I need help playing with dolls
Melissa Yatzeck
My daughter is about to turn 5 and loves to play with Polly Pocket dolls. For those who aren't familiar with them, they are little plastic dolls about 3" tall that come with rubber clothes, shoes, and a multitude of accessories.
When my daughter first discovered them at a friends house about 2 years ago, I hated them. I was very much against plastic toys at that time and wanted my daughter to play with natural, wooden toys. Every time we went to that friends house though, I could see how much she loved to play with them. I also began reading more about unschooling and letting go of some of my more conventional parenting methods. For her 4th birthday, I put Polly Pockets on her wishlist and she received some as a gift from a relative (I was still not a point where I would buy them myself). We also started giving her an allowance, and she chose to purchase Polly Pockets quite frequently. She gets $2/week, and several times saved up to buy a $10 Polly Pocket set. I also helped her find and buy a lot of used Polly Pockets on craigslist so she could get more for her money. It wasn't until this Christmas that I chose to buy her some Polly Pocket dolls with my own money. I finally reached a point where I could see how much she really enjoyed them, and I knew it would make her happy to have them, and I wanted to give her that little bit of joy.
She plays with them almost every single day, and very often asks me to play with her. I guess maybe I just forgot how to play with dolls, but I find myself sighing and groaning inwardly when she asks me to play with her. I just don't know what to DO when we play with the dolls. I'll sit down and try to play, but I can't seem to do it in a way that makes either of us happy. When I make my dolls say something, she sometimes doesn't seem happy with what I say or do. Lots of times it seems she just wants me to create a whole story and tell it myself with the dolls, and sometimes I do, but so often she wants to do the same thing again and again and again and I lose interest. I tend to want to sit down and do things like organize all the little clothes and shoes into piles, or set up a scene with all the furniture and dolls, but I find it really hard to just play with her. Sometimes I'll just suggest we do something other than Polly Pockets because I don't like to play with them, but I think she picks up on that and I don't want to send a message that I don't see any value in something she loves so much.
I'm sure many of you had or have daughters who love to play with dolls, whether it's Polly Pockets or Barbies or something else. Can you give me some advice or link me to some threads that have discussed playing with dolls? I really want to have fun playing with my daughter with this thing that she really loves, but I'm having such a hard time! Does anyone have suggestions on how I can learn to like playing with dolls? Or maybe how to support her interest and be actively involved with her when it's not something I'm really interested in?
When my daughter first discovered them at a friends house about 2 years ago, I hated them. I was very much against plastic toys at that time and wanted my daughter to play with natural, wooden toys. Every time we went to that friends house though, I could see how much she loved to play with them. I also began reading more about unschooling and letting go of some of my more conventional parenting methods. For her 4th birthday, I put Polly Pockets on her wishlist and she received some as a gift from a relative (I was still not a point where I would buy them myself). We also started giving her an allowance, and she chose to purchase Polly Pockets quite frequently. She gets $2/week, and several times saved up to buy a $10 Polly Pocket set. I also helped her find and buy a lot of used Polly Pockets on craigslist so she could get more for her money. It wasn't until this Christmas that I chose to buy her some Polly Pocket dolls with my own money. I finally reached a point where I could see how much she really enjoyed them, and I knew it would make her happy to have them, and I wanted to give her that little bit of joy.
She plays with them almost every single day, and very often asks me to play with her. I guess maybe I just forgot how to play with dolls, but I find myself sighing and groaning inwardly when she asks me to play with her. I just don't know what to DO when we play with the dolls. I'll sit down and try to play, but I can't seem to do it in a way that makes either of us happy. When I make my dolls say something, she sometimes doesn't seem happy with what I say or do. Lots of times it seems she just wants me to create a whole story and tell it myself with the dolls, and sometimes I do, but so often she wants to do the same thing again and again and again and I lose interest. I tend to want to sit down and do things like organize all the little clothes and shoes into piles, or set up a scene with all the furniture and dolls, but I find it really hard to just play with her. Sometimes I'll just suggest we do something other than Polly Pockets because I don't like to play with them, but I think she picks up on that and I don't want to send a message that I don't see any value in something she loves so much.
I'm sure many of you had or have daughters who love to play with dolls, whether it's Polly Pockets or Barbies or something else. Can you give me some advice or link me to some threads that have discussed playing with dolls? I really want to have fun playing with my daughter with this thing that she really loves, but I'm having such a hard time! Does anyone have suggestions on how I can learn to like playing with dolls? Or maybe how to support her interest and be actively involved with her when it's not something I'm really interested in?
