When Calvin does something to irk me, it's because he's acting like an out of control football-pulling Lucy. His parents, however are not the Charlie Brown. Sure, they just grin and bear it when there's a snowman holocaust blocking their driveway, but very rarely do we see them act parental when he's more destructive. Calvin's free spirit and wild imagination is what makes the comic great. I think what gets me is the lack of even a parental nod of dissaproval for some of his more heinous offensives. There is a difference between "Boys being boys" and the out of control, partying like rock stars at a frat party six years we see more and more often these days.
Now that I've gotten my "get off my lawn" moment out of my system, I present for your consideration "Bacon and Hobbes".
"Bacon and Hobbes" was a four strip tribute piece to Calvin and Hobbes, produced by the guys at www.pantsareoverrated.com. Twenty-six years later, Calvin is married to Suzie and has a little girl of his own, named Bacon. After a night where her stuffed animal couldn't scare away Donald Trump in her closet, Calvin breaks out a homicidal jungle cat from the closet, and the combination is nostalgic heaven.
Of the four strips, the one that closely resembles my home is #3, the one strip without an appearance by Hobbes.
Maybe it's just the dad in me, perhaps I can go into some deep philosophical/psychological discussion on Calvin's need for attention creating wild-eyed fantasies or some other crock, but my very first thought was, "Calvin is playing with his daughter, something his parents never did with him."
We'll probably never see another one of these strips made, but I'm confident that in their alternate universe, little Bacon will turn out spectacular.
I like to toot my own horn here about my kids (it is my blog, afterall). Using my horrible daddy-biased analysis, they're imaginative, empathetic souls beyond their little years. Outside of bad (nap) timing, we can take them anywhere and do anything, including a week long cruise to the Bahamas this February.
That cartoon is why I do this blog. I play with my kids, and sometimes they do play with my stuff. Yes, sometimes we break out the milk pint ships and shoe box buildings and have a go with it, but I'm equally happy if they're playing with hundreds of dollars worth of miniatures and Miniature Building Authority accessories. In fact a mixture of the two is preferred. Respect for everyone's property is an important rule to learn. Most kids don't learn it until late.
After this past week, when everyone is yelling about gun control and mental health, most people are handwaving the most important lesson, because we've heard it all before. Be their mommy and daddy, but be their parent as well.
Play with your kids: It sounds so simple, but so often we have housework, schedules, post work unwinding, video games (..blogs..), and other things that push off spending time with our kids, with the expectations that we can catch up with them later. That whole Cat's in the Cradle rule applies here, as does the "No matter how tough you are, if a child hands you a toy telephone, you take it and answer it."
Moreso than that, children need interaction with others, at play and elsewhere. You're reinforcing socially acceptable ways to act, and can focus on positive aspects. And make sure they interact with other people of all ages within that basic set of guidelines.
It also allows you to discover what your child actually knows/picks up on. Once children start speaking in grammatically correct, we forget that they're still absorbing knowledge in vast quantities. It's much easier to pick up on bad habits or problems elsewhere at play, rather than at dinner, or worse yet, years down the road.
We're by no means perfect parents, both children are under four and can operate a smart phone like a phone, and we all watch way too much TV. But the fact that we do watch the cartoons with them, we can explain things that they don't understand, and, when we play with them, we might understand who they're pretending to be and what they're doing. Of course, I occasionally get a comment from my 3 1/2 year old, Maja, when we were playing house.
"Daddy, the house is on fire, and the Mommy needs a ride to Mexico."
I know we had just watch Hunchback of Notre Dame, and she was scared by the big fire. That I can work on. Why Mommy needs to go to Mexico might require a bit of investigation.
Finally, play with your kids today, because we all know that there's chance that you might never get the opportunity again. A bit somber for this holiday season, but there are a number of families overwhelmed with sorrow who would make a deal with the devil just for a chance to be with their loved ones one more fleeting time.
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