sons and daughters....

[kfeusse]

what do your sons and (non-tom boyish) daughters do together. My kids are ages 8, 11 and 12 (12 year old is daughter...other 2 are sons)..

 

They want to play with eachother, but can't agree on what to do...then the 2 boys go off and play boy things and the daughter is left all alone and lonely.

 

so, what do your kids do together??

[Jen in NY]

Hmmm.... are they musical? Mine all take piano seriously but play guitars and ukes and drums and stuff for fun, so sometimes that. The Very Potter Musical music has been fertile ground for that kind of stuff for a long time. Too long. (Not recommending it for your kids.... just saying.) :)

 

Mine also write stories together .... they have notebooks that they pass around... taking turns.

 

Also, TKD. They go to a dojang, but it sometimes breaks out here at home. :001_rolleyes:

[Um_2_4]

legos.. build ciiies, castles

play shopping, dd runs a store

play wii games (although it is not working right now...think DS3 stuck something in it :glare: )

Sometimes DDs are princesses and DSs rescue them

[Dory]

Music, both playing and singing, are sometimes done together. They enjoy creating puppet shows or magic shows for the family. Outside games such as kick the can and hide and seek are good. Board games are nice for rainy evenings. We will all go exploring outside together to find things, granted, my dd will find flowers and other pretty things and my boys will usually come back with bugs, but I try and put the worlds together so they can see how it all works together and they are still out there doing something together. I do encourage my dd to do some 'boyish' things with her brothers and her brothers to do 'girlish' things with her sometimes, as I think it's good for both sides to learn to see things from the other persons view point, even if just a little. I also encourage them to spend time on their own though. There are things you learn about the world when you are off doing your own thing, that you don't always see when you are with other people.

[Lady Marmalade]

My DD is 12 and DS is 9. They are best friends at this point in life and do everything together. They play a lot of video games together- Wii and DS, Webkinz online, but I know not everyone allows video games much. I've become increasingly lenient about more video game time, as DD is getting older, and I want her to still WANT to spend time with her younger brother.

 

They also have a whole world of play-acting that they do together with their Webkinz.

 

They like to build lego creations together quite often. Not too long ago they were arguing because DD wanted to play with legos, DS wanted to play with his massive collection of nerf guns. I suggested they combine the two and make lego people, then shoot them with the nerf guns. Best suggestion ever. They played for hours, and it's become a favorite.

 

If Spring ever decides to show up, they'll head outside and shoot hoops together and take their play-acting outside.

 

Both my kids are dancers, so frequently they can be found dancing together or challenging each other on their tumbling moves in the living room.

[Janie Grace]

I have kids almost exactly your kids' ages, same genders. The boys do tend to pair up a lot, and the oldest (dd) and the third (ds) -- who are 4.5 years apart -- do struggle to find common ground. But dd and my second (ds) do a lot together... board games, card games, listen to music, talk. They study together (they have outside classes that are getting hard, with tests that they make flashcards for and they quiz each other). They like to walk the dog together, too.

 

I guess what brings all THREE of them together is mostly movies/shows that they all like. In the summer, they all like to go to the pool together and dive for coins, have "best dive" competitions, etc.

[happypamama]

My DD is 11, and her brothers are 8 and 4.5 (and 20 months). They play board games together a lot, and they build with Legos. They run around outside, and they play with Legos. They draw, and they build with Legos. They play house (DD is the mom, DS1 is her brother who has come to help with the kids for the day, and the little boys and DD's dolls are the kids), and they create things with Legos. DD teaches the little boys things like letters or numbers, and oh yeah, they build with Legos. They enact whatever pretend game of the week they've invented (usually something of DD's suggestion), have light saber duels, and guess what, play with Legos.

[gardenmom5]

My girls were never tom-boys, *especially* not my (I think) feminine, but still a jock (and a scientist) 2dd.

when they were growing up, they dug in the sand, made forts out of cardboard boxes in the basement, played stuffed animals, board games, swingsets, etc.

