No I am not talking about my husband, I am talking about my dear sweet son. He is 8 years old and is at the age where he is great to talk to and just hang out with. However, when it comes to "playing" together, the activities he wants to do together make me want to poke my eyes out! Weird (really boring) video games, building legos, Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and rock collecting are some of his favorite things. He likes to play spy, detective etc... you know, typical boy stuff. While I put on a happy face and try to sit down and build legos (and have even forced myself to play the video game he loves with him) it is so hard to really enjoy myself because all I am thinking is THIS IS SO BORING. Thank goodness my husband picks up the slack for me and always plays his favorite things with him and actually likes to. It is so easy to find things to do with my girls because they are the same things I did when I was little, nail salon, play school etc etc. Does anyone have any ideas for things I can do with my son? What do you do with your 8 year old boy?
Okay... i LIKE those things (also play army guys in the woods, all kinds of boyish things)... so my suggestions you'd probably find mind numbing.
INSTEAD... What do YOU like to do? Then take him with you.
Blanket fort.
'nuff said. :)
Hi! Honestly, just suck it up, the rewards are amazing. I played with lots of Legos and K'nex. I stunk at the K'nex especially and I think he loved that he was better at it. Race car sets, big ones so we couldn't walk through the living room. We used to make all kinds of messy experiments, I spent hours pitching to him, the Museum of Science every Monday. He still loves the MOS, took his girlfriend on a date there, I don't think she was happy but he was. Did the video game thing too but at that age he only had educational games and I loved playing with Ms Frizzle. There is bonding and communication in that playing, you have to be open to it now so he will be open to you later. My son no longer wants to play computer games with me (I really do stink at them) but we will play together on the Wii. Sometimes he will grab the computer off my lap 'cos he HAS to show me something. He continues to tell me about things I'm not interested in, I still listen intently. I am privy to his plans, big and small. And the best part is that all along, since he was little, he comes out at night (we are both night owls) when the house is quiet and we talk, he's 19 and we talk, about everything.
Board and card games
I do what my son is interested in because I want to encourage his interests & spend time bonding w/him.
One day he won't want to spend time w/his M.. (sad)
So I just sit & build leggos w/him, play outside, pitch to him forever, push him on the swing for the umpteenth time (ha ha).
I will never get this young, innocent, loving time back. It makes me sad......already.
When my SD was little I played store, restaurant, shopping (etc) for hours on end.
It just goes with the territory. It is important & is bonding.
My SD still remembers some of the things we did together (reading books, playing store) which is great as teen angst sets in & I am no longer "cool".
It is all good! Then when I can't take one more "car race in the living room or one more bike ride" hubby takes over for a bit or I set him to play by himself while I make dinner.
Hang in there. The payoff & reward is greater & more golden than you can imagine!
one the one hand yes i agree with elisa, you suck it up because in the long run it will pay off. it's not about the activity, it's about HIM. keep that in mind. part of being a parent is finding the unique wonderful qualities in ALL your children. i guarantee he has picked up on your attitude towards him and probably feels that you like the girls better. don't let him feel that way.
go to hobby lobby, there are tons of craft ideas, i'm sure you can find something. we painted a wooden model once (not my favorite but my son was over the moon.) building rockets, etc. all kinds of stuff.
but yes, in the end, it's on you to hang in there. "all" i have is a boy (and he is the universe to me so it is okay) and we have a ball hanging out. watching his movies, playing legos, reading books. he plays his own video games, i am not into that. but i don't expect to do everything with him - he entertains himself much of the time. when we want "us" time we go out to lunch, go to the library, go to the park. he is 6, not 8, but i highly doubt much will change in 2 years. OH he is also VERY into space, and we are taking him to the cosmosphere in huchinson, ks, for his birthday. can't wait!
Jigsaw puzzles.
Are you a good writer.. maybe make up a mystery he has to solve..
Base it on your home or neighborhood. give him clues.. based on real places.. Have him search and then discover the secret.
There are mystery puzzles. you put them together then read a story and look on the puzzle for clues.
Science experiments with gross stuff. Google it or purchase sets at the crafts or hobby shops.
My 9 year old likes his nintendo, plays pokemon, I try to feign interest,
He likes to play tennis, that is the only sport he has an inkling of interest in, so I try to do it whenever he wants.
We fish in our lake, when it gets a bit cooler anyway!
He doesn't like to ride his bike very much, but when it gets cooler, I make him, and once we are out he likes it!
We swim, each and everyday. He dives for stuff I chuck for him.
He loves trains, more than anything else! Basically if I allowed it, that would be all he would do and talk about!
Geocaching is a great idea! We used to love to do that before my daughter came along!
takw him out for things you can both find fun
-maybe do geocaching
-maybe make a scaveneger hunt (however big or small- sometimes i do it in the house, sometimes nieghborhood, sometimes I'll make it last the legth of the day and end with a fun activitry or desert)
-laser tag?
-learn to play chess together
-learn to play pool?
-go hiking
-go to a rock climbing gym
-go to a sports game (they are actually so much more entertaining in person)
-go ice skating
-indoor water park
-nature hike and find and collect cool bugs
-go to your local nature center
-look up make at home free science experiments
In other words TRY NEW THINGS and find somethnig fun=) find something you can both enjoy
Also I feel for you- my daughter is an only kid and I HATE actively pretending to play. Barbies are a rare treat for M. to play. She gets upset sometimes but I give her a choice between, going out, coloring, board games and a few other thigns we both can enjoy or I can atleast tolerate
Mostly we are outdoors.
I hate playing indoors but give M. a river and some bugs to find and i'm good=)
I also have an 8 year old son. I know way more than I ever wanted to know about Pokemon. I figure if he wants me to play then I should even if I don't like it. There will come a time when he won't want me to play with him. I do sometimes just go in his room and talk with him. Ask him how his day was and I tell him about my day. Sometimes we just talk about silly things. I also find book series that we can read together that we both enjoy. Right now we're reading the Percy Jackson Series. I had already read it and liked them so I don't mind reading them again. Plus we usually talk about what we read and what he thinks will happen next. Also we both enjoy the bookstore and so we go together. We will also do coloring books together along with my 5 year old daughter. I'll take the coloring books out and we all color together.
I have two girls and funny thing is I think I'd be better at playing with boys bc then we could play catch... I think no matter what pretend play it is, I don't enjoy it. But sports stuff I could get into. So is he starting to be interested in baseball, football, lacrosse etc? If so, then you could play that and get some exercise too! I also think if you play that with him, that should be enough for the day. Mothers in the olden days certain didn't play make believe games with their kids...
