Playing with my son can be tricky at times. He loves interaction but he also loves to direct. He loves to tell me how to play. When to play. Where to play. How many toys to play with. He loves to correct me when I play. Clearly I’m not playing right.

“No daddy do it like this”

Have you ever played with Play-doh and not actually have any Play-doh to play with? Have you ever played with toy food and have a toy food chef tell you how to cook the food properly?

I can’t mask this as assertiveness. He likes to be in control and I can only imagine his friends at school if they operate the same way! A bunch of three year olds giving directions to each other. Trumps trying to out Trump each other?!?!

No lawyers needed.

We work on sharing, taking turns, respectful interaction. It’s draining. I never thought I’d tell my son that I don’t want to play with him because he won’t let me play freely. It’s the height of…

What am I doing and why am I doing it?

More importantly.

Why am I doing this with you?

This weekend Mom is going out of town for work so it’s just the boys. The next 48 hours will be the clash of the peacocks battling for free play leverage.

Find this in the DadsManual, Chapter 2009: Can’t We All Just Play Along?