|
|
|
Kids Love the Simple Things |
|
The simple things are what kids love. Love, shelter, food, and a chance to express their creativity are simply what kids need. Their favorite dinners are the ones where I have not had time to cook. We eat peeled apples and cheese and buttered toast while waiting for a can of vegetable soup to heat. They love it. On the nights when I have made the time to cook a beautiful hot meal featuring the four food groups, one child says “yuck, I’m not eating this,” and the other child throws his food onto the floor with a flourish as if to say, “yuck, I’m not eating this.”
Planned outings are another lesson, which I am slow to learn. Well-orchestrated trips (you know, the ones where you’ve packed everything for every imaginable contingency from snakebites to snicksnacks) to the zoo or to the river resort are hardly ever as appreciated by my little ones as much as they appreciate the hose.
Yes, my kids love the garden hose. A trickle of water from the garden hose entertains them for hours and I don’t have to pack snacks or drinks. They drink the water then splash through the puddles to the patio table for cookies, store-bought cookies, of course. They hate the homemade ones, except for a few bites of the raw dough.
Toys are yet another thing that has puzzled me. Since first pregnant 9 years ago, I have diligently researched the latest developmentally correct playthings and agonized over each purchase. Do I really have to buy an ugly-as-sin, expensive, black and white and red mobile for my babies’ eye coordination and development, or will the adult-eye pleasing teddy bear one be okay?
Will a Barbie traumatize my daughter and reduce her to a weight-obsessed clotheshorse? Should I try not to let my son play with cars and trucks all day and try instead to nurture his sensitive side with dolls?
I am happy to report that both of my children have excellent vision after staring at teddy bears for the first five months of their lives. My daughter has used her Barbies to reenact events from the Crucifixion of Christ to the latest episode of Arthur. The dolls have been doctors and lawyers and martyrs. They have been moms and dads and kids, no matter their given plastic gender.
My daughter wants to be a doctor and own a horse ranch when she grows up. And as for my son…whether the plaything was intended to be a motorized vehicle or not, it has been vrrrroomed through the house. He wants to be a firefighter rescue hero, Army man, and a daddy when he grows up.
I do believe it is time for me to stop worrying about what toys to buy…. I see they have forgotten the plastic food in their play kitchen and have set up shop with a variety of egg cartons and macaroni and cheese boxes. The box that held the fire truck is the fire station. Barbie and Ken do not drive their pink plastic car anymore; they are seated for a cruise in an upside down stepstool.
After watching them play, I don’t worry anymore about whether my daughter will be stigmatized by her Barbie years or whether my son will be an insensitive macho man because his favorite toys are guns and plastic green Army guys. I have witnessed the kids’ affection for each other and for their animals, both the stuffed and alive variety.
Our daughter and son know that their mom, their dad, an extended family, friends, and a church community love them with their best interests at heart. The simple things are what kids love. Love, shelter, food, and a chance to express their creativity are simply what kids need.
About the Author
Sharina Smith is a Missouri-based writer, wife, mother, and singer who is on staff in her church's worship and music ministry. If you need encouragement for the journey, email Sharina for more information about her consulting services. |
||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||