 

as adults, 1dd is a computer nerd, and speaks geek with her brothers. they do 'stuff' together, go on hikes, go to movies, hang out, etc.

[Amy in NH]

Play with Legos, Lincoln Logs, Playmobil, blocks, etc.

Play with little stuffed animals (and big ones)

Roll each other up in blankets in the living room

Play Minecraft on a server

Play board games or cards

Ride bikes or go sledding on the driveway

[Dustybug]

My kids are younger, but they mesh their ideas together.

 

For instance, DS wants to play superheroes, so they all play, but the girls just pretend to be girl superheroes OR he rescues them.

 

They play "house" but he's the Dad and does things like my DH does: fixes things, etc.

 

They play Legos together or other building things like Lincoln Logs, Kid K'nex, etc.

 

If DD wants to play princesses, DS slays dragons and is a knight.

[Ravin]

Since my DS is only 2, he pretty much wants to do whatever his sister is doing. Also his favorite thing is playing with the pretend kitchen, so he "cooks" and DD will sometimes help. Or, she'll get him to play with her with a ball, or, they'll play with her phone together, or she'll play Wii and he'll play with a disconnected Wii remote. Sometimes she reads to him. They play pretend with toy swords (foam-padded, and due to SCA involvement DD does not think of this as "boy only" activity), or play with DS's legos and blocks (which are hand me downs from DD) together.

 

Just what are these "boy games" that your DD feels so left out of?

[dbmamaz]

My daughter used to make pillow houses (forts) for the boys. as she got older she was less interested in hanging out with them, but they did sometimes play video games together

[nd293]

Twelve is hard - a lot of the time my dd12 doesn't really 'play' - she does crafts or reads or makes animated movies or listens to music. When she does 'play' with ds6 it is often outdoors, and involves her taking the leading role and setting up some game for him. She might make a tent out of the ladder, for instance, or set up some sort of rope swing from a patio roof beam, or make things for him from wiki stix.

[Miss Tick]

This is no kind of long term fix, but this weekend we tried the game One Thousand Blank White Cards - using 30 white index cards and instructions from the book Geek Mom. Hilarious for all.

[Jennifer3141]

My kids are so close in age that they have often behaved like twins. They go back and forth between dollls, stuffed animals, Legos, art, and some screen time all day long. DD is all excited becuase DS can braid her dolls' hair finally! :laugh:

 

And they are also in the middle of this huge Lego creation in the basement.

[Tina]

Well, my boys are a bit older, but they play board games, card games, and Wii, Hard to watch movies together with that age difference, tho sometimes the oldest watches one with dd.

As a side note, dd has learned a lot of games at an earlier age than the boys. Oldest has also taught her some of the adult card games like Hand and Foot, but omitted strategies to win. lol She's learned some the hard way. lol

[DragonFaerie]

My two do a lot outside, especially now there we're getting some warmer days. They bounce on the neighbor's trampoline, ride bikes and skateboards, draw with sidewalk chalk, go back to the creek, climb trees, play basketball. They don't do quite as much together when they're stuck inside, though they will play some video games, do crafts, and play with their pets.

[Sara in AZ]

DD is 10, and DS is 8. We also have two little girls, 4 and 2. DD and DS are best friends, but they argue a lot a out what to do. DS can be bossy about wanting DD to do whatever he wants to do, which is often read Harry potter to him for hours.

 

They spend a of time reading together. (He's a great reader, but she does an excellent job with expression.)

 

Legos

 

Jumping on the trampoline

 

Making forts

 

Scooters/bikes

 

Play the wii

 

Sometimes they include the younger two, but often they want to do their own thing, and then the four year old rages around screaming and pouting. It's hard for everyone to be happy at the same time.

 

 

[GSOchristie]

My kids play everything together, babies, Legos, dollhouse, superheroes, kitchen, jump on the trampoline, for a limited amount of time, like 30 minutes. Jax and Piper actually play better together than Asher and Jax.