Imaginatively play is good. Taking over my house? Not so good.

[staceylayne]

So my B is doing more elaborate and creative imaginative play lately, which I LOVE! (He's a very concrete thinker and hasn't always "gotten" the fun in pretending.)

The problem comes when it starts to take over the house. For example, currently our kitchen and living room have been transformed into a zoo inhabited by all the toy animals he could find and a snake made out of lacing beads. They are living in all my baskets and storage containers. He's charged admission, given informative tours and been faithful to feed and care for all the animals.

Adorable. And I'm ready for them to go. :yes So I've told him the zoo will have to shut down by the end of the weekend. He's heartbroken. Wants to move them to his room. Helps the mess, but doesn't help me get my stuff back...and our leftovers have to go somewhere. If he moves them he'll soon lose interest in his game, but will still be extremely resistant to putting everything away.

Anyone else have these issues? How do you handle elaborate play that isn't ever "over" or isn't easy to just pick up and put away in a moment's notice? How long to you let such things linger?

[DancingWithElves]

that is adorable!

i would not suggest a solution for my ds, b/c he would reject it outright :lol i would state the problem and first let him come up with a solution.

"the animals have to move to x&y area. or out of x&y area. if only they had someplace else to go :think I wonder how they move zoo animals, i'm sure you can't just let them walk on their own, they would escape... "

if he didn't play along, i'd just enforce my boundary, but i would sure give him a good chance.

[joysworld]

I have areas that are off limits to begin with. The kitchen, and our bedroom are off limits. They can do that in the living room, but that has to be picked up at the end of the day. If they want to keep it around longer, it must go in their room, the play room, or the learning room. Also, maybe invest in some cheap containers. I collect containers nonstop for this exact reason.

And your ds's play is too adorable. Did you get a pic:)

[staceylayne]

that is adorable!

i would not suggest a solution for my ds, b/c he would reject it outright :lol i would state the problem and first let him come up with a solution.

"the animals have to move to x&y area. or out of x&y area. if only they had someplace else to go :think I wonder how they move zoo animals, i'm sure you can't just let them walk on their own, they would escape... "

if he didn't play along, i'd just enforce my boundary, but i would sure give him a good chance.

But of course! :doh This is why I hang out here...b/c I can't think of these things on my own. (Yet?) FYI, this approach worked swimmingly! Our zookeeper, Mr. Worm, recruited a zoo helper (DH) and successfully relocated all of the animals this afternoon. Thanks! :)

I have areas that are off limits to begin with. The kitchen, and our bedroom are off limits. They can do that in the living room, but that has to be picked up at the end of the day. If they want to keep it around longer, it must go in their room, the play room, or the learning room. Also, maybe invest in some cheap containers. I collect containers nonstop for this exact reason.

And your ds's play is too adorable. Did you get a pic:)

I guess it's about time to decide what our limits are so he can know up front instead of us deciding on a case by case basis. We have other things that linger and he has a hard time putting up (assembled floor puzzles, elaborate race track setups). Predictable boundaries would be helpful.

And I took some pictures. :yes Unfortunatelty, Mr. Worm declined to be photographed today.

[Aerynne]

We have no toys in the kitchen, living room, or master bedroom. Toys can be in the family room or the kids' bedrooms. So the zoo would have to be one of those places.

For the containers, I would either scour yard sales for cheap ones or give him some cardboard boxes. Not sure on the size of the animals but cereal boxes with one big side cut off, graham cracker boxes, shoe boxes, etc, could all work.

[DancingWithElves]

:giggle :hug

[HomeyT]

so sweet. and we are in the same place :)
my dd likes to empty all the nicely organized containers for her toys...and converts them into all sorts of stuff. sigh. at least it's in the toy area, for the most part :)
we also keep a boundary out of the kitchen and my bedroom. seems to work.

[staceylayne]

HomeyT, are your girls' names really Grace and Joy? Those are my girls' middle names! (Dayton Joy is my 2yo and Channing Grace my baby.)

[WingsOfTheMorning]

We have this issue all.the.time. :D The playroom is covered in piles of blankets and animals that are supposed to be WordWorld. The livingroom has a My Little Pony in a basket of shells covered with couch cushions. I don't remember what that was. We often have ponies or dolls hiding in the couch.

We try to keep toys out of my bedroom and off the floor in the kitchen. We don't really do toys in her bedroom, so she usually plays in the livingroom or the playroom. I don't make her pick everything up at the end of the day...we usually move anything that's in our way after she goes to bed. Most of it gets picked up before I vaccuum too. If I need to take back something she's used, I'll do what the other ladies suggested...tell her the problem, give her a couple of my ideas, and see what she comes up with.

Sometimes I wish the couch cushions could just stay on the couch, but I figure I have years of couch-neatness ahead of me. I only have a few years of couch castles. ;)

[Lady Grey]

Ugh. That type of stuff drives me nuts too. I do prohibit toys from the kitchen, but that is taking DS a lot longer to remember than DD did.

[HomeyT]

Our new couch has non removable cushions! I love it.

Yup those are my girls middle names :)