Parents what are your thoughts . . . my 5 yr old doesn't seem . . .

[PlatinumGold]

he can't seem to just play when he's alone.

my oldest (probably because he didnt' have siblings till he was 3) had no problems playing with his toys by himself at this age.

my youngest tho, always has to be entertained, i think the problem is partly because he has 2 older siblings so when they are around one of them will always make time to play with him.

but he's home from pre school right now, his siblings are still in school, so he just sits alone and lonely. he doesn't ever play with his toys unless his older brother is there with him playing with them also.

hmmm, not sure what we can do about it.

he's fine if we turn on the TV or let him play video games, but he doesn't seem good at playing with inanimate toys.

 

[farmercal]

When he gets bored, he will play.

 

[chambersc]

i guess one piece of advice i could give would be that the video game/television could be considered an evolution from the old legos or linkin logs etc that we used to play with. you might consider that and realize that there is no problem.

 

[leftyman]

give him a big cardboard box and see what happens

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: chambersc
i guess one piece of advice i could give would be that the video game/television could be considered an evolution from the old legos or linkin logs etc that we used to play with. you might consider that and realize that there is no problem.

i'm of that school of thought also, my wife however is not. she doesnt' like him doing anything that is tv related for more than 1 hour per day, educational or not.

my two older kids had no problems with this.

 

[djplayx714]

my five year old has been playing video games (mostly mario bros titles) ever since he was 3 years old.

 

[Queasy]

Heh...I was trying to give our daughter a bottle and get her to take a nap the other day when my 3-year old son decided it was time to play and started jumping up and down on my legs. I asked him to go play with some toys or draw in one of his coloring books and he went to my wife and said, "Daddy's being mean to me."

Every child is different. Some enjoy playing with others more than they enjoy playing with toys by themselves. You just kind of have to work around that framework of their personalities.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Our son was like that when he was 3-4. But now he can play alone anytime he wants, and peeking-ins on him seem to suggest he's doing just fine at it.

My theory is that it may take a bit of a while for them to develop a decent imagination, especially if they've never had to use it before (used to constant stimulation/siblings/parents/etc.)

 

[UglyCasanova]

TV is a devolution, not evolution from Legos. The thing about Legos is you have a bunch of blocks, but it is up to you to figure out what to do with them. The childs creativity along with the amount of blocks at his disposal are the only limitations. How does TV/video games enhance a kids creativity? It is entertainment, sure, but that is about the extent of it.

 

[sygyzy]

Maybe you should take him to a specialist. He might have a psychological problem.

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: leftyman
give him a big cardboard box and see what happens

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: UglyCasanova
TV is a devolution, not evolution from Legos. The thing about Legos is you have a bunch of blocks, but it is up to you to figure out what to do with them. The childs creativity along with the amount of blocks at his disposal are the only limitations. How does TV/video games enhance a kids creativity? It is entertainment, sure, but that is about the extent of it.

i don't know, SimCity could be seen as a major evolution of Legos. it has building blocks etc. the difference is it's animated and not static.

lego has a game you can download from their site that's kind of like a virtual lego deal. that seems ok, requiring imagination etc.

 

[leftyman]

Originally posted by: Gillbot

Originally posted by: leftyman
give him a big cardboard box and see what happens

the best toy ever, ever invented :thumbsup:

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Of course kids vary greatly, but I would guess that all that needs to happen is a few weeks of no TV/gaming for him to start engaging in other forms of play. Put another way, your child may be manipulating you and your wife to increase his TV/Game time. Once he realizes that acting bored and lonely isn't going to get him any where he will give it up and start playing with regular toys. You could even make his TV/game time conditional on some kind of play activity (e.g., building something with legos).

