Attn. Mothers of Boys: Help?

[averygoodun42]

How, how do you cope with gun/battle mania? How?

Babe is a good kid, but whenever he senses my energy is low, he follows me around. He entertains himself, since I don't have the energy to entertain him, but with wars.

Pewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpew! go the guns, blasters, phasers, whatnot. Bhush! go the bombs and missiles. Bang go the nuclear bombs. And always, always, there's the narrative about how the rebels are shooting, bombarding, killing the bad guys (or vice versa). How they're winning. And always, always, always, he wants me to listen. To approve.

But I don't.

I hate war games. I didn't mind them as a kid, though I never found them all that interesting, but as an adult and a mother, I hate them.

I tolerate them, to a large degree, out of necessity. He's a boy, boys are wired differently. They go through these phases. But... he follows me around with them! And I just don't have the energy to play with him or fight to get him outside.


So, mothers of boys, how did you survive this? How did they survive? Because asking nicely doesn't stop the onslaught; it just defers it.

Comments

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

He doesn't have toy guns. It's all drawn out. On paper. (Or made with tinker toys.) Just with sound effects. Lots and lots of sound effects.

And honestly, I do not have energy to spare for patience (or sitting upright, for that matter), let alone parenting right now. Tacit approval or not.

My problem is that he doesn't do this when I'm well. He only does this when I am too weak to do anything about it.

[mundungus42.livejournal.com]

Earplugs. Barring that, spanking. Or maybe you can order him to play "vacuum and do the dishes?"

But seriously, feel better soon! *hugs*

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Heh. If only he would play "vacuum and do the dishes"!

Earplugs only makes him louder, unfortunately. Thing is, this is his form of punishing me for not paying attention to him. He knows what bugs me. That plus that damn psychic link that alerts him to possible danger (low energy = abandonment = fear, I'd imagine. For him) which is, I'm sure, why he follows me around. Doesn't want to go away in case I leave.

Or something.

Thank you, though! *hugs back*

[sbrande.livejournal.com]

My boys play those type of games on the computer. I guess it's all part of growing up, but they don't play them in the house and only when they go over to their friends place do they play those types of games in their huge backyard.

So for the most part I ignore it. My boys know that I will not let them join the armed forces, not that I don't approve of them it's just that they are my boys you know??? And thank god they are smart enough that if they do join they can be behind the scenes. Though the Army, Navy and Air Force, don't really hold anything for my boys atm.

Loves you babe, Sonia :)

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

Seeing as Babe is only five, I've barred those types of games from the computer. This is all his imagination.

I usually ignore it, but when I'm ill my patience threshold shrinks to naught, and that corresponds with his ramping up the war because he knows it bugs me, and he wants my attention now, mommy, NOW! Little fucker.

When I'm not ill, I actually enjoy listening to his games, as they shift more toward storytelling rather than battles. Yes, it's still a war zone and there are blasters/light sabers/whatnot, but it's plot driven rather than battle driven.

I hope Babe doesn't join the military (mostly 'cause the military (in this country at least) lies. And cheats), but there's not much I can do if he does decide to join. There are less appealing jobs he's mentioned wanting to be, so at this point I just tell him he can be whatever he wants to be and we'll love him and leave it at that. Besides, I figure that he'll outgrow this battle mania sometime before he turns 18. I hope. ;-)

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

It's not just boys.

Tell him he's welcome to slaughter as many imaginary aliens as he likes - just further away from you.

It won't work, but at least you'll have told him.

Or is your garden fenced in so you can stick him outside to play unsupervised?

[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

No, it isn't, but boys tend to be more geared towards it.

Oh, I do. And when I'm well, he will actually move to a different floor. When I'm ill, he... feels bound, I guess, to look after me, make sure I don't go anywhere. Must suck for him having a sick mom.

Garden is fenced, but not securely so. Also, getting him out of the house, or even just away from me, is a battle in itself that I am not up for when ill.

*shrugs* It's not often nowadays that I reach my sanity limit where he's concerned, but I suppose it's part of the nature of the beast. Or something. ;-)