Wednesday, February 9, 2011

baby in your belly ...

I think that independent play is good. I think that children should be able to find constructive ways to use their time and that their parents should not be their sole source of entertainment. Yes, you should play with your kids. And you should read to your kids. And you should teach your kids. But, I do not believe that mothers (or fathers for that matter) should spend all of their time micromanaging their children. There are other things that need to be done and showing your children how to balance responsibilities is just as important as keeping them "busy."

With that said, it's obvious that I give my children a fair amount of time to play with each other. My office is directly off of their playroom, so I can work and be within earshot at all times. Yesterday, while I was replying to some emails, I overheard Doodle and Dilly playing one of their games.

Doodle: "You need to take it easy. You have a baby in your belly."
Dilly: "Baby belly."
Doodle: "Yes, there's a baby in your belly. Let me check it."
Dilly: "Baby Pablo."

I didn't interrupt. I just kind of laughed and kept working. A few minutes later when I finally turned around I got the best surprise of all. Dilly actually looked pregnant. The two of them had unzipped Dilly's sweatshirt, shoved a stuffed animal in (Pablo from The Backyardigans) and re-zipped. It was classic. And exactly what I should have expected for letting them play alone ...

20 comments:

Running Ricig said...

I love your kids. Your stories are hilarious

Colleen said...

Aw shucks, I got excited that you were going to share some news about yourself!!

Anonymous said...

I used to do this too when I was their age. I'd stick a Cabbage Patch Doll under my shirt.

Unknown said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't play with my kids 24-7. Our townhouse is small and so my laptop is on a tiny table in the living room and I have other "office" stuff in the window box. I can sit at the computer and watch the girls play and be available for them at a moments notice!

Bethany + Ryan said...

haha that's so cute!! I don't remember if i did that or not, but i do remember putting baseballs in my shirt so it looked like i had boobs!! HA!

S Club Mama said...

that is hilarious!

Rene' said...

Love this, whenever i pregnant my kids were always pretending they were pregnant. Siri even used to "breast feed" her babies which my husband thought was to much, but independent play is so important, we can't be on top of them all of the time. fun post.

KovasP said...

Kids are definitely better off when you give them a safe structure to explore play.

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

I wonder if she'll opt for natural childbirth?

LBM let his Furby (it was Abby's when she was little) nurse this morning. Yeah, it's starting to get a little weird!

Carly said...

hahaha...

Kate said...

Your girls are too funny!! I love th stories!

giraffy said...

Hahaaaa! When my #2 was little (like, 2 or 3), her favorite "game" was to play Naked Babies! It's exactly what it sound like.

Unknown said...

Haha! As you may have guessed, this is a constant game in our house, too. One time I caught them trying to stuff the dog in their shirt b/c they wanted to have puppies...

Marlene said...

Ha! Too cute. And totally agree re: independent play. I have friends who will not leave their children be for even a minute.

Kruns2 said...

I have to do my best not to pay attention too much while my kids play or I end up telling them HOW to play and that never goes as well.

I was wondering how the name Pablo came up. Dang funny if that was just a name they picked. Baby Pablo! Ha!

Katie said...

heh, oh my!

Aimee said...

"Baby Pablo"...so cute!

Anonymous said...

LOL...My kids do that and it always cracks me up

Beth said...

That is too cute! Letting kids entertain themselves is good for them.

Anonymous said...

Hahaha - that's awesome! My kids mostly fight, or else they're kissing and hugging. Or making messes. LOL