S/O. Do your kids play with toys and how old are they?

[meganrussell]

My 12 year old son loves Legos. He collects them - he builds them and displays them, occasionally plays with the built sets, but is very careful because, like I said, he collects them. He also collects baseball cards, and often organizes and looks though them. He builds forts and weapons outside and often lets his younger brothers play war or such with him. He will also play whiffle ball or kickball with them.

 

My 9 year old daughter plays with Shopkins, baby dolls, Legos, barbies and her little brothers trucks and cars. She also plays pretend stuff, usually outside. She loves board games and puzzles.

 

My 7 year old son loves trucks and cars, transformers, Lego, and playing anything pretend - cowboys, soldiers, house with his sister... Big imagination.

 

My almost 5 year old plays the same as his 7 year old brother, but his pretend play is taken to a whole new level. He has the biggest imagination I've ever seen. When he plays pretend, he really means it. He loves Bonanza and thinks he is Little Joe. He will reenact the scenes from the show, using my armchair as a horse, wearing his chaps and cowboy hat, and shooting a pretend gun. I love it. He is also ADHD and never stops moving or talking. He is always playing something, always.

 

Just curious about how old your kids are what they play. We have no video games or computer games, so my kids are usually outside or in the basement playing.

[mytwomonkeys]

My son is 13. He really likes robotics type kits & the STEM kits. They remind me of advanced type legos (which were his previous favorite thing). He recently built a catapult type thing & now he's building a car with a remote control. He really wants the battle bots kit (Christmas). These are a lot of fun & technically just "toys" 😊 I personally feel like they add a lot of value to his learning though...builds concentration, problem solving, additional skill, etc. Plus gives him a hobby outside of gaming and reading.

[SparklyUnicorn]

12 year old still enjoys his Legos and stuffed animals.  15 year old likes to tinker.  He was always more likely to take toys apart to see how they worked rather than play with them as intended. 

 

[EKT]

My 10-year-old loves her American Girl doll, plays with her constantly, dresses her every day, etc., and she also loves Lego. She still very much enjoys stuffed animals and braiding My Little Pony hair. She seems to have moved on from the play kitchen. I can see, though, that her play is starting to turn a corner and I find books and reading and art to be slowly taking over play. More and more she turns to crating and artistic pursuits for free time. I think the next few years will be this sort of hybrid (part little girl play, part older girl making). I am happy to live with her there in that hybrid space and I feel grateful that homeschooling will let her be a kid for as long as she likes. (That is, I think homeschooling will let her be free from the pressure of what other kids might be doing, giving up play too soon, etc.)

 

My 7-year-old is full-on playing with toys still and I love it. She still loves the play kitchen, loves our dollhouse and Calico Critters and all the same stuff as her older sister (American Girl, Lego). She also loves art and making, but is very invested in the narratives she created for all her little dolls and toys. She spends hours in play in her room. 

 

Both my girls have always done what they call "playing a story." They both still do it, and it is their main way of playing with their toys. Basically, they narrate the action of their dolls or little characters and do all the voices. It's so funny, because they divide the action into chapters and will literally say "Chapter One" at the beginning, and then "Chapter Two" when the scenes change, etc. I love overhearing it throughout the day. We do not do any electronic games or video games in our house. They do get to watch a little Netflix of certain shows and movies. Then the rest of their play is outdoors (they LOVE to swim, ride bikes, etc.).   

[GeoKitty]

My 12 year year old still plays with her American Girl dolls! And crafts, science kits, occasionally legos. My 14 year old stopped, instead he picks up a guitar or basketball.

[theelfqueen]

My 12 year old loves legos and nerf guns. He and 5 of his friends were playing with nerf swords, a slip n slide and "wubbles" in my yard the other day. They ride bikes all over the neighborhood. He also plays D&D. In his closet is a secret stash of all his Thomas the Tank Engine trains and tracks... if there's a little kid here, out they come. He won't let me get rid of them.

