s/o: ways to make your playroom more fun?

[pastrygirl]

My kids don't/won't play with toys, except at preschool or someone else's house. It's driving me crazy! I thought by now, my 4.5-year-old would have become interested in self-play, but NOPE. Once or twice a week, my older son will ask to go to his room so he can play, and he'll stay there for half an hour. Once a week, my 17-month-old will play by himself while I sit near him. Other than that, the baby just wants to climb all over me all day, and my older son wants to watch TV, use the computer, or bug me all day.

If my older son is left to his own devices, he gets into as much trouble as he possibly can in the kitchen. Instead of playing with toys, he wants to play with the rice cooker and other appliances or utensils.

I just want them to play by themselves and not get into trouble!!!! At what age does this happen?? Is there something I can do in the play area to make it more inviting??? It's a horrible mess most days, so I have a feeling I need to get rid of a lot of toys. I've already gotten rid of several bins of toys, but the existing ones seem to multiply!

What about books? My son loves to read, but will only do it if I make him do it. Otherwise, he'd rather be wreaking havoc around the house.

[zoestargrove]

I think a playroom that is cluttered with lots of toys is overwhelming so I would continue to pare down what you have. We rotate our toys. We keep several items out to play with...the more open ended toys like blocks and playmobil figures that get played with daily, but everything else is put away. (legos, rokenbok, train tracks, playfood, dress up are all in our basement in bins. The kids can pull them out and bring them up stairs to play with, but these toys generally get played with a day or 2 and then forgotten until the next time.

games, puzzles, etc are in a closet.

We go to the library frequently and I enjoy finding books (from recommendations online) and at amazon and then ordering through interlibrary loan. I keep a basket in our living room just for library books. It is changed out every few weeks and there is always something new for them to look through and read. I like to pick out a variety of books, biographies, easy readers, chapter books, picture books, how to books, comic books, etc..

I think the trick here is to set it up for them. My hope is that eventually, they won't need me to do this- that they will come up with ideas on their own

For example, put out watercolor paints, paper, brushes at the kitchen table for them to stumble upon. (you can do this with any kind of craft.) You can suggest that you have an art show after dinner...so whatever they make will get hung up and displayed.

If they are into puzzles, I would start one and leave it for them to find.
One time I made little miniature books with paper and a stapler (the size a playmobil figure might use.) I made a sign that read library...and then suggested they build a library with their blocks. They played for hours...making more books, setting up the scene, etc...and ended with a parade of dinosaurs coming to destroy the library.

I'll bring out chalk boards/white boards and suggest they get their playfood and a calculator and build a store

Inititally, you might need to not only take the lead, but also be there to guide them along, but generally I find with a good idea and a little help with getting started and they take it from there.

hope that helps.

[kijip]

What we parents call wreaking havoc is what kids call play. I have yet to meet a child who was really mostly into playing all by themselves alone in a room (playroom or not) vs. being with mom or dad or other kids or childcare person. Even my older son, as self entertaining as they come, often wants to do those self entertaining things in proximity to mom and dad. The only people I know who get hours of daily use out of their playrooms are the ones who mostly stay in the playrooms with their kids when they are playing. And my brother, where they have a huge room and 1/2 is the playroom and 1/2 is the family room with the entertainment center and laptops. He is a SAHD and spends most of his time in this room, with or without his laptop. They have a cutout in the wall between the kitchen and this huge play/family room. But if he goes upstairs, the girls tend to follow him rather than staying in the playroom. And even if he goes to the kitchen, they often follow.

I would pare down a bit like the pp and add something to the playroom that other family members can do- like a laptop or music. Also comfortable seating for mom and dad.

[TwinFoxes]

My DDs like their playroom, and will play by themselves in there. But there are two of them, so they are never alone. 30 minutes is about all they'll spend in there before they call for me. That's a long time to a kid, I think. It probably depends on the kid, some are probably more into playing alone than others.

One thing I do, is move their playroom gear around. I'll move their kitchen to another wall etc. It makes everything seems new to them. They also seem to like it better now that we've got their toys organized in the Expedit.

