Help. I don't want to play with Barbie or Paw Patrol

Have you any contact with parents/grandparents of other children? Could you find a playgroup that she could go to? I used to take DGS to a 2hr session that he loved, especially the clearing up - odd because he is so untidy now - and running madly around the empty space with other children.

We used to go to a singing and movement session, mostly they were young Mums but all very friendly.

From the age of 2 my oldest grandson was obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and we built miles of track and played endlessly with the engines. Then he moved on to Postman Pat and we drove miles delivering letters. The final one was Fireman Sam which seemed to go on for ever, rescuing people over and over again. When he was about 4 we started being able to watch the TV programmes and read the books, and once he started school he moved quickly onto computer games, which he knew I was no good at. His brother and his cousin were quite different and played happily on their own,

I admit I like to get out to have a break from play. With the oldest we always went to story morning at the library, I also did gymnastics with the two older ones, but you have to find something on the day you are looking after them.
We did lots of NT properties, in the holidays they tend to do activities, soft play, now that is something I really dislike, is an absolute last resort.

Soft play to my mind is a safe place for children to go and explore, without an adult constantly by their side.
It's somewhere a child can learn about a shared experience with other children, make a friend.
As long as you can see them, and they know where you are if they need you, I see nothing wrong with sitting and watching 🤷🏻

I agree it’s very nice for them, but the noise, the smell, they always seem to serve chips with everything, it’s always bitterly cold, I guess because the children would expire from overheating if it was warmer. Big children in the baby areas, unchecked by parents, squabbles, screeching, everything feels tacky and grubby, despite the staff being quite conscientious.
I have spent a lot of time in them, but they are absolutely my worst activity, give me Barbie any day.

Oh dear Sara1954 no that wouldn't appeal to me either ☹️
We were lucky, there is one attached to the bowling alley that was just the right size for the pre-schoolers we looked after, and we always went when the bigger children were at school.

GD was obsessed with Steve Irwin, every day she would say ’Play!’ to me very firmly and get out all the little plastic animals. Enclosures were built, animals would go to drink, feed, fight, sleep, even give birth. When he died I didn’t know how to tell her so I didn’t. A few days later she said casually, ‘It’s a shame about Steve, isn’t it Nan?’ and carried on with the game. I had her almost every weekend and school holiday for several years and don’t regret putting many of my social activities on hold until she was in her teens. She now has a daughter of her own and is very grateful to me for being there to ‘Play!’ When she was small. Times goes by so quickly, they are not demanding little people for very long.

Sara1954

I agree it’s very nice for them, but the noise, the smell, they always seem to serve chips with everything, it’s always bitterly cold, I guess because the children would expire from overheating if it was warmer. Big children in the baby areas, unchecked by parents, squabbles, screeching, everything feels tacky and grubby, despite the staff being quite conscientious.
I have spent a lot of time in them, but they are absolutely my worst activity, give me Barbie any day.

Oh yes, you need ear defenders in those places.

Elrel

GD was obsessed with Steve Irwin, every day she would say ’Play!’ to me very firmly and get out all the little plastic animals. Enclosures were built, animals would go to drink, feed, fight, sleep, even give birth. When he died I didn’t know how to tell her so I didn’t. A few days later she said casually, ‘It’s a shame about Steve, isn’t it Nan?’ and carried on with the game. I had her almost every weekend and school holiday for several years and don’t regret putting many of my social activities on hold until she was in her teens. She now has a daughter of her own and is very grateful to me for being there to ‘Play!’ When she was small. Times goes by so quickly, they are not demanding little people for very long.

Lovely story, Elrel

Did your DD go into animal care when she grew up?

Yes Elrel your experience is a lovely reminder of the joy in imaginative play