 

My 16 year old loves nerf guns (he plays at Dart Warz with my 32 year old Baby brother lol). He mods them... and Magic the Gathering... So much MTG.

 

My 21 year old likes real guns and fishing gear. And his neq kayak... And planes. All pilots play with toys... big expensive toys lol.

 

 

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[MinivanMom]

My 12-yr-old son still plays with Legos, and he still organizes complicated pretend games with younger siblings. Other times he will say that he doesn't want to play outside with them, because it's "boring". I feel like he's right on the cusp of moving past the playing stage. But the other day he was playing a massive game of baseball where his baseball cards were the players and they were hitting the "ball" (a marble) with a little wooden bat (actually a key chain in the shape of a bat), so maybe there's a little more time than I think.

 

My older daughter gave up "playing" around the age of 12. At 12-13, she would still occasionally play American Girl dolls with her little sister, but she would have been mortified if anyone knew. She just moved on to books and music and photography, and she started spending more time going out to eat or out to the movies with her friends.

[meganrussell]

I am so happy to hear this. So many of my kids friends don't play with toys anymore. It's all video games, iPods, cell phones, tv, and computers. All the time. I want my kids to be kids as long as they can!

[Dmmetler]

12 yr old still likes her stuffed animals and nerf swords and crossbow and water weaponry. She also asked for a bigger swingset for her 11th birthday, and that still gets regular use.

[Farrar]

My 12 yos don't play with "toys" that often anymore. They gave up Legos (I still need to go through and figure out what to do with them all). They play games a good bit - one of them is super into Magic: The Gathering and we play board games. They do occasionally pick up something like the old Matchbox cars or a stuffed animal or something. They occasionally use toys when playing an elaborate game of their own because they still occasionally play pretend games, but even that isn't often these days.

 

They do use things like water guns and Nerf swords outside routinely. So that's toys, I guess.

 

Mostly though, they build things, they make things, they do some art, they like to create digitally - digital art, programming, etc.

[alisoncooks]

11 year old girl: plays with Lego and Schleich figurines. More frequently reads, draws, listens to music, plays with Kinetic Sand. Still has stuffed animals on the bed. Dollhouse set up but not often played with-- but not ready to part with it.

 

9 year old girl: very imaginative, lots of acting scenes out with toys or stuffed animals. Lego, Schleich, play-dough/Kinetic Sand. Draws often, loves her magnadoodle.

[hellen]

My 12 year old doesn't play with toys much anymore. He reads a lot.

 

My 9 year old plays with Playmobil a little. She's more likely to read, write, do art, or play outside. Right now she's inventing a new language with her best friend.

 

My 6 year old plays with toys the most. She'll play with Barbies, stuffed animals, and Playmobil. She spent the week planning a cat wedding with the neighbor.

[MerryAtHope]

My oldest is 20 and still enjoys a well-done Lego or Bionicle set (he actually likes creating his own characters with Bionicles and at one point was making up his own back story for his characters--I'll have to see if he's still pursuing that). 

[goldenecho]

My boys  were about the same as yours at those ages...

 

My oldest, age 14, still plays with legos sometimes, but the emphasis is on building, not actually playing with the built creations (though he sometimes still plays with them if my youngest wants to, to be nice).  He also plays with nurf guns, boffer swords and such, and board games.  He keeps some of his toys from childhood but doesn't really play with them anymore. 

 

My second oldest, age 12, still sometimes builds with legos but not as much.  I haven't noticed him doing any pretend play for over a year.  At 10 though he was still regularly playing pretend games with legos and cars.  I think he sort of stopped when my oldest stopped.

 

My youngest, age 9, is still seriously into imaginary games.  He uses his toy figurines, cars, transformers, lego figures, stuffed animals, etc. A LOT.   And dress up costumes and props...he still plays with those often.

 

[zarabellesmom]

My daughter 12 doesn't anymore (makes me sad). She reads, draws, crafts, and plays board games. We need to clean her room to reflect this, but she won't admit that she doesn't use all that stuff.

