People interacting with you in a "playful" way?

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Do you enjoy it when people you know do this with you? I do NOT mean as in being condescending, doing things for you that you can do yourself, infantilising you, but just interacting with you as if both of you are just young kids having a good time? My therapist and I did that once when we set up her Calico Critters (she uses them for play therapy with her younger clients) in this dollhouse that she has, arranging the furniture, setting the families up in different scenarios, etc. My aunt and I do this with each other sometimes, too.

A lot of the time these days, I feel like it would simply delight the child in me if I had someone to watch cartoons with. someone who would play with my stuffed animals and make them talk, do stuff, etc. I had no desire for this prior to college, which is what makes me think that I actually had an age regression once I got to college and out on my own for all intents and purposes. I think a lot of it is because I no longer live under someone else's roof, I am not being held to some developmental/emotional/psychological stage/standard that I never felt totally comfortable with or capable of, and I'm left to my own devices for the most part. That, and I'm starting to see more folks who sort of have the same interests and childlike tendencies I do and seem to be doing fine. I manage to fulfill all my adult/student obligations expeditiously and on time, sure enough, but I just feel more "freedom" to be as "ageless" as I've always felt.

Anyone else?

I'm afraid I've lost the ability to engage with toys.

However, I still love cartoons and in high school I did have a friend who'd watch them with me on Saturday mornings over breakfast sometimes. Once in awhile I'd stay over on Friday night because we didn't have much time during school when we weren't in any classes together.

Most people I know now have some interest in animation or animated films. I noticed one of the married women on Facebook changed her cover image to something from Disney's Frozen. I think we don't really lose the child in us, we're just insecure about it in our teenage years or have too much else to worry about.

This is a fun question! I remember how resistant I felt to the idea of getting a plushie, even though I liked the idea. For some of us, the way we were brought up, that kind of play is almost taboo.

So I have my plushie on my desk and recently a friend stopped by and asked about it. I was going to just say, Oh it's colorful and I wanted to brighten my desk up. Instead, I decided to tell him everything - I was like well see it's made for an infant so it has all these different textures and makes different noises and when I'm stressed out I like to feel all the different textures against my hand and to squeeze it to make noises. He just looked at me and said, UM OK and ran down the hall. Now was that so bad? What's wrong with feeling textures when you are stressed? Nothing, we just have been trained to think it is. Dory knows!! !

Anyway, people are sometimes playful with me, but not with dolls, more like kidding around. My comfort level depends on if I think they being malicious, which is usually dependent on whether they have been in the past. I like to laugh though and I try to be easy going and to laugh at myself when I can, because I can do some nutty things accidentally sometimes.

Now you have me wishing that somebody would invite me to play with their dollhouse!!

I've noticed that sometimes older men will try to be 'jovial' and make jokes and laugh, and... I'm just confused. I usually don't understand their jokes, and I have no idea if they were mocking me or what? But other people usually tell me they meant well, and they're just trying to 'lighten the mood' or something... Ah well!

I was just playing with my cat - it's funny humans seem to be the only animals (at least domesticated ones that I know of) that get embarrassed about play as they get older. My cat never said, Hey I'm 7 years old, that's a fake mouse you are dangling in front of me, I will have none of it! He always loves the fake mouse!! In fact, if I forget to play with him for a few days, he gets lazy and despondent, I think he suffers mentally without play time. Humans should be like that too! I mean silly fun play, not just competitive stuff.

LtlPinkCoupe, I just know that IRL, you and I would be the very best of friends! I have always wanted a friend who would do childlike things with me, like playing with toys. It's such a shame that that type of thing becomes taboo as we get older.

I had just thought of something earlier today and I thought it would fit in well with this thread. I was actually thinking about how my brother treats me when I am in "child mode". I realized that the big difference between how he treats me and how others have treated me is that others who have not understood how the child mode works with me have treated me like an adult who is behaving or thinking or perceiving like a child. My brother has always treated me in a way that he would treat an actual child of whatever my brain's emotional age level happens to be at the time. This is a HUGE difference and can really mean the difference between whether someone is mean and condescending or whether that person is being understanding and loving and supportive. I notice that in the first I will retreat and pull away, in the second I will thrive and then when my brain goes back to the adult self it does much better. If the first happens I am much more insecure and anxious and find it harder to stay balanced and function well in my adult side.