DAD-Chronicals : Play like DADDY
rediscover old children's games
How was it back then, when we were little? What did we play with? What did we enjoy most? And is it really played completely different today than it was 30 or 40 years ago? Yes and no. Much has changed, including our own children. But there are things that are just as much fun today as they used to be. Incidentally, not only parents, but also children see this.
The sad image that children often have in mind today when they think about playing is the bleak look on a screen, paired with glassy, empty eyes and a controller in their hands. This is not just the pessimistic fiction of a disillusioned adult, but often bitter truth. But children like to play differently too. They just have to be brought up to the things that make fun even without a screen. Especially small children are extremely resourceful in developing games that are fun. And often these are the ones that already excited us when we were little.
My invisible friend
Some readers may still remember the first telephone conversations he made. Despite minute prices for making calls, they were free even then, because they were guided by a toy telephone. They were sometimes red, sometimes blue, sometimes squeaky green, but in any case reliable when it came to extensive communication with imaginary friends or family members who were not present at the time. There was talk for hours, laughter, messing about, and all that with a plastic phone that did not have much to offer other than a few funny touches.
Today, the phones that our little ones are using are visually quite different. These are little marvels of technology, mobile phones, with which the young man confidently deals. Of course, that does not change anything. Young children still love to make pseudo-phone calls. And if we join in, we are welcome game partners!
Playmobil characters always stay young
In our family they were more popular than any other toys: Playmobil figures. We put them on, gave them beards, hats, clothes, new shoes, and we took them to the bathtub. But Playmobil are not just characters, there are castles, palaces, ships, Indian villages and much more. Even the little ones of today are thrilled with Playmobil and forget everything when playing with it. If it becomes clear from an early age that the offspring might become a small technician, you can also use Lego toys instead of Playmobil. This is usually not so attractive for the "techie", because Lego is a bit more complex. Anyone who loves tinkering as a child, however, is well looked after with Lego. The enthusiasm for these toys has changed (almost) nothing.
The ball is (and remains) round
Some things never change. And that's just as well! Playing with balls used to have an extraordinary fascination. It's the same today. Even the very little ones love to play with balls, to push, to roll, to touch, to throw and kick. The ball is something fascinating without the child being aware of it. He embodies something that has no beginning and no end, something that can be set in motion without much effort and helps to develop your own body and motor skills. For children, however, the aspects do not matter, they have fun on balls and that's all that matters.
Old games, replayed
The games that have inspired us in the past can still do that with the kids today. Not much is needed, as we have seen. Playing together creates a very special closeness and for the child as well as for the adults time flies by. Even in 50 years, ball games will still be popular with children, no matter if they are the Playmobil figures. But even if they eventually disappear from the scene, there will be successors that are similarly constructed and have a similar effect.
Actually, we can not do much wrong when we play the games of yesteryear with our children, in a sense reissuing them. We just have to be careful that we do not unconsciously transfer our own memories via expectations to our children. Not every child likes to play with figures, not every child falls into uncontrolled enthusiasm when they see a ball. But besides the examples given here, there are still many games that we can play with our children. Maybe games that we did not play or even knew before.
Let us use the time left to play with our children. Old games, new games, the main thing, you have fun together. We should also enjoy the toy phone and the imaginary friend as intensively as possible. Because at some point this will be a real cell phone, and then a new era with the offspring has definitely begun.
Other Stories round about the DAD-Chronicals
I like the simplicity of your words on how you recall a more innocent and free time before all the technical madness of IPADs and mobile devices.
I recall my childhood as you with longing those times and played with your children.
Another great post! My favorite toy as a kid was a slinky. I could play with that thing on the stairs for hours. And I miss the days when we could go out on our bikes with friends and play stickball in the street until the lamps came on at night. As soon as those street lamps came on, we all scattered to go home before mom got mad lol. Those were the days, for sure!
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