 

My DD9 still plays with all kinds of things.

[leeannpal]

My 14 year old daughter was playing with her old doll house last night :laugh:  :001_smile: . I am glad she still likes to play with toys. She will occasionally play with barbies too, and sometimes I join her. 

[CAtoVA]

All my kidlets are 13 and under and they all play with toys. My 13 yo (DS) is the only one who plays with any video games and he is limited to an hour a day which only started last year, so up to age 12 he did not play any video games. They are all limited in television watching to later afternoons/early evenings and the time is limited. Consequently they all play with toys—Legos are ruling right now but my DS also loves his Nerf guns and some board games. Up until about the age of 11 he used to dress up in many types of costumes and play different characters with props (Jedi, policeman, pilot, etc). He also would act out parts from old tv shows (Emergency, etc.) He still sometimes plays with his Playmobil (pirate ship, firetrucks, etc).

 

My DDs dress up a lot  and roleplay with props (doctor, princess, policeman, etc.). My DDs also play with Playmobil, Legos, their dollhouse, stuffed animals, American Girl dolls, Barbies, medical kits (playing doctor and vet), making popsicle stick puppets and creating "shows," playing board games (Logic Street, Monopoly, Memory games, etc.), card games, building with Magnablocks and wooden blocks, building forts, playing with playdough, My Little Pony, doing sticker dolly dressing books, putting together puzzles, etc. They also enjoy watching and imitating Youtube tutorials on making things for mini-fig dolls and most any type of art project.

 

DS also gets his sisters to participate in Nerf gun wars and leads them in light saber training "school." Everybody plays outside if the weather is nice—things like playing on swings, pretending our backyard is a "rain forest" and going on an "expedition," drawing with sidewalk chalk, riding bikes, gathering natural objects and making fairies and fairy houses, etc.

 

Yeah, I notice that many of my son's friends have a very limited sense of play except for video games and watching movies. Most of my girls' friends also play with toys and have active imaginations—most of my daughters' friends are homeschooled.

Edited July 3, 2017 by chiefcookandbottlewasher

[IsabelC]

My 14yo doesn't play with kids' toys very much anymore, although he will occasionally join in with his younger siblings. My 12yo is still very into her horse figurines and will also play with pretty much anything in a social context if other kids are playing with that thing. The 8yo is in the full-on imaginative play stage and loves stuffed toys, Lego, whatever.

[Heathermomster]

DD plays with her stuffed animals, makes cards and necklaces, plays board games, listens to audio books, draws, and loves to play Minecraft. She likes to make stop motion videos.

[PeterPan]

My ds takes apart objects (toys, things around the house, etc.) and uses them in other ways. He almost never plays with a toy as intended. But that's autism.

 

I remember going away to a school for the gifted in high school and realizing OTHER people still liked to play too! I think people play, but the nature of their play changes. It's fine and your kids sound delightful.

[2_girls_mommy]

dd3 loves just about anything. Things she goes to again and again are Kapla blocks, but just about any kind of blocks get used weekly. 

 

She likes toy dishes and picnic supplies. She has several stuffed animal friends that she carries around a lot. 

 

Playdough and supplies (and paints and markers and color books and sticker books, but I don't know if that is a "toy.")

 

And all kinds of digging toys and buckets for the yard and sandbox and outdoors. 

 

DD12 occasionally plays alongside her sis. She will help build with duplos or Kaplas or something with the preschooler. She doesn't do many toys of her own free will. She does a lot of crafts and art/drawing projects instead. 

 

dd14= no. No toys for a long time. She reads or plays piano

[Peaceful Isle]

12 is the stopping age around here. Then they tend to go towards theirs hobbies and interested. My eleven year old is already phaseing out of playing and will only pretend play with his six year old brother once in a while.

My teen girls love to craft, draw, play their musical instruments, watch movies... They also have outside activitities they like.