Bob Collier
--- In [email protected], "Melissa Yatzeck" <myatzeck@...> wrote:
This is what I did.
Close my eyes. Imagine my daughter. She's having fun. I love to see my daughter having fun. It feels good. Oh, and I'm there too. I'm having fun. I love to see me having fun. That feels good. My daughter's having fun. I'm having fun. What a wonderful feeling! Now I'm looking closer in my imagination to see what it is we're doing that's so much fun. We're playing with Polly Pockets. Open my eyes.
Next time Bronwyn says to me, "Will you play Polly Pockets with me?" - of course I will! I want that wonderful feeling again. So there I am, a six foot guy with a beard lying on the floor with a little girl playing Polly Pockets, smiling and laughing and making silly stuff up as I go along. My daughter's happy. She can see that I love what she loves because it's written all over my face. And I really do. Who knew Polly Pockets could be so much fun? The Polly Pockets though are just the excuse. Not the cause.
Bob
>I used to love playing Polly Pockets with my daughter. Years ago now (she's 25).
>
> I'm sure many of you had or have daughters who love to play with dolls, whether it's Polly Pockets or Barbies or something else. Can you give me some advice or link me to some threads that have discussed playing with dolls? I really want to have fun playing with my daughter with this thing that she really loves, but I'm having such a hard time! Does anyone have suggestions on how I can learn to like playing with dolls? Or maybe how to support her interest and be actively involved with her when it's not something I'm really interested in?
>
This is what I did.
Close my eyes. Imagine my daughter. She's having fun. I love to see my daughter having fun. It feels good. Oh, and I'm there too. I'm having fun. I love to see me having fun. That feels good. My daughter's having fun. I'm having fun. What a wonderful feeling! Now I'm looking closer in my imagination to see what it is we're doing that's so much fun. We're playing with Polly Pockets. Open my eyes.
Next time Bronwyn says to me, "Will you play Polly Pockets with me?" - of course I will! I want that wonderful feeling again. So there I am, a six foot guy with a beard lying on the floor with a little girl playing Polly Pockets, smiling and laughing and making silly stuff up as I go along. My daughter's happy. She can see that I love what she loves because it's written all over my face. And I really do. Who knew Polly Pockets could be so much fun? The Polly Pockets though are just the excuse. Not the cause.
Bob
Chris Sanders
> *** I really want to have fun playing with my daughter with thisI really like how Bob put it. That's pretty much what I did when my
> thing that she really loves, but I'm having such a hard time! Does
> anyone have suggestions on how I can learn to like playing with
> dolls? Or maybe how to support her interest and be actively involved
> with her when it's not something I'm really interested in?***
> Bob Collier wrote: *** Close my eyes. Imagine my daughter. She's
> having fun. I love to see my daughter having fun. It feels good. Oh,
> and I'm there too. I'm having fun. I love to see me having fun. That
> feels good. My daughter's having fun. I'm having fun. What a
> wonderful feeling! Now I'm looking closer in my imagination to see
> what it is we're doing that's so much fun. We're playing with Polly
> Pockets. Open my eyes.***
daughter asked me to play Polly Pockets with her. At first, I was
bored to tears with the idea of playing Polly Pockets but, I found
that I enjoyed myself and she felt filled up faster when I put 100%
into playing Polly Pockets with her the way SHE wanted me to play. I
dropped any agendas I may have had running through my head and
immersed myself in her imaginary world as best as I could. If I
wasn't saying the right words for my Polly Pocket, I asked my daughter
to tell me what to say long enough that I understood the theme of her
imagination that day. She liked to repeat themes - often we played
that our dolls were sisters who's mom had left us home alone together.
We talked about fashion and boys and going to parties. I had to
intentionally push out thoughts like - What am I going to fix for
dinner? It was almost like a type of meditation to be able to focus so
completely on my daughter's play and desire to have me with her.
As with so many other needs, I found that when I was able to meet this
need of hers and fill her up with my focused attention doing what she
wanted, she would soon enough be ready to play on her own and I was
excused to go do whatever I wanted. Sometimes, I wanted to stay and
play - I was enjoying listening to the inner-workings of her
imagination and we were having fun together!
Polly Pocket playing happened when Zoe was 4,5,6 & 7 ish if I remember
correctly, maybe up to age 9. She's 13 now and she still has a big box
of dolls and accessories under her bed that she never plays with but I
haven't wanted to store them in the basement or give them away or sell
them because that box of dolls reminds me of so many happy times with
her.
