Bored Games
At this stage in the game, the challenge is to keep your little tots entertained, I mean occupied. During school days, this tends to take care of itself. But holidays are the killer, the casinos are not ready yet and even then, our kids aren't tall enough to reach over the roulette table to place chips.
The kids of the good ol' times were satisfied with running through the fields, chasing grasshoppers, arranging spider fights, swimming in the drains and so on. The current generation of children, not quite sure what they do yet, but it's hard to picture anyone catching worms into jars these days.
So it's extra classes, art, piano, ballet, hours at the indoor playgrounds, cycling at the beach and so on. So far so good. And besides the fatigue factor (for us adults), it has been quite easy.
But Nigel has recently started using the B word. Bored. What happened? You mean that these little people can actually get tired of doing something fun? Did we mistreat them by being too nice? Isn't money and love the root of all happiness? Did Adam and Eve get bored in Eden?
It's the MTV, nay, Youtube generation. And we've all but encouraged it by giving in to their haste. We get bored on their behalf and quickly shuffle them on to their next activity before they are actually done.
What I say, "slow it down", "take it easy" and "let them explore". Also, it doesn't hurt to let some grasshoppers loose within the house once in a while.
The kids of the good ol' times were satisfied with running through the fields, chasing grasshoppers, arranging spider fights, swimming in the drains and so on. The current generation of children, not quite sure what they do yet, but it's hard to picture anyone catching worms into jars these days.
So it's extra classes, art, piano, ballet, hours at the indoor playgrounds, cycling at the beach and so on. So far so good. And besides the fatigue factor (for us adults), it has been quite easy.
But Nigel has recently started using the B word. Bored. What happened? You mean that these little people can actually get tired of doing something fun? Did we mistreat them by being too nice? Isn't money and love the root of all happiness? Did Adam and Eve get bored in Eden?
It's the MTV, nay, Youtube generation. And we've all but encouraged it by giving in to their haste. We get bored on their behalf and quickly shuffle them on to their next activity before they are actually done.
What I say, "slow it down", "take it easy" and "let them explore". Also, it doesn't hurt to let some grasshoppers loose within the house once in a while.