Fetch, Please

Just wondering, how many of you play fetch with your kids? Yes, I said kids.

I love playing fetch. And I don’t mean “fetch me this, please”. I mean honest-to-goodness fetch with a ball and a child. They love it. We used to have a doggy costume and the kids would dress up in the costume, bring me a ball, and ask me to play fetch.

Fetch is a mother’s dream come true. All you, as the mom, have to do is sit there and throw the ball. When the child brings the ball back, you pat them on the head and say “good puppy”, or “that’s my good puppy”. And the greatest thing about it is that the kid you’re playing fetch with doesn’t mind if you read a book, work on the computer, or even cook while you’re doing it. As long as you remember the ever important “good puppy” step, you’re free to do whatever you need/want to do.

I think I’ve played this game too much, though, because now, my older kids play it with my younger kids.  And instead of the kids asking me to play fetch with them, the older kids will ask the younger kids if they want to play fetch. Everyone’s grown out of the costume now, but they all still bark, pant, and try to lick the thrower while they’re playing. Here’s a video my second grader made playing fetch with my preschooler:

Fetch shouldn’t be the only game played with children. But, it is a great game to throw into the mix when stuff needs to get done, and kids need one-on-one time.

Fetch can also be played with more than one child. Then it morphs into a low to the ground 500 game. We have some rules with this, though.  Number 1 rule: no running. Number 2 rule: no tackling. And Number 3 rule: every other ball throw goes to the youngest child.

Another game I play with my kids, when I have to do other things, is bang the pots. This game is mostly for babies while I’m cooking. I keep all my pots and pans and plastic containers in the lowest cupboards in my kitchen. When I go into cook, and the baby follows me, I have an instant baby sitter right there. I open the cupboards and let the baby get out as many pots and/or plastic containers as she wants. Then I hand her a wooden spoon, and let her have at it. I stop periodically, bang on a pot or two, and then get back to cooking.  The baby loves it, and I don’t have to try to cook and hold the baby at the same time – which is generally not seen as a good thing to do.

So, how about you? Do you have a game that you play with your kids that lets you still get your work done? What is it? How do you play it? Tell me about it.