife / his mom. He's typically happy to play on his own, as long as we're nearby. But if we go into the kitchen (next room over) to cook, ...
Craig's user avatar
  • 187
3 votes
1 answer
197 views

What's the best way to develop an (almost) 2yo's mind that loves puzzles?

My son is almost 2 and he loves puzzles and puzzle type toys. Obviously I can buy him more toys like this but am curious as to other ways to encourage him to develop to the best of his potential. ...
Brad's user avatar
  • 31
0 votes
1 answer
138 views

Which models / techniques could help me accelerate my child's intellectual development? [closed]

this is my first question here, thanks for having me :) Apologies if this question seems to be a little bit subjective, let me try and more clearly define what I'm asking. My first child (daughter) ...
Phil Blunt's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
181 views

Games to play with child just under one year

I would like to know what games to play with a child just under one year. I have no idea. Where can I get some ideas from. I would like my child to learn something. I have searched on YouTube but ...
Joselin Jocklingson's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
297 views

At what age is it appropriate to begin structured physical activity?

At what age is it appropriate to provide any real meaningful "instruction" in physical activity? My specific issue: Falling and Rolling / Somersaults My biggest concern is a 2-year-old who ends ...
zugzwang's user avatar
  • 1,161
7 votes
4 answers
300 views

Is my child's cooperativity a trait or a choice?

My wife and I are about to have a child. We wanted to know, through experience or studies, if we can influence how cooperative our child can be. She believes that it is something he can learn through ...
Liam's user avatar
  • 173
2 votes
2 answers
26k views

Can a 7-month-old baby be lifted upside down?

Recently saw a video by a nurse swinging a baby probably under 1 year holding baby's legs. Is it safe to lift 7-month-old girl baby using the legs if the baby enjoys?
Johnny23423's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
167 views

6 month old hitting her head on the floor when turning over onto her back

She just learned how to turn from on-the-stomach to on-the back, but since she's still new at it, she would hit her head onto the floor on her way down (with a soft playmat on top, but still not that ...
user27102's user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
841 views

Should I play Minecraft with my kids?

All three of my sons, who are elementary-aged, enjoy playing Minecraft. We have two computers and two accounts, so we can play in multi-player worlds. They really seem to like it when I play with them ...
adam.baker's user avatar
11 votes
5 answers
2k views

Should a parent stop "destructive play"?

When playing with some younger nephews they like to destroy things that people have made such as a tower of blocks, drawings someone made, etc. They do so because they find it funny and probably like ...
Eric F's user avatar
  • 298
5 votes
3 answers
2k views

What age should you start enforcing board game rules?

I have a few younger nephews that enjoy playing board games. Some obey the rules and actually want to play the real game but some younger ones just want to play "their own game". I know that teaching ...
Eric F's user avatar
  • 298
9 votes
2 answers
464 views

How to "get to know" my girlfriend's toddler?

My girlfriend, who I just recently got together with, has a daughter who will soon turn three. I would like to be a good stepfather to the girl, but I have very little experience of toddlers, and don'...
Kaj_Sotala's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
442 views

The children are making home messy

I have 2 kids. 3.5 yrs old girl and 10 month boy. We live in apartment. Daily my kids used to make mess in whole house. What I mean my "mess" is that they put their toys everywhere, drag their ...
Jeyara's user avatar
  • 111
1 vote
0 answers
230 views

What to do when my 4-year-old daughter "plays doctor" with her cousin of almost the same age? [duplicate]

My 4-year-old daughter "played doctor" with her cousin, who was only a few months older than her at the time. I didn't know what was going on, I just figured they found something quiet to do, but ...
Cole's user avatar
  • 11
9 votes
3 answers
3k views

Why is the 'floor is lava' game so ubiquitious?

It seems that the 'floor is lava' game (game is to not touch the floor, the children must get around by climbing on furniture instead) is developed by most children. My question is how it is so many ...
dwjohnston's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
764 views

Should I allow my preschooler to play with other parents at the playground?

My 4 year old daughter played with another parent and his son (around 3) at the playground. They started jumping on the dad's thighs as he was sitting on the ground, so the play was physical for a ...
giorgio79's user avatar
  • 143
7 votes
5 answers
2k views

How to keep a 2 year old toddler entertained throughout the day?