[pastrygirl]

We actually don't have a separate playroom; their stuff is in our family room. They don't "let" me be on the laptop, even in the room with them. If I get on my laptop when my youngest is napping, then my older son wants to be on the other computer. He doesn't want to just play.

I'll have to work on organizing the toys. Right now, the bins I have in the basement are a mish-mosh of outgrown toys and stuff that is age-appropriate but ignored. I think rotation and "new" toys will be the key with these guys!

I also looked at Ikea and other sites today trying to see if there's some way we can create a cozy playspace in our family room that makes it feel more theirs.

I love the library book basket idea! Toby's been asking to borrow books from the library, but we have yet to do it.

[SkyrMommy]

Rotating toys is fantastic... I think DD believes some of her toys are 'new' when she just simply hasn't seen them in a long while.

What about framing off an area of the wall with simple molding and painting the center with chalkboard paint? A basket below with chalks to create.

And for reading, maybe make a reading nook - simple foam with patterned polar fleece covers in a funky 'pile' with toss pillows to curl up in a spot.

My DD likes hiding in small little spots in her room with a pile of animals and toys and talks to them... not for long right now, but it's still a bit of play time on her own. And she has an art table with crayons and scrap paper to doodle on when she wants too.

[pastrygirl]

And she has an art table with crayons and scrap paper to doodle on when she wants too.I can't imagine doing this...my son would draw all over EVERYTHING. My younger son would eat the crayons/markers/pencils, LOL! There's no way I can keep anything art-related out all the time. As it is, I have to keep it in the locked basement. How do you moms do it?

My husband says we can't really do anything, because all my ideas involved things that the kids would climb. He's right -- they are both crazy climbers! My older son has a great bedroom. He has a PBK anywhere chair right next to a big bin with his books. He has a Nilo play table with a garage and some trains. He couldn't care less about the tracks, so I moved those to the basement a few months ago. What does he do in his room? He tries to open the blinds, reach stuff on the top shelf in his closet (storage stuff), and puts stickers on the door (a no-no).

I'd love to get a really huge decal thing for his wall, but I bet he'd ruin it. He'd move the pieces and eventually decide that he's allowed to put stickers all over the wall.

[Pennylane]

My DC love to play by themselves and spend so much time in our playroom! We have everything pretty organized....An art center with table, crayons, paper, workbooks, etc. A kitchen area, lego area, doll area with barbie and polly pockets, dress up cabinet.

They are older though, 5 and 9, but have always been good at imaginative play.

Ann

[newg]

I haven't read the other posts, but here are some things I plan on doing when we get a play room (that I've seen in my friend's play rooms):

A wall (or at least a section of wall) that is turned into a magnetic chalk board.....with the paints you can buy at lowes to DIY.
I plan on making a felt board too (maybe with plywood or super thick cardboard) and putting a frame around it.
A reading corner with lots of pillows, blankets, bean bags,..........
A tent and tunnel

I know that while teaching 1st grade, centers always worked well for encouraging independent play.....and each week I changed what was at the center, so there was always something fresh and new to keep them on their toes!

[Seitvonzu]

as anyone of my friends who comes over for playdates can tell you-- i operate best on "themes"-- with this in mind-- i do like some of the previous posters and set up toy "stations" for my daughter (and her friends when they come over)... i also tend to rotate -- esp. what's in our living room. i host a playdate approx. once a month , which is a GREAT excuse to rotate those toys. last playdate we hosted a fairy birthday party-- so fairy/princess was the theme-- i put out a variety of blocks to build fairy houses (with some fairy figures and animals for inspiration). there were silks to dress up with and each girl got wings & a wand when they came in... lucy's book area was set up with fairy/fairytale books forward facing that kids could browse on their own (our little friends are all huge readers!) on the coffee table i had a princess puzzle, a frog prince puzzle, a butterfly maze game where you move beads with a wand, and a princess/fairy m&d coloring book with a telescoping set of 150 crayons (brand new! from the bargain staples thread)-- all in different spots so several children could work at once if necessary. we also have a play market that has been in the living room for a while since it gets nearly constant play several times a day and is HUGELY popular at playdates.

