A user on Reddit posted a confession that they hate having to engage in “pretend play” with their child—and they were riddled with guilt over this. Guilt over a thing we all hate, because most parents are just too nice to admit how much it sucks. But I’m not that nice, so I said it then, and I’ll say it again now:
What are you even talking about, u/avlynn91? Of course you hate it. We all hate it. Of course it’s the longest 15 minutes of your day; 15 minutes of pretend play actually takes three hours to complete—just ask physics. There are so many things you could legitimately be feeling guilty for; why are you wasting precious guilt on this?
(I know there are, like, three of you out there who enjoy pretend play, but you are the exception, not the rule.) As an alternative, have your kid make a movie on your phone, and they get to direct your actions.
Next, let’s ditch all that consistency we’ve tried so hard to achieve.
