Cardboard

The old parenting joke about kids and Christmas is that when you have a baby, 3-12 months or so, they really only like the wrapping paper and boxes, the toys are just mildly interesting.

I think it is odd how we forget certain things about raising children as our kids get older.  I sometimes go days or even a week without sitting down to read to my kids, but never did that when Drew was younger.  I turn to the TV more and encourage creative play less, though I am confident that this has more to do with my energy level reducing as I have more kids and I need a break.  I even just want to do nothing outside and hope that my kids will entertain themselves outside and not make me "work" with them.  By no means is this common, going back to an old post the 80/20 rule I think mostly applies, but parenting has a funny way of breaking you down one minute, and building you up the next.

My wife in one of her many moments of brilliance took the kids outside on a gorgeous day, the result was an imaginative play jackpot.  A cardboard box, duct tape and a pair of scissors and Drew became a knight, the real funny part is that Sean wasn't really interested in his own sword and shield.

Drew is four and his propensity towards the imaginative is life giving to me.  Both he and his brother regularly make up stories and pretend play, dress up, run after made up bad guys, and are capable of playing in a world that is as fantastic as they wish.  I like to think there was a time I did just that, and if my memory of childhood serves I did have some epic Lego and army men battles.  As a parent I like to join them in that world, and regularly make believe with them I am a giant, or a super hero, or even just the "police man" and they pretend to be the super heroes bringing me the bad guys.

Lately though I've been back to work, and working a lot, and my desire to do anything is short lived as I am off to work (night shift) and when I get home I sleep till mid afternoon.  But I managed hit the jackpot, again, outside with my son the other day.  Drew asked for some armor and a helmet to compliment his sword and shield he made.  He grabbed a box and the tape, and I managed to find some scissors, 20 minutes later we were able to sit down and make his helmet and armor to go with his sword and shield.  He was so proud of his new found armor, and I was as proud as ever since I have a boy who will dive head first into his imagination to entertain himself.

My Knight.

As a parent in a consumerist society it is too easy at times to fool yourself into thinking that children have changed.  When more than likely it is not the kids who changed at all, but rather us.  We can't imagine a time without certain things, but our children are only exposed to things, early on, that we expose them to. Even as they grow we are still the major gate keeper to much of their influences.  While now you can purchase compressed foam Nerf shields and swords, I don't think Drew would have had more fun than we did the other afternoon.  If anything he would have used far less of his brain in that play time; and I wouldn't have that moment with Drew.  It sort of goes back to my thoughts I have had over and over that my kids don't care about many "things" deep down, but more likely they want time and interaction with me and my wife instead. Unfortunately I manage to get sucked into the "thing" parenting instead of the "time" parenting.  I fall into trying to give items to my kids, and they would have been just as happy with a cardboard cutout and a half hour with me.