same playdate, while the kids waited for lunch they had placemats from the target dollar spot that came with a wipeable crayon... i added some bath crayons for color (dh won't allow those in the bath anymore) and the kids happily sat coloring during both their snack and lunch. i had some fairy foamies in reserve too in case everyone got crazy-- but with so many toy choices, the kids did fine without the extra "projects." my food was in theme too-- chicken wands with dipping sauce, "fairy" berries, birds nest salads, etc. not every playdate is that elaborate (of course not!) but i do tend to set out toys with a certain idea in mind...

this coming month i'm using an idea from family fun magazine-- personalized money and creating a bunch with lu and her friends picture (and our family,friends, etc.) one of lucy's favorite books is "little cat baby" which is all about these people who buy a cat baby at a baby shop. lu & i are going to turn her market into a baby shop (simply buy removing the food stuff that is in there now and gathering her baby dolls & their accessories and making a sign) and surprise her friends with the personalized money. the play money without faces is a big hit every time they come, so i'm sure it will be even better with faces! :)

our kitchen set in the kitchen is also hugely popular. while lucy LOVES to be cooking me me (and i let her pretty much whenever she wants), she still plays daily with her own kitchen. a few days ago she went and got a cookbook chose a "recipe" and made it without my intervention... she was so engrossed i was able to get the camera out and videotape the whole thing -- adorable!

this said (you can probably tell by now)-- toys are everywhere in our home, not just in the "playroom" -- every since lu was little i've liked to have something for her to do wherever i want to be in the house. we have a townhouse with a finished basement and we've pretty much used all levels of our house everyday since she was very small (depending on how much we are home each day). our basement is also toy filled. we spend mornings there until we get out of our pjs :) it's also the only place we have a tv and mommy uses the computer down here!

we DO have a playroom--it has an expedit (4x2 placed on it's side so lucy can reach everything) stuffed with toys, a child sized chair under a see through canopy (cozy reading spot), 2 dress up areas (clothes, shoes, tons of hats, capes, wings, masks, etc--one are is between the expedit & the chair & one area is behind the door --hanging rack), there is a small bookshelf with a mix of toys and books in front of the window, and an IKEA lack coffee table is in the middle with lucy's calico crittters doll house on it (underneath on the coffee table shelf we store more toys). there is also a work bench toy that never gets used and i really should get rid of. on top of the expedit are TONS of stuffed animals/folkmanis puppets-- i'm not a huge fan but my husband is GREAT with stuffed animal play and keeps them from just being dust collectors!

i also try to put something seasonal up in the playroom-- snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, window clings with hearts, decorated the dollhouse for christmas. can't wait to come up with something for spring soon!

sorry to go on and on.... i think like other people said- it's natural for kids to want to be where you are-- so i went with this and organized play zones around our house. i do notice that if i don't change things up from time to time, stuff gets ignored or forgotten. just typing this out made me think about how the playroom might need some reworking in the next couple weeks.

i do tend to trust my child with things like art supplies (we leave crayons out, and have a chalkboard wall in the basement and it never even occured to me to worry about leaving the chalk out) when lu paints it's either while i'm cooking or i do it with her... markers are the same.

good luck-- if my baby didn't play by herself from time to time, i'd go crazy. we DEFINITELY are a twosome that requires time in "our corners" to make it through the day!

[pastrygirl]

Thanks everyone! Project ROTATE TOYS has begun! I went through all our books yesterday (in each room) and the toys in the family room. I still need to go through the toys in T's room and the ones that are in bins in the basement. My husband told me to go ahead and buy more bins so that we can have toy categories grouped together.

This was actually a great solution to something else that's been bugging me. I'd LOVE for them to have more stuff for the play kitchen, but the though of adding something with so many parts has been daunting. But now I see that I can have a "kitchen" bin that I bring out and put away. :)

I can also occasionally bring back the really cute race tracks that were ignored among the huge piles of toys.

I really want to figure something out about art supplies. My youngest LOVES to draw, so I want to encourage it since my older son gets bored drawing. I just saw the Mommies With Style post from yesterday with those stick-on chalkboard things. Really, would it be so bad if he drew on other things with chalk? Eventually he'd stop doing that, right? I'm going to start another post about art supplies with little kids.