Does anyone have children who don't play with toys?!!

[LNC]

We started giving a bunch of Playmobil for our now 12yo son with mild mr and autism when he was 6yo. It has always been frustrating for him to play with little things. Legos have been frustrating too. Somehow, our other children never took off with the Playmobil or Legos, bc it has always been destroyed or broken when our special son attempts to play with it.

 

My special needs 12yo plays with his Build a Bear collection and listens to modern worship music and pretends to lead with a pretend guitar :). Our other children read, play outside (every afternoon for several hours w/ lots of homeschooled neighbor children), practice ballet or baseball, & listen to their music. They play lots of board games, especially on bad weather days.

 

My 11yod does a lot of crafts. My 9yo son has snap circuits, knex sets and zoobs in his room that he enjoys sometimes. I've thought about moving some Playmobil & Legos to his room, but he says he doesn't want it. He is just a builder, doesn't want to pretend with anything anymore. My special needs son has screen time when he isn't in school, but my other children have zero, by their own choice...

 

So, would you give up on the Playmobil and legos? I'm thinking of replacing the toy table with a foozball table at Christmas time. I would probably pack up the Playmobil and store it for grandchildren. It is a treasure trove and I would hate to sell it.

 

Just wondering if anyone else has children like mine? I hear so many children love building toys like lego and Playmobil - I wonder if they are missing out on something important!

Edited July 16, 2010 by LNC

[Mom22ns]

My ds is autistic spectrum and occasionally builds with knex or magnet sets, but has not really played with toys for years. Dd continued to play with dolls until older than most girls, but doesn't play with any toys now. My kids play board games & card games together. Ds loves the computer, dd loves music, they both read and play musical instruments. While they aren't big outdoor kids this time of year we spend time in the pool almost every day and in the fall & spring we bike together a couple times/week.

 

I think most kids give up toys by 12. Only those with a real love of a specific type of toy, building or otherwise continue. I'd give up. We like our foosball table :001_smile:

[hsbaby]

My dd is on the spectrum...she has a select few toys she will play with. Mostly dolls and Barbies. My other two rarely play with their toys. That's probably why they are always complaining about how bored they are! It drives me crazy though because they always find these toys that they just HAVE to have. But once they have them, they just sit in their closets collecting dust.

[littlebug42]

My dd8 has never played with toys much, not even when she was a toddler. She does love her Build a Bears and plays with her other stuffed animals and board games. That is about it.

 

My dd6 LOVES her toys. She plays with My Little Ponies, American Girls, other dolls, Littlest Pet shops, Legos -- You name it she will play with it.

[Samiam]

My DS12 has never really played with toys. I think I ruined him when he was younger, as he was an "only" until age 5...so he never had to/or was taught to "just play"...it was always "ooh, you want to play with Power Rangers? Let's drag them all out to the living room and play together" He had a TON of toys, it was ridiculous...but never did he initiate the toy playing.

 

Now DS7 and DS4 can and will amuse themselves for HOURS with their toys. It's one reason why I don't mind that our formal dining room is the official toy room, and most of the time, it's just a giant mess. But that means they went in there, and played, and played and played. I love that about those two!

 

As far as the foosball table, or ping-pong, etc...we tried one of those too, it was air hockey here. Again DS12 (younger then of course, we had it from time DS was 7-10)...it was something he never touched unless a friend came over and initiated, or DH offered to play.

[LNC]

I think we'll fix up the Playmobil one last time and see if my special 12yos takes off playing with it. Then, we'll pack it up and get a foozball table to replace the toy table for Christmas. What a wierd feeling!