When I was a kid, there were two rules on Saturdays: 1) No coming out of my bedroom until 7am. If I woke up earlier than that I had to read or amuse myself quietly in my room. 2) Play outside as much as possible.Now the way it is in my recollection, that second rule was enforced like it was the eleventh commandment: THOU SHALT ENTERTAIN THYSELF OUT OF DOORS ON SATURDAYS. I remember at times being afraid to go inside even to use the bathroom. In part because on at least one occasion I wet my pants when my stepbrother saw me making a last-minute beeline for the garage door and got there first and wouldn't let me through. But the point is that there was no sitting around the tv watching cartoons or playing video games for hours. No, we were out drawing hopscotch grids on the sidewalk, rescuing dead bugs from the blow up pool, playing bank with twigs and pebbles for currency, balancing our butts on skinny banana-shaped skateboards as we rolled down the street, and sometimes when we were feeling really dangerous we'd ride our bikes up onto the neighbors' driveways (which was strictly verboten).
And it seems to me that our toys were pretty low-tech, too. Maybe not as archaic as wooden blocks and dolls made out of old socks, but I think the most animated toy I had when I was real young was a Baby Alive and I'm pretty sure she was powered by gravity rather than batteries (but oh, how tasty was her peach-flavored food packet!).
All that being said, the other day I was inspecting the baby swing my friend Yvette has for her
sweet brand-new baby boy, Jacob--one of those little floor models with the built-in mobile and whatnot. This thing is like a portable laser light show! Flashing colored lights, Electric Light Parade type music stylings, speed settings--you name it, it's got it.So a thought occurred to me: Decline in playing with sticks, increase in toys and baby gadgets that stimulate their little brains like speed, and an epidemic of childhood A.D.D.--coincidence?
But fret not, little Jacob--I promise to buy you nothing but books and puzzles and educational games for the remainder of your life. Along with the occasional bunch of sticks and bag of rocks. It's worth the risk of being branded the auntie who always gives you boring gifts (every kid has to have one of those, after all).
2 comments:
I'm that aunt for "my kids" too, giving them books and educational toys. I don't remember having a rule to play outside all day in my house though...it was more like the rule to stay inside and clean...Yes, child slavery. We were victims. :-)
Ooh, I had those, too--cleaning Saturdays. But they were instituted later on in my childhood. But I remember them with fondness, actually. My mom and I would crank up the oldies station on the radio and sing and dance around all day getting high off the fumes of Windex, Pine Sol, and Pledge.
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