The Games You Play

One of the things I love about being a parent is the excuse it gives me to play: to indulge in silly activities, speak in ridiculous voices, make dumb jokes, and, more generally, inject a little bit of absurdity into what otherwise might be a boring or mundane activity.

To be clear, my kids don’t always appreciate this. But they like playing too. Not so much traditional games, but creative activities that they come up with of their own accord, and for which they devise a set of rules and even draw or build playing pieces. (The other day I found them bowling down points-marked milk bottles with a pile of chestnuts).

I't’s a sad side effect of growing up that our sense of play tends to become compartmentalized and funnelled into more traditional “fun” activities, as opposed to being woven pervasively throughout our daily lives. So while they’re still young, and uninhibitedly silly, take note of the kinds of games they play. Maybe these games are actual - board, card, video - games. Or maybe your kid made a game up themself. Or maybe the fun is just a repeated pattern of behavior, or a running verbal joke, or a favorite gag, that they never seem to tire of, and which you never let on that you have.