Experts agree that playing games with your toddler or preschooler can boost their brainpower. But they also agree that you should bend the rules until they're old enough to grasp them. Playing by the rules ‘takes all the fun out of it' for them, the experts say. What about my fun? If I can't win against my preschooler at Texas Hold'em, how will I get my hands on his Halloween candy?
The report makes it seem like the kids were messing around, that they were friends playing a game that got out of hand. Another ooops in the world of boys. Oh well, our kids are out there lighting each other on fire, isn't that nutty? What scares me is the way one of the friends gives a small laugh and smiles as he describes what he saw, that his friend "went crazy" and that his skin was burned to almost charcoal black. That he could witness his friend engulfed in flames and not be too horrified to even talk about it, that frightens me tot he core.
Oh well, it was just an accident, boys will be boys.
We invented a new game called Golfiator, which is kind of like a mix of golf and gladiator (no chariots). Goes like this: we're all in the yard with pitching wedges and whiffle ball golf balls. We try to hit each other, but you have to be a fair target, meaning you have to stand still if there's a ball coming at you. The adults and teens are worth 5 points. Jakey the 5er is worth 10 points, but if you tag him when he's running or in motion, it's an automatic win. Play up to 25 points. Winner gets a 30 second victory dance.
Today, Washington Post columnist Stacey Garfinkle examines a school's recent decision to ban recess games of tag. At first glance it seemed like one of those Safe Child Syndrome issues, but after reading the piece I realized that the school was just trying to figure out a way to get parents involved on the playground. Too little supervision by adults meant games were getting rough enough to result in broken bones.
