My kids and I have been playing board games in the evenings instead of watching TV or playing on the computer.
On Monday, we enjoyed a game of Battleship. Last night we started a Monopoly game (it’s on hold until tomorrow).
After a few times around the board, my daughter whined about not having as many properties. I pointed out she had her favorite, Boardwalk.
“Who knows, you may land on it.”
I must have rolled my eyes because she then replied: “You think I’m sensitive?”
“What do you think sensitive means?”
“That I’m a big cry baby!” (Whiny tone included.)
I almost burst into laughter. She knew it, too.
“Mom!” (Again, whiny.)
She complained that I hurt her feelings. I explained that she’s cute and that she makes me happy.
My son just rolled his eyes. "Can we hurry and get back to the game!"
Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.
Don't you love how sensitive
Don't you love how sensitive kids can assign their own meanings to your words? My son is a pro at turning something like "Turn off that video game and do your homework" into "You can never play video games for the rest of your life!"
Susan & Neil Hampton have three spectacular children, Alexander, Isabel and David, plus one amazing teenager, Eric. Susan does community outreach for arizonamoms.com.
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” - Margaret Atwood
It sounds like you need to
It sounds like you need to keep playing board games! I think kids learn some good lessons from playing board games, like how to take turns and that you don't always win. Keep playing, and she'll see that it can be fun, win or lose. In our house, there's a no whining rule when we play games or cards. Not only does it make for a more pleasant time for me but I'm also assuring that he's not a whiner when he's playing with his friends.
Karina Bland is raising her 9-year-old son in Tempe with a lot of love, humor and support from her friends and family. A longtime journalist covering child welfare and education issues for The Arizona Republic, she blogs about raising good kids.