Just last night, she was excited to receive and play a new video game
-- she LOVES Little Big Planet 2! It's a single or multi-player game
depending on how you want to play it. You can play online with others
if you want. She was wanting to play solo last night so that she
could explore it's features thoroughly without interruption. She kept
turning down her online friends' invites to join them or requests to
let them join her! However, she didn't want to be alone as she
experienced this long-awaited excitement! So, I sat in the living
room while she played. I read my email or played my own games (Plants
vs. Zombies thanks to Sandra!) on my iPad while she played and I was
able to pause what I was doing whenever she wanted me to pay more
attention to some new, fantastic feature of the game that she was
playing.
My point is that the more present you can be for your daughter now the
better connected you will feel to her in the future. Sharing her
life, thoughts, interests and fun with you is probably the most
important way for her to connect with you and the time you invest in
meeting her need for your participation in her play and activities now
will payoff down the road when she's older and more capable of
entertaining herself without your help. And, you might just find that
playing Polly Pockets is kind of fun!
Chris in IA
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Sandra Dodd
I never got into playing Barbies with Holly. I didn't as a kid, and I couldn't figure out a way to do it. I wish I had had Bob and Chris's words to help me fifteen years ago!!
What I did was to support her Barbie interest was to provide space, and look at thrift stores for clothes and shoes and furniture, and let her look at the Barbies at stores as long as she wanted to, and sometimes buy her things. When we moved to another house, there was a closet under stairs that already had shelves in it, and we gave that to her as Barbieland. Kids played Barbies in there just last week.
But I wish I had played with Holly. I had two older kids (not so much older) and always found things to do, but it's a loss.
When I was in India, I played Barbie and Kellee with Zoya (Hema's daughter, who's four) and it was really sweet. Zoya would play out scenarios where she needed help or rescue (being Kellee), and I as Barbie would quickly help her! In the course of that game, Zoya ran through many of the things that had happened in the past few days. It was the sort of thing dreams do, but we were acting it out--processing thoughts and concerns and memories, tying things together, appreciating the best parts and softening the worrisome parts.
Sandra
What I did was to support her Barbie interest was to provide space, and look at thrift stores for clothes and shoes and furniture, and let her look at the Barbies at stores as long as she wanted to, and sometimes buy her things. When we moved to another house, there was a closet under stairs that already had shelves in it, and we gave that to her as Barbieland. Kids played Barbies in there just last week.
But I wish I had played with Holly. I had two older kids (not so much older) and always found things to do, but it's a loss.
When I was in India, I played Barbie and Kellee with Zoya (Hema's daughter, who's four) and it was really sweet. Zoya would play out scenarios where she needed help or rescue (being Kellee), and I as Barbie would quickly help her! In the course of that game, Zoya ran through many of the things that had happened in the past few days. It was the sort of thing dreams do, but we were acting it out--processing thoughts and concerns and memories, tying things together, appreciating the best parts and softening the worrisome parts.
Sandra
Sandra Dodd
-=Sometimes I'll just suggest we do something other than Polly Pockets because I don't like to play with them, but I think she picks up on that and I don't want to send a message that I don't see any value in something she loves so much.-=-
I HOPE she picks up on that.
Even if you're playing Polly Pockets and pretending to like it, she'll pick up on that, if she has any interpersonal intelligence at all.
http://sandradodd.com/intelligences
As long as you don't see any value in what she loves, you WILL be sending that message. At least do it sweetly, apologetically and with gentle humor.
-=-I finally reached a point where I could see how much she really enjoyed them, and I knew it would make her happy to have them, and I wanted to give her that little bit of joy.-=-
A little bit of joy?
Your lives will improve when you relax into the idea that it would be okay to provide her with an unlimited fountain of joy. Don't measure joy into little bits.
If you can't play with the dolls, can you find other girls who can?
Once I organized a "My Little Pony party" for Holly. It wasn't even her birthday. :-) But we got all her ponies out into the largest room we have, and invited other girls over. They could bring ponies, or didn't need to. They had a really great time, and after that Holly's ponies were infused (for her) with those memories and associations. They had ALL been on a grand adventure. With Polly Pockets, one girl at a time might be better, or two.
