Friday, January 26, 2007

Ice Skating Follies



Have you ever gone ice skating first thing in the morning?
After you've provided your dear tummy with a warm and frothy sweet cup of hazelnut cream.


Have you ever spent the morning ice skating with your 5, 2, and 6month old?

Sliding...
Gliding...
Tripping...
Falling....
Arms attempting to balance out the wobbly legs...
Many Many belly laughs

Have you ever gone ballroom dancing mid afternoon with your little family?

Or maybe after supper?

Have you ever gone exploring deep into the darkest forest? You as the leader and your little ones lined up like a freight train ready to take on whatever they uncover?


Further and further into the forest...
Spooky sounds...
twigs cracking under your feet...

Finding a cave, and taking your young ones in with you.
A cave filled with scorpions and pythons and other mysterious wonders.

Sure, call me a BAD MOM!! I've done all those things with my children. As a matter of fact I managed to accomplish all of the above yesterday.
Even though you may disagree with what seems to be my parental tactics, my sons loved every last bit of their adventures. Every adventure we embarked on was truly a mixture of giggles, suspense and new respect for the world around them.

Hardwood floors make for a fantastic man made ICE RINK.

Pulling out your over sized area rug serves as the BALLROOM DANCE FLOOR.

A darkened room can evolve into the deepest darkest forest around.

Mix that with the exploration under a bed and you have the MOST SCARIEST Ooeey Gooey CAVE.


Creativity.
Imagination

Sure, I COULD pay for all those things. Camps, classes and the what not. And we do provide our sons with that opportunity. But why not teach your little ones the art of turning their bunk beds into a classical homemade boat?

With Technology all the rage is seems as if children are stunting their own precious commodities-their minds.

Who needs to go ice skating across your kitchen floor in your socks, when you can BUY CARPET SKATES!?

Who needs to go dancing on a blanket when you have DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION?


Granted these toys are fabulous ideas. They really engage the child, especially the DDR. But you can engage them too. You can teach them dance steps. You can turn on the radio and swish and sway with the best of them.

The problem? People are PAYING for creativity.

So, turn off your TV and anything else that needs "plugging into." Allow your child's mind to explore. Sure, you DO need to guide their precious minds, but, allow them to soar!!!

As for us? Turn off your crackberrys. Turn off your TV and avoid reading sports highlights on the internet when your children are present. Allow your home to evolve into this enchanting wonderland. Show your children that even adults can be imaginative and creative.

After all, it's only a matter of time before it's just you and your spouse. You'll have all the time in the world to keep up on current events, sportscasting, and your #1 TV shows. But you won't be able to raise your children again. Once that time is up, it's up.

SO SOAR WITH YOUR CHILDREN!

GIVE them the necessary tools that are beginning to diminish in our world today.

Welcome To Crusty Beef.

I know it's not easy being a parent. I'll admit at times it gets dull and extremely repetitive. But our children are only children once. Take the opportunity and run with it.





2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those of us who are older can remember almost all of Eliz's feelings but no one until now has put them in words as well as she has. Wow!

UD

austere said...

We used to have clubhouses and fistcuffs and how I remember that.