[Milknhoney]

OP's 12-yr-old son sounds like mine with regard to Legos. He buys a set, builds it, and then leaves it set up. He does play with them but it does seem to be more of a collection. He also plays with his Marvel action figures. Occasionally he pulls out his marble roller coaster set. Other than that, he spends his time reading, drawing his own comic books, learning code on Khan Academy, and playing Minecraft on his Kindle. There are a few items that only come out of the closet when friends come over - the nerf guns, light sabers, and hot wheels racetracks. 

 

8yo daughter plays with Calico Critters, stuffed animals, play dough, and has developed a recent obsession with Squinkies. She also reads, sews, writes her own stories, makes up dances, and paints/draws. She also likes Minecraft. Judging by the huge toy hurricane that blows through our house every day, I know she plays with a whole lot more than that. But those are what I see her doing most.

[rebcoola]

Mine don't very much they mostly play their own make believe games, and do arts and crafts.  

[Wabi Sabi]

No, my kids (9 and 12) don't really play with toys anymore. 

 

Dd has a bunch of American Girl dolls , but she keeps them more for display than play. 

 

They both spend time outdoors playing with the neighbors, riding bikes and skate boarding. They both rock climb, play video games and spend time on their computers. They read quite a bit, listen to music, podcasts and audiobooks, they like to cook, and ds has spent hours and hours with a ukulele in the past week. He also loves going to the mall or walking around downtown with friends. Dd has lots of playdates, and now that it is summer she likes to go to the pool whenever possible. Dd has a flock of 14 chickens that she spends a lot of time pampering plus each child has his/her own dog so that takes up their time as well (the kids are responsible for their own pets; other than going to the store to buy chicken feed, taking the dogs to the vet, and helping do a deep clean of the chicken coop a couple times a year they genuinely do 90% of the pet care on their own.)

But no, toys aren't really their thing anymore. 

Edited July 3, 2017 by Wabi Sabi

[mom2scouts]

My 10 year old girl still plays with her dollhouse and lots of little Polly Pocket and Shopkins type toys get used in the dollhouse. She also plays with her knockoff American Girl doll and sometimes with Barbies. She's moved on from her play kitchen except when one particular friend comes over and then they spend hours pretending they are running a restaurant.

[Zinnia]

My 10 year old does not, but he has never played with toys. He likes sporting equipment more than anything else (soccer goal, basketball hoop), but even that is not to the level of other kids.

[blue daisy]

My 12 year old likes to build Lego kits but then he doesn't really play with them  He doesn't play with other toys too often anymore either.  He likes to play chess and other board games, play with the dog, or play sports outside.  My almost 10 year old plays with toys all the time - Legos, Zoobs, other building toys, cars, trains, stuffed animals, etc.  My 7 year old and 3 year old play with their toys all the time.

[2_girls_mommy]

13 and 15 yr old, no. Not in a long time. 13 yr old loves art. She is painting in acrylics right now. She has gone through all kinds of crafts and art mediums in free time. 15 yr old reads and plays piano. Both like Netflix and chatting with friends on Instagram.  13 yr old runs around like crazy though. If friends are here she will play tag, do cartwheels, anything active.

 

3 yr old-  plays with everything. Favorites are her stuffed animals. She has several she loves and does pretend with constantly. She also like Duplo blocks and miniatures like Littlest Pet Shops and other small toys from all kinds of things- plastic animals, junky ones of her favorite shows, etc. And she LOVES crafts- painting, markers, stickers, cutting, glueing, taping, anything crafty. She got some craft sets for Christmas and was making glitter stickers last night. 

Edited December 29, 2017 by 2_girls_mommy

[shawthorne44]

I am so happy to hear this. So many of my kids friends don't play with toys anymore. It's all video games, iPods, cell phones, tv, and computers. All the time. I want my kids to be kids as long as they can!

 

Me, too.  

 

I have noticed that homeschool kids are more likely to do age-appropriate things.  