Even if you have to pay someone to come and play with her, it might be worth doing. We had a neighbor seven years older than my oldest, 12 years older than my youngest, and I used to give her $3 an hour to come over while I was home, as a mother's helper. Sometimes she held the baby and that was her favorite thing at first. When Holly wanted to nurse, Ay played with the boys. As the kids got older, she would babysit sometimes and I would pay her $5 an hour (some neighborhoods the going rate is higher for a teenaged babysitter, but she lived three houses up and wanted to get away from her younger sisters when she could). She was homeschooled, so she could come over all kinds of times. She would play with whichever kids wanted play, and maybe get them drinks and snacks. It was beneficial to everyone involved.
You might consider how thrilled an older girl would be to be *paid* to play dolls!!
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I HOPE she picks up on that.
Even if you're playing Polly Pockets and pretending to like it, she'll pick up on that, if she has any interpersonal intelligence at all.
http://sandradodd.com/intelligences
As long as you don't see any value in what she loves, you WILL be sending that message. At least do it sweetly, apologetically and with gentle humor.
-=-I finally reached a point where I could see how much she really enjoyed them, and I knew it would make her happy to have them, and I wanted to give her that little bit of joy.-=-
A little bit of joy?
Your lives will improve when you relax into the idea that it would be okay to provide her with an unlimited fountain of joy. Don't measure joy into little bits.
If you can't play with the dolls, can you find other girls who can?
Once I organized a "My Little Pony party" for Holly. It wasn't even her birthday. :-) But we got all her ponies out into the largest room we have, and invited other girls over. They could bring ponies, or didn't need to. They had a really great time, and after that Holly's ponies were infused (for her) with those memories and associations. They had ALL been on a grand adventure. With Polly Pockets, one girl at a time might be better, or two.
Even if you have to pay someone to come and play with her, it might be worth doing. We had a neighbor seven years older than my oldest, 12 years older than my youngest, and I used to give her $3 an hour to come over while I was home, as a mother's helper. Sometimes she held the baby and that was her favorite thing at first. When Holly wanted to nurse, Ay played with the boys. As the kids got older, she would babysit sometimes and I would pay her $5 an hour (some neighborhoods the going rate is higher for a teenaged babysitter, but she lived three houses up and wanted to get away from her younger sisters when she could). She was homeschooled, so she could come over all kinds of times. She would play with whichever kids wanted play, and maybe get them drinks and snacks. It was beneficial to everyone involved.
You might consider how thrilled an older girl would be to be *paid* to play dolls!!
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
lalow
>Bob, That was so sweet. I loved that image.
> I used to love playing Polly Pockets with my daughter. Years ago now (she's 25).
>
> This is what I did.
>
> Close my eyes. Imagine my daughter. She's having fun. I love to see my daughter having fun. It feels good. Oh, and I'm there too. I'm having fun. I love to see me having fun. That feels good. My daughter's having fun. I'm having fun. What a wonderful feeling! Now I'm looking closer in my imagination to see what it is we're doing that's so much fun. We're playing with Polly Pockets. Open my eyes.
>
> Next time Bronwyn says to me, "Will you play Polly Pockets with me?" - of course I will! I want that wonderful feeling again. So there I am, a six foot guy with a beard lying on the floor with a little girl playing Polly Pockets, smiling and laughing and making silly stuff up as I go along. My daughter's happy. She can see that I love what she loves because it's written all over my face. And I really do. Who knew Polly Pockets could be so much fun? The Polly Pockets though are just the excuse. Not the cause.
>
> Bob
>
I am going to make a renewed effort to play dolls with my daughter. She will love it but I find it difficult as well.
Right now my kids are really into Roblox. My older two have been for a while and one of their absolute favorite things to do (they are doing it right now) is get all the available computers in the house together in a row and play together on a place. They often ask me to join in so a while back I made my own profile so I could join them. It isnt always my favorite thing to do and I dont always enjoy it but I do enjoy seeing how happy they are to see me there. So usually I begin to enjoy myself pretty quickly, especially if I am giving it all my attention instead of thinking of other things.
sheeboo2
--- I'll sit down and try to play, but I can't seem to do it in a way that makes either of us happy. When I make my dolls say something, she sometimes doesn't seem happy with what I say or do. ---
That may be her age. Our daughter went through a period of being really unsatisfied with us too during imaginative play. We'd always get something wrong and it was frustrating for everyone. It helped to look at that kind of play like Simon Says--I'd have her lay out the scenario and ask specifically how I was supposed to act, what I was supposed to say, how I was supposed to say it. This probably lasted a few months.
