Aaron Brinker discovers there are plenty of ways to be a child with his child. And, boy, does it make him feel young again.
Growing up is never fun. Once a person is an adult, it means having responsibilities. It means we pays bills, prepare meals and clean house. It even becomes more complicated once someone has a child. As a father, I am no longer just responsible for myself. I now have someone else dependent on me to help guide them and make decisions.
The questions become:
Am I now a grown up?
Have I become my parent?
Can I still have fun?
In my opinion, the answer to all of those questions is yes and no. I think there is a time and a place that I need to become a grown up. I also think that I never should forget myinner child. Just because I am a man, father and a parent does not mean I should stop having child-like fun.
Every parent should remember that their children will grow up and leave home (at least that is the goal). We need to have the ability to have fun with life. Life can not always be taken seriously. Taking life to seriously can lead to health complications and mental stress.
One of the responsibilities of being a parent is to teach children to have fun. One of the greatest gifts we can teach a child is the ability to enjoy life. When we teach a child to have fun we are teaching them to love themselves and others around them.
5 Ways To Be A Child With Your Child
1. Sing – Many people sing in the shower or in the car. Silly as it may sound pretend life is a musical and watch your child’s eyes glow with surprise and happiness. Get creative and make up songs about things around you.
2. Break some rules – Life is full of rules and regulations. Occasionally, it is okay to break a rule to have fun. Try having dessert before dinner, running in the house or a burping contest (a person actually will not die from trying any of them).
3. Outdoors – Lay outside in the grass and look up at the clouds. Try to imagine different objects out of each cloud and make up a story to go along with it.
4. Games – One of the fun things about being a child is playing games. If an adult wants to remember what it is like being a child, make up a game and change the rules as you are playing it. It is even acceptable to use the phrase, “I win!” when you are playing the game with your child.
5. Forts – Make a fort out of blankets and chairs (or boxes if you have them). Have lunch with your child in the fort or built two forts and have a battle together.
♦◊♦
I know that I am an adult and a parent. However, I want my son to know that I can have fun as well as make responsible decisions in life. Life is serious enough without me adding to it. I think as long as I am willing to get down in the floor and built castles out of blocks I do not have to grow up entirely.
The old saying goes the main difference between a man and a boy is the price of their toys. If a person has children, I am not so sure that is so true anymore. If we walk down any toy aisle and start looking at the prices of toys, we soon realize they are expensive. In fact, I love walking down the toy aisles as a father to see all the new toys that my son might need. Who knows, maybe next week I will think about growing up a little more (but I doubt it).
Being a grown up is hard. What do you do to have child-like fun? Do you encourage your children to have fun? Do you have fun with your children or do you encourage them to have fun without you? Tell me more in the comments!
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Originally published on DadBlunders.com
To keep in touch, they pass the magical pants to each other as well as the adventures they are going through while apart.
Clause) have also returned for this film but missing from the cast is David Krumholtz (CBS’s Numb3rs) as Santa’s right hand elf, Bernard.
It is love that drives these strange creatures and makes them so endearing, and
it is their willingness to sacrifice that makes them so
admirable.
Don’t forget
6. Do Nothing.
Grown-ups have a terrible habit of always doing something, always having a plan and a goal, something that must be done. Sometimes letting go of all that is just what the doctor ordered. Just be there, just be together and let time float with no particular goal or order is good for you, and for your kid.
Aaron, My father, being my primary caretaker was also my best pal. We played tons of games. He had been in the Air Force before he mustered out and married my mom and went to college and had me. He still had all of his pilot stuff, headsets, and all of that from his B-29s. We played “airplane.” A lot. He would lay on his back and I was the pilot. He would balance me on his feet and I would wear the headset and make up all these scenarios of “pilot to tower, we’re gonna crash, we’re going down… Read more »
Thanks!
Amberr,
Thank you so much! I agree with you “not to lose perspective.” It is so easy as an adult to get caught in the trap of fast paced world and not slow down at all. It is much better for us to take our time and live in the moment. Children are wonderful teachers if we take the time to listen to them….
Aaron Brinker aka DadBlunders
Being an adult does suck, so I think it’s important not to lose perspective and to always embrace your inner child. That’s what keeps us young at heart. Nicely done, Aaron 🙂
Let’s be honest: being an adult sucks most of the time. I love taking time to play with my niece – drawing pictures, blowing bubbles, going outside to play tag or hopscotch, playing endless rounds of Candy Land (and yes, changing the rules once in a while), singing silly songs – kids still love all these low-tech, old-school things, even in our hyper-digital world. The other thing I notice about little kids is their amazing ability to stay present and be in the moment. I remember watching my niece discover a dandelion for the first time the summer she turned… Read more »
Thank you.
My son has taught me more about life in his short 4 years than I have learned in my 43 years. Children have a huge capacity to see the world with simplicity. They do not try to make things complicated or overly hard. They know how to enjoy life and live each moment to the fullest.
Aaron Brinker aka DadBlunders
You really think so? I don’t think being an adult suck at all. There’s so much I can do that’s great fun that I never could have done as a kid. But if one make the mistake of equating being an adult with being dull and stuck-up, then I’m sure it sucks. So let’s not do that.
This is a really awesome compliment to what I wrote this morning! Awesome, Aaron!
Joanna,
Thank you! I try to have fun as a father and want my son to remember the fun things we do to together and not just me having to be a parent (all the time). Life is to short not to have any fun and always be serious!
Aaron Brinker aka DadBlunders