 

I remember once in the waiting room at DD's dance studio she got out some toys that are there for that purpose and sat on the floor and played.   She was maybe 6 then.   Several from the class one year older looked longingly at her from the couch.   They wanted to play too but they thought that they were too old.   So sad.  

[J-rap]

My kids are way beyond that stage, but I'd say they played with toys until 7th grade.  That's when they started to develop hobbies such as music, drama, sports, and generally things that began taking them outside of the home.  The last type of toy they played with was Legos and other creative stuff -- craft kits, art projects, putting on skits, etc.

Edited December 29, 2017 by J-rap

[8filltheheart]

My kids have played with toys until older, but their play equally morphed into older age play. For example, my 12 yr old still plays with her American Girl dolls, but it is different than from when she was younger. A few weeks ago she invited me into her room to see her "creation." Her dolls were lined up in a way that meant to replicate excited chatter amg small groups of people; they were elaborately dressed and holding "brochures." Off to the side there was a "restaurant" staged with elaborate dining arrangements and "stores" set up. The dolls were lined up awaiting the grand opening advertised in their brochures.

 

That has been a common type thing amg my older kids' play. They design business models, etc with their "play." Travel agencies with elaborate travel plans was a theme with my older dd's

[Joyofsixreboot]

My kids were just never toy people. They all probably stopped by age 8 or 9. They still went/go outside, enjoyed activities like bikes, skating, badminton and crafting/ art but hardly any enjoyed legos or dolls, etc. It made gifts difficult. All kids should enjoy or not as they wish.

 

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[happypamama]

My 15yo doesn’t play with toys anymore, and my 12yo doesn’t really either. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t pick up one of their little brothers’ toys and play briefly with it. Either of them might occasionally build something out of LEGO or other building materials. 15yo still has a great imagination; she always created all the play scenarios when she was younger. She was forever dressing up in some costume or another. Now that tends to manifest itself in how she puts together clothes and makeup or in her creative writing. My 12yo was never the big make believe person, and he’s more likely now to read or play guitar in his spare time.

 

My 9, 6, And 4yo boys — they play. With everything. All day long. They build with LEGO, they dress up in costumes, they make up pretend play scenarios, they play with toys. The Imaginext Batman figures and the LEGO pieces are in near constant use, but they’ll play with anything.

[historically accurate]

My 15 year old never played with toys. She was the kid who didn't like dolls, balls, pretend play, etc. She likes books period. She collected things and arranged them when she was younger.

 

My 12 and 10 year olds love to play dollhouse, American Girl dolls, chalk up the front walk (when it's not 8 degrees out!), play tag, Legos, and art/craft kits. They used to love dress up; now they put on a fashion show. They lived in their own little world when they were little. Several of their friends are younger and they love to play with them in a "younger" way now. My 12 year old has started crafting for the dollhouse/AG dolls more than playing in the same manner lately, so I think she is starting to outgrow some types of play.

[Tsuga]

Yes, my 8 yo plays with Lego, dollies, builds forts, makes model airplanes etc.

 

We have electronics but time must be earned.

 

The 11 yo is slowly outgrowing these but she does play with slime, dolls, and play forts still. Like other older girls in this thread her play is a lot more about planning and preparing stuff for her dolls. It is still very sweet.

[AMJ]

In my experience one never outgrows toys in general -- the types of toys just changes.  Adults tend to call their activities "hobbies" instead of "play time", but it's the same thing.  My DH plays with things to build and create (router, 3D printer, laser burner, guitar kit -- these are just the current interests.  I play with books, and food, and yarn, and writing.  My eldest (16) plays with colors and paints, and anything with a good story.  My youngest (13) still has all of her stuffed animals, though they are more company now than active playmates, and sketches, does computer art, and will play with anything her cousins want to play with.  FIL plays with wood, building nice furniture and musical instruments, and MIL plays with plants and bird feeders.

 

ANYTHING can be play, anything can be a toy.  It just takes the right mindset, the right approach.  Keep this in mind as your kids grow -- they might astound you with what they come up with.  Let them engage those interests!