My brother, on the other hand, was the superstar playmate. For some reason he was able to do whatever he wanted and it was always exactly what she wanted him to do. It was stunning and humbling to watch. Perhaps she was more open, more forgiving of him or maybe he just got it. I'm not really sure.
Brie
That may be her age. Our daughter went through a period of being really unsatisfied with us too during imaginative play. We'd always get something wrong and it was frustrating for everyone. It helped to look at that kind of play like Simon Says--I'd have her lay out the scenario and ask specifically how I was supposed to act, what I was supposed to say, how I was supposed to say it. This probably lasted a few months.
My brother, on the other hand, was the superstar playmate. For some reason he was able to do whatever he wanted and it was always exactly what she wanted him to do. It was stunning and humbling to watch. Perhaps she was more open, more forgiving of him or maybe he just got it. I'm not really sure.
Brie
sheeboo2
---So usually I begin to enjoy myself pretty quickly, especially if I am giving it all my
attention instead of thinking of other things.-----
Yes! THIS. And everything Bob wrote. Learning how to give myself over to the play was so important, clearing my mind of all the other things I could have been doing at that moment was the first major step (and the hardest), as was not being concerned with looking silly, following instead of leading.
I've recommended "Playful Parenting" to folks who have trouble playing with their kids. He has a thing about tickling that I really don't like, but all-in-all, I think it is a worthwhile read.
Especially this part, "Follow Your Children's Lead": http://tinyurl.com/45666zj
(Long-time unschoolers will laugh at a lot of his "radical" suggestions for taking children seriously.)
Brie
attention instead of thinking of other things.-----
Yes! THIS. And everything Bob wrote. Learning how to give myself over to the play was so important, clearing my mind of all the other things I could have been doing at that moment was the first major step (and the hardest), as was not being concerned with looking silly, following instead of leading.
I've recommended "Playful Parenting" to folks who have trouble playing with their kids. He has a thing about tickling that I really don't like, but all-in-all, I think it is a worthwhile read.
Especially this part, "Follow Your Children's Lead": http://tinyurl.com/45666zj
(Long-time unschoolers will laugh at a lot of his "radical" suggestions for taking children seriously.)
Brie
plaidpanties666
You might find the book "Playful Parenting" by Lawrence Cohen helpful in terms of learning (or re-learning) how to play.
If your dd is asking you to come up with stories, what about stories you've read together or movies or shows you've seen?
---Meredith
If your dd is asking you to come up with stories, what about stories you've read together or movies or shows you've seen?
---Meredith
Jennifer Schuelein
I have had similar issues with my son and his imaginative play, BUT, what I always try to remember is that this is his one childhood and these moments might be gone very soon (as kids change so quickly). Take a deep breath, get a cup of your favorite beverage (I love coffee) and recommit to sharing the joy of childhood with your little girl! :) I know it can get boring, but remember...she wants to play with you...her special, most loved person. Also, when I'm getting sore from sitting on the floor or just really tired of the same activity, I take a break for a few minutes. I refill my cup, take a bathroom break and maybe pet a cat or two. Then, I can revisit the scenario and remember the focus: my child's happiness. :) One more tip: Ask your daughter questions about the dolls and what's happening. Kids love to talk during imaginative play and if you give them a little cue they will do most of the imaginative talking if you just encourage it a bit. I also tell my son, after he has proclaimed my ideas as awful or bad, that I am not very good at making up stories so he needs to help me. He is very eager to help once he realizes I just don't know what I'm doing. LOL.
--- In [email protected], "plaidpanties666" <plaidpanties666@...> wrote:
>
> You might find the book "Playful Parenting" by Lawrence Cohen helpful in terms of learning (or re-learning) how to play.
>
> If your dd is asking you to come up with stories, what about stories you've read together or movies or shows you've seen?
>
> ---Meredith
>
k
>>>what about stories you've read together or movies or shows you've seen<<<Learning again how to play has been hit or miss for me. And Karl is very
good at telling stories! I used to just hang on and follow wherever it would
lead. I wasn't sure how to tell stories myself even though Karl seemed to
have full confidence in my ability to do so. I did ok with the lights out at
night as I sang and told stories to lull ourselves to sleep. Karl's stories
are definitely better than mine. And I am fine with that. And I've gotten
better at telling them.
I'm good at making the props. And he loves that. I used to draw to accompany
his stories. Or make something out of playdough to go with whatever he was
on about.
