It was one of those moments when instead of just reveling in the fact that both my kids were playing happily and hurrying off to get something accomplished, I found myself getting sucked into their play because, well, they were just so damn cute I didn’t want to leave! The best gift you can give your kids is fostering their imaginations and independent play because so often they will surprise you with what they come up with–like setting up a veterinary clinic!
Creating a clinic was no trouble at all–it’s all stuff any parent of preschoolers have on hand: a zillion stuffed animals, a pretend doctor kit, a kid-sized table and chairs, a notepad and markers, a magna doodle for a sign, and a bell to ring for the next patient. Then sit back and watch your kids’ imagination take over!
Giving Biscuit a checkup. Say ahhh, Biscuit!
I loved listening to them interact–Jax acting all official and asking serious doctor questions: What seems to be the problem? Where does it hurt? Hmmm…sounds like you have… And then Em giving her best Mommy replies: He has a tummy ache. His ears hurt. He has a thorn in his paw.
I can tell she wishes the doctor could hurry up his exam!
I’m not quite sure what was wrong with Eeyore, but it doesn’t look good.
Removing a thorn from the giraffe’s paw. Or is it hoof?
With pliers, of course!
Jax cracked me up because he was taking it all so seriously. When his second patient came in with a hurt tail, he said to me, I’ve already fixed a hurt tail. What did I do last time? Good thing I was paying attention! I said he had given his last patient a pat, a rub, and a kiss. Then I wrote it down so he would remember in case yet another case of hurt tail came in later. He said thanks and then asked me to write down how he fixed every patient so he wouldn’t make a mistake. Can you say attention to detail?
Finally he said he needed a jar of treats just like they have at the real vet where we take our dog Baxter, so that he could reward his patients at the end of the visit. I am pretty sure this is why the game lasted so long!
He even let Em have a chance to be the vet for a while. Considering I was just contemplating what the heck to do with all these stuffed animals once the baby comes (totally nesting and wanting to organize/downsize their room), it was nice to see them actually playing with them for a change. And not to mention, playing so well with each other! This was imaginative play at its very best, and a really enjoyable way to spend an afternoon!
