Childhood is supposed to be a time filled with play, which is all well & good until your kids want YOU to play with them. While there are sweet memories to be made as you play with your kids, it can be CHALLENGING to participate in the games that they create (or alter to their liking).
These hilarious Twitter parents illustrate how playing with your kids is all fun & games… until it isn’t.
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It can be daunting to get kids off the electronics & back into “real” play.
I turned off the TV today and made my kids play board games like it was 1955 and now I know why all of our grandparents were alcoholics
— Ash (an female) ?? (@adult_mom) March 19, 2017
2. Just getting down on their level can be a challenge. Physically.
Can you die from sitting on the floor to play with your kid, because I just tried to get up and it feels like you can die from it.
— HowToBeADad (@HowToBeADad) June 4, 2017
3. What starts as a simple game together seems to drag on FOREVER.
I hate when I play with my kids for six hours, then it turns out it's only been 20 minutes.
— Ramblin Mama (@ramblinma) October 14, 2016
4. Because sometimes, kids’ board games are just BORING.
I'm playing a board game with my son and the only reason I didn't spell that "bored" is because he's watching me type this.
— Dad and Buried (@DadandBuried) August 2, 2017
5. Or violent.
Sure, I could play Monopoly with my kids but it’s much quicker just sitting at the table taking turns hitting each other.
— Lady Lawya (@Parkerlawyer) October 25, 2017
6. It’s all fun & games until you’re the one assigned to clean up…
6: Wanna play school with us?
Me: Sure, I could use a break from cleani-
6: Ok, you be the janitor.
— Lurkin' Mom (@LurkAtHomeMom) May 23, 2016
7. …which is pretty much what real life is like, anyway.
7yo: MOMMA KNOW WHAT WOULD BE A FUN PRETEND GAME IS YOU PRETENDING YOU'RE MY MAID AND CLEANING MY ROOM AND STUFF
Me: So like….life?
— Valerie (@ValeeGrrl) July 23, 2016
8. Even the imaginative games kids create that could be fun have a catch.
4yo: can we play the game where I put blankets on you & you sleep?
Me: oh my god, yes
4yo: then I jump on you when you sleep.
Me: I knew it— Mike Reynolds (@EverydayGirlDad) February 15, 2016
9. Or involve food. Because, SNACKS. It’s always about the snacks.
5-year-old: Can we play the snack game?
Me: How do we play?
5: Give me a snack.
Me: Then what?
5: I win.
— James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@XplodingUnicorn) December 18, 2017
10. Kids come up with their own arbitrary rules for how the game will go.
Let me tell you how you lost this game according to these rules I've just made up.
-Kids when you play board games together.— Mommy Cusses (@mommy_cusses) September 30, 2016
11. You try to teach them the reality of competition…
I like to teach my kids that there are winners and losers in life. So when we play Candyland, I destroy them.
— The Dude With Kids (@Thedudewithkids) July 8, 2017
12. But kids want to win. And will do whatever they can to ensure it.
Five year old philosophy: if you can't win at a game, invent your own where the rules change 17,256 times.
— Danielle Herzog (@martinisandmini) June 27, 2017
13. The rules of their games become a little… subjective.
[8yo makes up a game]
Me: How do you win?
8: It's just for fun. There's no winner or loser. Is that ok?
Me: Sure!Narrator: It was not ok.
— Kate Hall (@KateWhineHall) January 26, 2017
14. Or kids will just… cheat.
Playing Trouble with my 6yo son:
Me: Play for me while I go to the bathroom really quickly.
6yo: OK
6yo: *while I'm still in the bathroom*
I won! I accidentally skipped you.— Molly England (@bluebonetbabies) April 15, 2018
15. But if they still don’t win, then you cheated. Apparently.
When my 7yo and I play a game, for him, there are 3 possible outcomes:
1) He wins
2) We tied
3) Daddy cheated— Robert Knop (@FatherWithTwins) June 23, 2017
16. Sometimes your kid winning is a win for you, too.
Pretty sure my 4yo stacked the Candyland deck since he won in four moves
On the other hand, the game was over quick so, really, we both win
— Top Knot Toni (@topknottoni) September 13, 2017
17. Family play time can often end with a bang (or a table flip. And tears).
Fun fact: The last thing spoken at every family game night is "THIS IS WHY NO ONE WANTS TO PLAY ANYTHING WITH YOU."
— Rodney Lacroix (@moooooog35) May 1, 2016
18. That’s why playing together is best in short spurts. Or no spurts.
5yo: Mommy, can you play Candyland with only 2 people?
Me, tentatively: Yes….
5yo: Okay. We’re not gonna play Candyland, I just wanted to know.I’ve never loved her more.
— SpacedMom (@copymama) May 30, 2018
Playing with your kids is important, but not playing with them can be a win sometimes, too!