I didn't really want to play Risk, but I felt a little trapped. My son brought it up a few nights ago and said, "It's Family Game Night! Let's play!" And then my wife said, "Great!" So I capitulated, groaning loudly. We started the game. It's not that I don't like Risk. When I was a kid, I loved it. My best friend in second (or maybe it was third) grade, Paul Squizzero, had the game and on Saturdays, I would go to his house, and we would stage rollicking battles on his kitchen table with his family while his mom made us bologna and ketchup sandwiches, which I absolutely loved. But … [Read more...]
Bucket Head: Best. Game. Ever. To Introduce to Toddlers.
Bucket Head is a game. A great game. One of our favorites. It involves me putting a yellow plastic bucket over one of my kids’ heads until their face is completely covered and then using it for a drum. All the while loudly chanting, “Buuuucket HEAAAD! BucketHeadBucketHead!” I drum fairly lightly, and they laugh and laugh and then it’s my turn to wear the bucket. It is elegant in its simplicity. The game has evolved. Now the Peanut plays it with her little brother. In her version, she runs at him and slams the bucket down over his wispy, blond-haired, unsuspecting head and then wails on … [Read more...]
Pay Attention: Life’s Best Stories Found Around the Diamond’s Edges
I remember being extra fidgety one Sunday morning while sitting in the stark white Presbyterian church of my childhood. I used to bounce my leg a lot when I was littler -- something one of my own sons does now -- and my dad would pinch my knee between his thumb and forefinger to stop. This particular Sunday, my dad had done this a few times, each with increasing pressure. It was an autumn day and the Cincinnati Reds -- the legendary Big Red Machine of the 1970s -- were in baseball’s playoffs once again, and I was distracted. I really didn’t want to be there. Finally, my dad had to … [Read more...]
Why I Love Secretly Observing My Children Play Tennis
On a hot summer morning, I walk stealthily from my car to the covered pavilion in between two rows of tennis courts at the front of the park. I make sure to approach from a particular direction, keeping the small trees and bushes between me and the courts so I remain unnoticed. I sit on a weathered green bench attached to a picnic table. I disrupt a squirrel’s meal and, startled, it scampers away to safety. I’ve given up some things to be a stay-at-home parent — career, money, a large swath of my sanity — but moments like this make the sacrifice worth it. Quiet moments of secretive … [Read more...]
Teaching Cooking to Children a Lesson in Play, Patience, Responsibility
When I decided to become a work-from-home dad so I could spend more time with my children, I started thinking about how, apart from just playing with them, I we could have more constructive time together. Well, I found a recipe for success. My 3-year-old son, Noah, has always played with our cooking pots and his toy kitchen. Most of the games he created revolved around him being a cook. In the evenings, when I make dinner, Noah would climb up on a chair and stand beside me, watching me peel an onion or prepare a sauté, observing everything I do. I thought that this could be "our thing." … [Read more...]
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