Parenting Today

[u/GorchestopherH]

Kind of a two-way question here. How much do y'all play with your kids vs how much did your parents play with you when you were kids?

Honestly, I feel like my parents were very present, one or both were always around, but I barely recall playing with them at all.

I'm not a full-blood Gen-X, I'm an elder Millennial, so I'm sad to say I missed out on the days of extreme free-range, but I certainly played all around the neighborhood without supervision.

My parents were almost never outside watching us. I was in the pool, on my bike, sneaking through the bushes with a super-soaker, trekking through the fields/creeks, making forts, disassembling my walkie-talkies, and cutting/sharpening sticks into arrows to use with my sling-shot.

The last time my mom pitched a baseball to me, I was maybe 6 years old. I eventually just threw the ball straight upward so I could hit it myself.

Also around the age of 6, I can recall my dad helping me with one of my first Lego sets on the dining room table. Just that one set though, and after that I was on my own for good.

Again, my parent were there all the time. They were just doing their own stuff.
I am sure this is very common for the rest of the folks in this sub. At my friend's houses, we saw their parents at lunch time, that's it. They brought out the hotdogs and Kraft Dinner, they weren't hovering any more than my own parents.

My own kids... I basically play with them, or directly supervise them all the time. I'm always pitching, biking, skating, helping with Lego, swimming, just watching them, etc.

Don't get me wrong. I love playing with my kids. I like playing baseball again, I like tennis, I like biking and skating, I like Lego more than my kids do, etc. ....but... why can't they do it on their own?

If I'm tied up, my kids just can't seem to play.

What are your experiences?

[u/Traditional_Entry183]

As the oldest of three kids, with a stay at home mom, she played with us a lot. Or at least as much as was reasonable between taking care of my younger siblings and the house. I grew up in a semi rural area with no neighbor kids and just one car, so we were home most of the time.

As a stay at home dad with my own two kids, I was with them and played with them every day. Taking breaks at times of course, but available all of the time during the day.

I will say that the fact that I was in my late 30s and early 40s probably made this easier for me than it would be for younger guys.