The child is 2 years 3 months old, and she loves following 4 activities: Getting read books. Making sketches with me. Going outside to play. Watching cartoons on TV. The problem is that these ...
Aquarius_Girl's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
380 views

How competitive or forgiving to be when playing games against my own kids

When playing games against my own kids (sports, cards, board games), I am never sure how competitive should I be. I am asking this regarding to two issues: level of play and rules observance. Level ...
Pen Dosk's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
11k views

What's a good age for a "penny skateboard"?

My two kids, ages 4 and 6, are reasonably active and coordinated. In general, what is a good age to get children started playing on a skateboard (such as a "penny board", a cheap and small skateboard)?...
coco's user avatar
  • 259
2 votes
2 answers
338 views

What would be a reason for a child with good reading skills to "pretend-read" stuff?

My child (6), before she learned reading for real, had a habit of "reading" things like toy instructions, or promotional fliers, etc... - we joked that she learned to read from my T-shirts :) What ...
user3143's user avatar
  • 6,031
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Encouraging older brother to play with younger brother

I have two children, 33 months and 14 months old. They're both tall for their age, very physical types; climbing, running, etc. They both like to play with vehicles of all sorts, balls, ride on ...
Joe's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
205 views

When can I start to let our son play with his friends unattended?

Our son is 2.5 years. He has a high interest in cars and going outside of the house. Every day, whether it is in the morning or afternoon, he always ask us to get out of the house. If we have time, we ...
kalingga's user avatar
  • 1,559
7 votes
3 answers
14k views

Four year old does not play with toys

My four year old son pretty much doesn't play. I mean, he will usually when he has another child to play with but overall, throughout the week he doesn't play. It's driving me crazy because he seems '...
user7292's user avatar
9 votes
6 answers
34k views

Loud Screaming to attract attention

Our 6 month baby screams at top of her throat to get attention , as soon as we resume playing with her she smiles and plays and she wants to play all day along which is not possible , so how to deal ...
parenting101's user avatar
  • 1,197
10 votes
2 answers
335 views

Can a 17-month old really appreciate humour/irony?

For at least a few weeks now our 17-month old daughter has enjoyed playing with teddies and dolls, especially putting them into situations which she experiences. For example she'll want to brush their ...
James Bradbury's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
337 views

Is it allowed to play with unfamiliar child? [closed]

Is it OK for an adult to join or start a game with some unfamiliar children (if they don't object)?
Anonymous's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
216 views

How do you address a child who cries and wants to play with everything?

When we have dinner, our daughter will sit on her chair for 1 minute, and then she will go up to desk and start to play with plates and forks and food and ... When we want to watch film or TV, she ...
saber tabatabaee yazdi's user avatar
18 votes
6 answers
3k views

Being good or not at playing with kids

I noticed that some of my friends naturally play with any kids including mine: they have no difficulty finding anything funny to do to them or with them and make them laugh and have fun. By contrast, ...
drake035's user avatar
  • 301
5 votes
2 answers
864 views

Signs a child is "over scheduled"?

I read all over that kids like routine but how can you tell if they are "over scheduled"? But I also read it is good to take your kids out and "explore". I have lately been taking my child to story ...
Rhea's user avatar
  • 3,160
11 votes
3 answers
8k views

Encouraging my 2-year-old to play independently

My little boy is 2½, and has never been very good at playing by himself. When we take him to play-groups he won't ever go more than a few feet away from us at any time; At a party last week, he ...
Urbycoz's user avatar
  • 2,203
36 votes
6 answers
6k views

How do you handle unsupervised, poorly behaved children in public play areas?

This is closely related to this question. However, that primarily deals with interactions at relatively controlled, private functions. This question is more focused on the feeding-frenzy style chaos ...
user avatar
10 votes
8 answers
9k views

Plane activities for little ones

I am taking four children ages 2,3,4, and 8 on a 4+ hour plane ride. Ideas for entertaining them WITHOUT plugging them in for the entire time would be much appreciated. We have the basics, crayons, ...
morah hochman's user avatar
12 votes
4 answers
795 views

How to promote individual play for a toddler?

Does anyone have any tips on how to promote independent play, so our son will learn to (or get used to) play by himself? Our son is quite a demanding child who is constantly asking us to play with ...
Samson's user avatar
  • 121
6 votes
2 answers
405 views

What are some outdoor activities that a toddler can be engaged in while I'm working outside in the garden/yard?

My son, 2-3 years old, enjoys being outside with me but can sometimes get in the way of the work I am trying to do. If I am patient enough we both enjoy it, if not it turns sour for both of us. I ...
Paul Cline's user avatar
  • 2,723