I had a game where I challenged myself to ONLY play the child - the only times I controlled their parents was to pay the bills.
I went through toddler, child, and teen life stages like this, where the parents were basically roomies. It was a BLAST! Toddler stage was so difficult, but it was a fun challenge to get all of the child's skills up, while also keeping them happy the whole time (often got hangry). Once I got into the child stage it wasn't as difficult, since i have a kids can cook mod on, but my child also joined scouts, after school things, etc. They seem really rounded out because of the time I gave to them to focus on their interests and their friends! Once a teen they joined a group for karaoke and stayed out late into the night, going to school tired but with finished homework, etc.
I think generally I don't play with kids unless it's a challenge, or a legacy, but I find focusing on only the kid to be what makes it fun!
