I admit to not being a “loves to play” mom. When one of my children asks me to play a board game (especially one he has created himself) my instinct is to find housework immediately, or if I’m tired, say “Mama needs to use the bathroom” for the next fifteen minutes.
When my daughter asks me to help play Barbies, I might be able to muster ten minutes of acting vaguely enthused about these princess dresses before boredom sets in and my doll starts trash talking the other ladies at the ball and I get ejected from the girls room for bad behavior.
Sometimes I feel guilty that I don’t relish opportunities to fumble with Transformers or allow my Star Wars action figure to be repeatedly beheaded. Occasionally I will go ALL IN and really work at playing with my kids; Rainbow loom assistance! American Girl hair styling! Lego building! Monster truck destruction! Coloring with one marker all over an entire page!
I know the kids need the quality time and one on one attention but holy crap I need a drink and five uninterrupted minutes on Facebook for every fifteen minutes I’m actively playing and using my imagination.
Recently I created a name for this phenomenon (because I can’t get a couple of minutes to Google if a name already exists), Mommy Play Fatigue Syndrome. You might be suffering from MPFS if you find yourself rolling your eyes every time your child asks you to play tea party, or you might suddenly insist you need to check the baby’s diaper when the Duplo blocks come out. MPFS is also closely linked to Read-Aloud Fatigue Syndrome, best known for its dry, scratchy throat, cracked lips, and hunger that comes from sitting and reading ‘Go,Dog, Go!’ 843 times in a row.
Typically relief comes administering a huge dose of ‘Daddy Time’ that includes exhaustive sessions of sword fighting, wrestling and imaginative explosions. But what if ‘Daddy Time’ isn’t cutting it during these long, cold days of winter when everyone is stuck inside with you for hours on end and it’s dark so early and oh my word is it summer break yet?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Then perhaps you need a Catholic Conference 4 Moms. Imagine encouragement from moms like Leila Lawler, Rachel Balducci and Susie Lloyd, and so many more while seated in the comfort of your own home. And best part? Registration is FREE. From Friday March 6 to March 9, you will have access to five to six talks to view at your leisure (or while pretending to play cops and robbers.) After the conference wraps up, you can purchase all the talks, to watch again and again, whenever you need a boost to combat MPFS for only $39.99! That purchase price also includes access to any video presentations, bonus downloads, PDFs, discussion questions, ebooks, and other bonus items that you can use time and again, or share with friends over coffee (or wine). It’s a fact that socializing with friends is a great way to recharge from MPFS. I can’t make any promises, but you might be asking your kids to break out that 300 piece puzzle after a weekend with CC4M!
Remember, only you can fight Mommy Play Fatigue Syndrome. Just say no, to trudging joylessly through motherhood. And…uh…Catholic Conference 4 Moms...does a body good!
So glad you came up with a name for this. Seriously, imaginative play ranks under nailing my eyeballs shut with rusty staples.
Reading books? Sure. Building a tower? Yup. Rolling a ball? I’ll do it. Make me use my brain and create fake voices for plastic figures. Nope.
I definitely get Read Aloud Fatigue Syndrome. Generally it’s from reading to my grandchildren, but lately I got it a bunch while reading Emma to my mother. (She is 95 and has been in a short-term rehab center after pneumonia. Wanna pray for her? Please?)
Are you speaking at this conference? Because that would definitely be a selling point. I’m sure those other people are very nice, though.
btw, how do you pronounce your last name? I always think of it as man-TOE-un. Do I have to redo my inner soundtrack?
You’re so much better than I am. You can last 10 minutes?! Wow. More power to you. God knew what He was doing when He gave me three girls close in age. Fortunately, they largely rely on each other for such entertainment. (And Go, Dog, Go really is painful!)
MPFS seems to be especially intense now that it’s February! I’ve been trying to remedy with frequent doses of “hey, isn’t it fun to go upstairs and play in your room?!?! All of you! Sure, jump on the bed all you want!”
WHAT!!!! is this conference for real? My favorite people!!! (and read the book- The Anthropology of Childhood’ to make you feel even better about Mommy Play fatigue Syndrome….)
YES! This is completely real and legit! I know it can sometimes be hard to tell around here, but this is a real conference and I’m totally excited about it. And it’s free!!! I mean, you can’t go wrong!
So glad that I am not the only mom who has used a diaper change as an excuse to not play Legos…