Hi all. Holiday shopping season is pretty much here and I am facing the same dilemma I face every year. First off DS 6 already has pretty much everything he wants. He even says he doesn't want anything because he has enough stuff. But I feel like he's missing out if we don't have this fun holiday with actual gifts to open. So I am buying a lot of books, some puzzles, and a few board games. But I feel like something is missing...
Toys! Is it just my kid, gifted kids in general, something to do with him being 2E, an only child thing? He has toys around the house, he just doesn't play with them anymore. We have a ton of Lego, K'nex, Keva planks, marble runs/roller coasters, train set, etc. but he doesn't really play with that stuff at all anymore. Sometime the planks or the K'nex, but rarely. He is of course more likely to play with them if I play with him, but he'd rather read with me or play a videogame or board game. Not that I have a problem with that, just that I feel guilty not providing him with whatever it is most 6 year olds like to play with. Maybe I just don't know what is fun for a 6 year old? Maybe our stuff is too educational and not just for fun enough?
I can't get the kid to go outside to play either. I have to give him rewards for spending half an hour outdoors, even if the only thing he does out there is sit and do a logic puzzle or maze globe or even read a book! He says he's getting vitamin D even if he is just sitting and there isn't anything fun to do outside anyway. Maybe what I should get him is a sibling! But I feel like I played outside by myself a lot as a child. I did grow up on a farm full of animals though, so probably not equivalent circumstances at all. I also feel like maybe he is into the things that I do with him and I just am not that into toys and kid things (or the outdoors).
So, am I doing something wrong? Is this a typical thing with gifted kids? Is he missing out on something or am I just expecting something that I should give up on? And most importantly, what is the mythical toy that will solve all of our problems? Something fun with nothing intellectual about it at all that will make my kid act like a kid!
