My kids drive me crazy for so many reasons, but one of my major beefs is how they’ll fight me about going outside and then become horribly devastated when it’s time to come in.
Yesterday, we walked (the kids rode their bikes) to the field by our house. It’s not far, but because we live in 2012, not 1979, the kids don’t get to go there alone. And honestly, that bums me out because it’s the perfect playground — full of sticks, dirt, and giant bushes.
This is ONE bush — perfect place for a hideout.
Someone has even built a tree house out there with a tire swing. We’ve never seen any evidence of it being used, so I don’t know how old it is. I’m not sure why, but to me, it has “built by a grandpa” written all over it.
Somebody put a lot of work into this place. It could even hold Jasper and me.
They even painted the tire.
The funny thing was, the treehouse turned out to be only temporarily entertaining. Elfie ended up making a giant tic-tac-toe game and beating her dad.
The first game was actually a tie.
Newt found an old tire and pushed it up the hill about five times so he could try to roll it down at everybody.
We told him this was how the MMA guys worked out.
And of course Jasper was in dog heaven.
Jasper never runs away. He probably figures, “Where the hell else would I go?”
This is the stuff that I did all the time as a kid. Sure, some of it was in the confines of my yard, but we also had open spaces where we played baseball and made forts and dug in the dirt. But the world has changed. We could also play games like hide and seek all over our street without our neighbors getting pissed off because we touched one of their cars or hid in their entryway.
I’d like to get the kids out there some more, but also I wish I felt good enough about letting them go by themselves. Being on an adventure without your parents changes everything about the way you play. You’re forced to grow up a little.
And when you’re little, that always means a lot.
Tammy Soong is a writer, wife, and mom from Reno, Nevada. She takes an absurd amount of pain medication, but not enough to have actually named her children "Newt" and "Elfie." She spends most days stressing out over clutter, writing stuff for this place, and working on podcasts with her gal pals, the Blogging Betties.
man, we had this pond,literally, up the street. Severin’s pond. We had SO much fun there. So many stories! Truth or Dare games, first kisses, mud pies, trying to catch little fish, horseback riding. It was great. And as a grown up parent, I totally hear you. Suggestions? Get them phones. Also, go with…but bring a chair and hang out on the outskirts. Every once in a while do the Marco…Polo deal to make sure they are withing hearing.
Good thinking with the chair thing. I could easily go sit out there and be far enough away to be “not there.”
I loved this. So perfectly stated and painted. I’m glad they have this to play in. They’re lucky!
I know. There are so few untouched places left. The fields near our last two houses got eaten by developers.
You should check out the blog “Free Range Kids.” It’s got a lot of information about loosening the reigns on your kids, and advice for when you feel uncomfortable about letting them go off on their own.
This looks like a wonderful place to play! I love that you hauled your pup up into the treehouse!!
Kimberly recently posted..Well, That Took Longer Than Expected
I should read her more often. But I’m always slightly afraid she’s going to come and kill me because she’s been called “the worst mom in America.” I keep thinking she might think I’m trying to copy her. And I’m really not! I didn’t even know they called her that until fairly recently.
It was a pretty short ladder, and he desperately wants to be wherever we are. Crazy dog.
I remember when I visited my grandmother I would leave the house in the morning and play with my friends until dinner time. We ate lunch at whatever house we happened to be at. We roamed the woods behind all of our houses and did all kinds of exploring. It makes me sad that we can’t give our children the same freedom without fear of someone reporting us to the police…for letting our kids play in the yard without adult supervision.
I know. Really, it’s just as safe. I think most of us don’t do it because we’ve been made too paranoid or because we’re afraid other people will think badly of us. Sad.
Tammy Soong recently posted..Are You a Halloween Candy Scrooge?