My 7 Yr Old Wants Me to Play Transformers, Star Wars Etc. with Him

TRY to do a little of it with him. My oldest son was always begging us to do that kind of stuff, and we felt dread, too.

Now he's 21, doesn't do that any more, doesn't ask, and I miss those times and wish I had more memories of doing those things with him. Maybe you can say you'll play transformers with him if tomorrow he'll play a board game with you. Even 1/2 hour of playing those things with him will satisfy him, and give you good memories.

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Throw yourself into it, it maybe more fun if you get excited about it. Watch the movies with him. I haven't seen the last 3 Star Wars to come out, which I guess were the first 3 in the series, but I loved the original 3 that came out (Episode 4, 5 & 6), with Empire Strikes Back as my favorite. They are great movies and I quote them often. As for transformers, they are more than meets the eye and awesome toys. This is something your son wants to share with you, I know it isn't what you want, but you will look back on these times and love them. Just think in a few months he's going to be on to something else that he loves and you maybe wishing to have Star Wars back.

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Yes, its normal.
I have a 7 year old (girl) and a 3 year old boy.
So I have to play both "girl" and "boy" scenarios/pretend play with them, and often times TOGETHER at the same time.
And I go through this e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y.

But, just the other day, my daughter told me "Mommy, you are so cool. I have a cool Mom.... your'e the best." and I just about cried.
I was so thrilled hearing that.

You are creating childhood "memories" for your kids... and they will look back on it fondly, when they are all grown-up!

How about you invite a friend over for him to play with?

all the best,
Susan

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R.-
I used to have light sabre fights with my son. He has watched the movies so many times, that he knows all 6 by heart and I make him tell me what to do and say. Now, I have to pitch and catch for him and shag balls. I'm no good at any of this. I was much better at light sabres. I know it's a drag sometimes, but it won't last that long.
S.

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I don't know that you need to know all the details. Just imaginative play, make stuff up, be dramatic and silly. They will eat it up. And I personally think they connect with us better if we sometimes play "their" games. If you still feel odd you can always watch the movies, they are actually pretty good. :)

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I also feel your pain momma! My 5 yr old son LOVES LOVES LOVES the Transformers (and saw both the movies and is patiently waiting for the third to come out). I think as moms, its harder for us to relate to the boy stuff, so we have to make an even BIGGER effort to get in there and play. My son will usually tell me "okay, you do this and then I'll say that and then you say that and then I'll do this"....its kind of like he's setting up the scenario for me and if I miss something, he's real quick to correct me. Honestly, with Transformers, we spend more time finding all the pieces (arms, legs, heads) than we do actually PLAYING, but it makes him happy. I guess I look at it like alot of the other moms here do.....its not going to be a phase that will last forever and I know I'll one day miss these moments. Good luck and just enjoy the time you spend playing with him...but I do get it-after aboubt 20 minutes I'm truly trying REALLY hard to keep my attention focused on whether I'm now a decepticon or an autobot! LOL

My 7 year old always wants to play Star Wars and Transformers. I can only put him off so long. I don't know all the Star wars characters but I'm up on the Transformers(lol) But I'm sure your son is probably like mine and wants to be Luke Skywalker or any other hero in the movie and wants me to be the villian. That way they are just trying to annilate(sp) you and you just have to pretend to be lasered in half. Same with transformers he is either Optimus Prime or Bumble Bee and I'm a decepticon. Again i am destroyed. They just want to battle with us and we are the only ones around. When he was younger it was all about Go Diego Go (Dora's cousin) and going through "jungles" to rescue animals and me crawling all over the floor looking for hidden animals in peril. This to shall pass.