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: HomeBrewerDude
Of course kids vary greatly, but I would guess that all that needs to happen is a few weeks of no TV/gaming for him to start engaging in other forms of play. Put another way, your child may be manipulating you and your wife to increase his TV/Game time. Once he realizes that acting bored and lonely isn't going to get him any where he will give it up and start playing with regular toys. You could even make his TV/game time conditional on some kind of play activity (e.g., building something with legos).

i don't think so, this is the first time i've stayed home in months, so i'm seeing it first hand, but my wife has mentioned this many times over the last 6 or 7 months.

when he was 3.5 or so, he was much better at it. but since we started sending him to preschool, he just seems to enjoy socializing with others more.

i'm not overly concerned.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

man i still use lego....its well fun......technic lego anyway. guess thats why im doing an engineering degree, cant get enough of building random crap from lego.

:thumbsup: to the cardboard box....

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
Maybe you should take him to a specialist. He might have a psychological problem.

This should always be your first assumption. Your second should be that you are a bad parent. Get him some medication and congratulate yourself for caring.

 

[Fritzo]

Don't worry. My son just turned 6 last week and is like this too. He just now started playing by himself, but in some kids it takes a while for thier imagination to develop.

Give him another year or two.

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: Mwilding

Originally posted by: sygyzy
Maybe you should take him to a specialist. He might have a psychological problem.

This should always be your first assumption. Your second should be that you are a bad parent. Get him some medication and congratulate yourself for caring.

a bit harsh with your sarcasm there aren't you?

 

[UglyCasanova]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: UglyCasanova
TV is a devolution, not evolution from Legos. The thing about Legos is you have a bunch of blocks, but it is up to you to figure out what to do with them. The childs creativity along with the amount of blocks at his disposal are the only limitations. How does TV/video games enhance a kids creativity? It is entertainment, sure, but that is about the extent of it.

i don't know, SimCity could be seen as a major evolution of Legos. it has building blocks etc. the difference is it's animated and not static.

lego has a game you can download from their site that's kind of like a virtual lego deal. that seems ok, requiring imagination etc.

But you are still directed by the video game. Yes you get to design your city, but it is still an already designed task. Give your kid a bunch of lego blocks and it is up to him to decide how to use them. Build a city, build a spaceship, build ANYTHING. It forces the kid to be creative, and is fun at the same time. And the creativity that comes from it is boundless unlike from sim city, once the juices get flowing he will get more and more into it.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: UglyCasanova
TV is a devolution, not evolution from Legos. The thing about Legos is you have a bunch of blocks, but it is up to you to figure out what to do with them. The childs creativity along with the amount of blocks at his disposal are the only limitations. How does TV/video games enhance a kids creativity? It is entertainment, sure, but that is about the extent of it.

Not all video games lack the need for creativity. And despite all the trash on TV there is still occasionally cool stuff on the discovery channel or animal planet that serves an education purpose. Everything in moderation!

 

[Armitage]

My son had a similar problem last spring & summer - when his big sister wasn't around he didn't know what to do with himself. Even at a playground or something. He's growing out of it though - he's 4 now. I'd give it some time. Maybe help him initiate an activity, then let him run with it.

Regarding TV - I think there have been a few studies linking excess TV to ADD/ADHD. Videogames are probably a bit better since its more interactive. I personally like to see them doing more physical things at this age.

 

[iamtrout]

Originally posted by: leftyman

Originally posted by: Gillbot

Originally posted by: leftyman
give him a big cardboard box and see what happens

the best toy ever, ever invented :thumbsup:

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Next to legos. I don't care what you say; legos are the sh!t. Back in the day I made fvcking guns with legos. Oh man.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: leftyman
give him a big cardboard box and see what happens

Transmogrifier!

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: iamtrout

Originally posted by: leftyman

Originally posted by: Gillbot

Originally posted by: leftyman
give him a big cardboard box and see what happens

the best toy ever, ever invented :thumbsup:

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Next to legos. I don't care what you say; legos are the sh!t. Back in the day I made fvcking guns with legos. Oh man.

http://www.naturestapestry.com/supermagz1.html

these and there many variations are the best building toys on the market, imo. we of course have lots of legos but these magnetic ones are really the bomb, there isn't much you can't do with them if you have enough pieces.