We just watched a movie last night which I can definitely get into-- The
Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassas --and not too long ago we watch the new Alice
in Wonderland. They're like psychological thrillers to me and they're all
about dreams and symbols, things I can definitely use as inspiration in
storytelling without actually coming up with neatly "beginning, middle, end"
type plots. Whew. Karl can do those but me, not so well. I do better when
telling stories that are outside of time, or talking about things that
allude to time travel or portal jumping or going through warp drive or
whatever. Karl loved Alice in Wonderland but wasn't into the Imaginarium.
That's ok. They have a lot of similarities and I can use both for
inspiration.
It doesn't have to be a Polly Pocket story that one makes up to go with the
dolls unless that's what your daughter wants. There are games with Polly
Pockets and Littlest Pet Shop and My Little Pony. Dress up games, and
others. Also lots of similar toys that might go well with Polly Pockets. I
bet there are books you could find with Polly Pockets. I haven't looked.
Just come across a couple of things in the course of Karl clicking around
online. Do a few searches. As a way to branch out and do some Polly Pocket
strewing to feed your daughter's interest.
~Katherine
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
NCMama
I used to "steal" the plot from favorite books when I told the boys stories at night, if something else didn't pop into my mind.
One story I particularly remember was one I told that was like "Are You My Mother?", but instead of a baby bird, it was a baby bear in the woods, being helped by my son, and they trekked through the woods, looking for the baby bear's mom, coming across all kinds of animals in the process. That was one I ended up telling many times.
You could act out books with Polly Pockets, changing the names, and the plot to fit the characters - having the book story in mind as a back-up, so you're not just left blank.
Caren
One story I particularly remember was one I told that was like "Are You My Mother?", but instead of a baby bird, it was a baby bear in the woods, being helped by my son, and they trekked through the woods, looking for the baby bear's mom, coming across all kinds of animals in the process. That was one I ended up telling many times.
You could act out books with Polly Pockets, changing the names, and the plot to fit the characters - having the book story in mind as a back-up, so you're not just left blank.
Caren
Sandra Dodd
-=-(Long-time unschoolers will laugh at a lot of his "radical" suggestions for taking children seriously.)-=-
I'm more likely to cry about the fact that it's a radical suggestion.
:-)
It was easier to play with Zoya because I wasn't home, I was visiting. And I'm older and wiser and more patient than I was when Holly was a little girl.
Bob, I've put your beautiful account here:
http://sandradodd.com/dads
I hope you don't mind. I'm pretty certain it will make the lives of several-to-many little girls happier as years pass by. No doubt some little girls who aren't yet born will have dads who play with them because of what you wrote.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I'm more likely to cry about the fact that it's a radical suggestion.
:-)
It was easier to play with Zoya because I wasn't home, I was visiting. And I'm older and wiser and more patient than I was when Holly was a little girl.
Bob, I've put your beautiful account here:
http://sandradodd.com/dads
I hope you don't mind. I'm pretty certain it will make the lives of several-to-many little girls happier as years pass by. No doubt some little girls who aren't yet born will have dads who play with them because of what you wrote.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
plaidpanties666
"NCMama" <dharmamama1@...> wrote:
One of Mo's favorites when she was little was "The Runnaway Bunny" about a mother bunny looking for her little one. She would play out all sorts of lost-animal stories with the mama looking everywhere - even made a little book about a mama duck flying all over the world to find her duckling. They were all "happy ending" stories, but she loved to play out the search, longer and longer.
---Meredith
>> One story I particularly remember was one I told that was like "Are You My Mother?", but instead of a baby bird, it was a baby bear in the woods, being helped by my son***************
One of Mo's favorites when she was little was "The Runnaway Bunny" about a mother bunny looking for her little one. She would play out all sorts of lost-animal stories with the mama looking everywhere - even made a little book about a mama duck flying all over the world to find her duckling. They were all "happy ending" stories, but she loved to play out the search, longer and longer.
---Meredith
Maribel
> Take a deep breath, get a cup of your favorite beverage (I love coffee) and recommit to sharing the joy of childhood with your little girl! :) I know it can get boring, but remember...she wants to play with you...her special, most loved person. Also, when I'm getting sore from sitting on the floor or just really tired of the same activity, I take a break for a few minutes. I refill my cup, take a bathroom break and maybe pet a cat or two. Then, I can revisit the scenario and remember the focus: my child's happiness. :)I, too, drink a cup of coffee as we play. When I need a break I announce it to my daughter by saying "commercial break" or "intermission". This makes her smile, and she also knows that I will continue to play momentarily.
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Maribel Sindlinger
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