Video Games

How I was a bad parent today

• Playing Super Paper Mario Brothers

Video games are a great way to teach your child hand eye coordination.  So that is what we did today.  We have a WII and my son likes to play Super Paper Mario Brothers.  At first though he just wanted to watch me play, I think he thought it was like a cartoon that he could take control of and tell me where to go.   I kept asking him if he wanted to play and he finally said yes and I must say he is not half bad. 

Now this is not an activity that you can just walk away from your child while they play.  You have to be there to read everything and to help him get where he needs to go.  It seems like a great activity because he is learning hand eye coordination and I am reading to him.  I just do not see how this could get any better other than having to run in place while we do it, but that is another post with WII Fit.

 

In the Car

How I was a bad parent today

• Played in the car

Ever since my son was about 2 ½ he loves playing in the car.  He likes to sit behind the wheel and pretend we are going places.  We go to Toys R Us, the pizza place, and the doughnut shop.  Once we get there we have to get out of the car buy our products and get back in to go to the next stop.  In my opinion it’s not a whole lot of fun getting in and out of the car, but he seems to love it. 

So if you are looking for some time to kill just sit your little one in the front seat of the car and he will drive you all around town to his favorite places.  If your child does not like to pretend to drive there are the windshield wipers, blinkers, and hazard lights to play with.

Elmo Dance

How I was a bad parent today

• Let my child Elmo Dance

I am not sure what little kids see in the red furry monster known as Elmo, but my son just really likes him a lot.  We watched one of his videos a while back and in it Elmo does a dance where he stands in place and just spins and spins until he falls.  I get dizzy just watching it; my son on the other hand loves to Elmo dance. 

The problem with the “Elmo Dance” is you have to have a space big enough so your child will not fall down and hurt them self. In my living room I have a rug that he has to stay on if he wants to Elmo dance because there is nothing that he can run into while standing on the rug.  He knows that if he leaves the rug he can no longer Elmo dance that day. 

So give it a try. Find a big space and just let them spin and spin till they are tired of it, which in my son’s case takes a good 10 minutes.

Hall Ball

How I was a bad parent today

• Let my child bounce a ball in the house

Bouncy balls are all the rage for the little ones. I did do not understand what was so entertaining about a bouncy ball until I took a bouncy ball in a hall and bounced it off the walls.  My son thought it was really cool and well lets just say it kept him occupied for a long time just bouncing the ball from wall to wall.

I know throwing balls in the house can possibly cause some sort of damage however; I have a small hallway with a hard floor and walls with nothing on them, an ideal place to let loose.  I explained to my son that he could bounce the ball in the house if he stays in the hallway but if he bounces the ball in any other part of the house the ball would go away for a week.

So if you are looking for a few minutes of sanity find a small bouncy ball and a hallway with nothing in it and let the little ones have some fun.

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Goodwill

How I was a bad parent today

• Had my child give away some of his toys to Goodwill

I do not like my house being cluttered with toys everywhere so periodically I have my child go through all of his toys and pick out ones that he no longer plays with to give to Goodwill.  I think it is a great way to teach my child how to be charitable. Though I do have to tell people who give my child a gift that at some point it will end up at Goodwill because I refuse to have a house filled with toys.  

Another way to keep the house a little less cluttered is to have my child exchange his current toys with toys that I put into storage.  He can get any toy anytime he wants, he just has to exchange it with another toy.  The system works well in keeping the amount of toys in his room down and then he only plays with the ones he really likes.

A tip on how to get to this point with your own children is to tell them they have 3 minutes to clean their room and whatever is not cleaned up in 3 minutes goes into storage.

What are you going to do

How I was a bad parent today

• Let my child run in the house
• Let my child vacuum

Running in the House
Exercise is good for kids and so I see no reason why they can not exercise in the house.  We have one area in the house that my child can run around and get out some excess energy.  I have to say that it works well, I even run with him.  So if you need a good game to play to wear out your child, set up a place in your house to let you kid just run free.

Child Labor
No one likes to do house work so I try and make if somewhat fun.  For some odd reason my child likes to help vacuum.  So you know what why not let the little one help.  Of course it takes twice as long to get the house vacuumed, but I am spending time with my child and he really enjoys it.  Plus it is a great way to teach your child how to take turns.  I know it sounds crazy, but that is how I taught my son to take turns.  You just have to find some odd thing they like to do and capitalize on it.