I must admit, it was a lot easier playing pretend princesses and barbies with my daughters than it was to talk like Yoda with my son. But I found that even getting down there with him for 5 minutes usually did the trick. I would sort of help him "set up" a storyline ("ooh, let's pretend that Luke is going to Jedi school, and Yoda wants to teach him how to stand on his head, but Luke can't figure it out....YOU be Yoda and Luke and I'll be the assistant cleaning up the classroom"), then quietly back away while he was absorbed in what he was doing. That would get me at least 20 minutes before he needed another "storyline" to get going again. Same thing for my daughters and their Little Ponies ("ok, TODAY, Misty is having some friends over, but doesn't have enough cupcakes. Kimono said she would help bake some more. How many more will they need? Can you figure it out? How would YOU solve this problem? YOU be Misty and Kimono and I'll be the bake shop assistant cleaning up"). And the benefit is that quite soon, my kids were able to play by themselves quite well (unlike a lot of their friends who CONSTANTLY needed to be with other people to be entertained). So, yeah, pretend play was a bit weird for me, but it did pay off.

R. this is a great opportunity! Kids( well really all of us ) spell love :T.I.M.E"

But this is also a great time during play to find teachable moments...there are big life lessons in the star wars and transformers stories. Or like Kristin suggested so well... set up a storyline/problem to solve...it's the best teaching method there is!

If you are anything like me, learning to play can be tough ! But you'll be so glad you do!
blessings!
M.

Oh honey I wouldn't even know what to do if my son asked me to do that. I have never watched any of those shows. I think my son new it would be to frustrating to even try to fill me in on what I was suppose to do so he never bothered. I gave him a lot of legos though. We also gave him many different broken appliances that he could take apart. I'm just not into those kinds of things.

Hi R.:

I SO feel your pain. My son is going to be 11 and Star Wars is his and his fathers favorite stuff. I have to say that I have played Star Wars with my son, but I have to admit that it doesn't last for very long. I can usually handling about 15-20 minutes and then I am done. That is about all that I can suggest to do is yes, do play with him, but once you have had enough encourage him to do something else or if he wants to continue playing with them then he of course can but Mommy has to take a break. Hope this helps, Good Luck :)
A.

I can so relate on this. My 4-year-old wants me to play pirates with his playmobil figures constantly. I too have a really hard time doing this...I would rather do just about anything else with him--read a book, play a board game, do a craft. I have actually found that the MORE I play pirates, the more he asks, and the less he seems able to play on his own. I really try to limit it to once or twice a day and for 20 minutes each time at the most. I set a timer so he can't argue with it when it's stopping time. Oh, FYI...my friend's son is 7, and yes, he wants her to play stuff like that all the time with him as well. If he has been used to you always playing with him, that is probably why he still prefers it.

My 8 yo daughter loves to pretend play with me; we play my little ponies, we dressed the ponies up make up stories etc. I give her half an hour of pretend play and then she goes on to play by herself, but I always do the effort because she really likes playing with me.
since she was an only for 7 years, I've been her playmate all of her life, my most fond memories of her is when we played together. we build cities with legos, chase each other, played polly pockets, dress up pageants, made experiments. now that she will be 9 she has besome more reserved and I miss those times, but still she will want me to sit and play with her.

I know it seems boring or silly but after you start playing you get the hang of it and he will be so happy. just tell him, ok buddy you have half an hour (or an hour) to kick this Jedi's butt, lol!
have fun and enjoy these times!

I'm fine with Star Wars, for me it's when my daughter wants me to make all of her dolls talk. At least with Luke and the Gang I know their story by heart. :-)

Sounds like you need to develop some buddies for him so it's not all on you. What he wants is very normal but not really a Mom thing.

R.,
With my 7 yo, it's not Star Wars or Transformers, but it's ALL sports! He wants me to play baseball, football, hockey, tennis--you name it---with him CONSTANTLY!

I'm with Sara B on this one. I'm better at the Star Wars, sports, taking stuff apart and teaching how to put back together with my son than I am at the Princess Tea Party, dressup, "girly" stuff.

I was really excited when my daughter started showing interest in sports.

But I still do the "girly" stuff. I will make it a point to spend mommy/daughter girl time with her. And when she's at her dad's for the week... I get to do all the "boy" stuff with my son. : )