Day 4: The rules of play--according to a 3-year-old.

Today, I decided to tackle the "Spend 30 minutes of interactive play together" challenge.  My son came and asked me to play with him in his room, so I went.  I learned a lot in my time there.  We played with his Batman Imaginext toys, which I am proud to say he has almost all of them.  He just needs Killer Croc and his collection will be complete.  However, I quickly found out that if you are going to play with Brighton, in Brighton's room, with Brighton's toys, you have to follow some simple rules.

Rule #1  Brighton is boss.

It seemed a little harsh at first and silly me tried to challenge the rule.  I went into the partnership of play thinking I was going to be able to choose if I could be Joker and the rest of Batman's Rogue Gallery or if I would get to be the Dark Knight himself.  I went in, sat down, and was given the bad guys and Brighton took control of the Batcave and Batman and Robin.

Having followed Batman to the secret whereabouts of the Batcave, I (Joker) perceived to use the Riddler as a diversion so I could break Mr. Freeze and the Penguin out of the jail at the Caped Crusaders secret hideout.  I don't know why it is a secret hideout, it was easy to find.  Anyway, I had sprung Penguin and the Riddler and we were almost in the clear when Brighton decided that he wanted to be the bad guys now.

Rule #2  Your role can change in a blink of an eye.

So, there I was, attempting to foil an escape by Riddler and Penguin when the Joker flew up in the air.

Rule 3#  The rules of physics are out the window when you play in Brighton's room.

Joker flew up in the air and hit the Batwing and blew it up.  Joker evidently had gotten some Superman powers from somewhere because he landed unharmed but I was unable to use the Batwing for the remainder of play time.  I (Batman) enlisted the help of Catwoman and was about to get out of this sticky situation when Brighton decided to be both the good guys and the bad guys.

Rule #4  Sometimes playtime is a spectator sport.

After watching the fight between Joker and Batman for a while, I got up and walked out of the room to return to normalcy and begin my correspondence with you.  Brighton has since left his room and is in the living room with his Mama.


This venture into a 3-year-old's dominion brought to mind one thing.  That little brother or sister we saw today at the ultrasound better get ready...and so should we.  I told myself we need to start teaching Brighton playing etiquette if you will.

Growing up, my brothers and I played pretty well together.  The cool thing was we were pretty close in age so when we got toys we tried to collaborate so we could have a pretty good collection of certain lines of toys.  We had a ton of GI Joes and their vehicles.  We would spend hours playing in the bathroom with our building blocks creating hangars and bunks and other rooms soldiers needed.  We had a lot of He-Man toys.  My brother leaned toward Skeletor while I was a He-Man guy.  We had all the Ghostbusters toys--firehouse, ECTO-1, ECTO-2, and all the guys.  We also lived on the farm so outside was somewhere we stayed a lot.  After my Daddy would finish mowing, we would take our toys trucks and tractors with some plastic cups and bail the grass clippings and haul hay.  I remember staying out there until my Mama hollered that supper was ready.

I am beginning to think that one of the many reasons God allows us to be parents is so we can enjoy those parts of childhood that we like.  I know a lot of the games I played as a child, I have incorporated into Brighton's life.  I like coloring with Brighton, getting in the floor and have good vs. evil battle it out, and sometimes just lie on his bed and let him give me his prognosis with his Sesame Street doctor kit.  According to the Cookie Monster stethoscope, I have a strong heartbeat.  And, I get to eat all the chocolate chip cookies I want! Winning!!

In closing, I know honestly some of you would rather do something else than get in the floor and play for a long period of time with your kids.  I will be honest, I don't do it as much as I should.  However, it is an excellent opportunity to teach your kids about sharing and play etiquette.  Trust me, I am a teacher and I have seen many kids that do not know how to play with others or share.  It is a trait that will do them well in life.  Being able to work in a team was something I was always on the lookout when I was in retail management.

I probably need to go check on the aftermath of our play time.

OK, I'm back and I have learned another rule.

Rule #5  Batman and Joker let each other borrow their vehicles.

Tonight, I believe we are playing Disney Trivia after supper so I am knocking out two in one day.  That will leave:

Have a Family Meal at least once this week.
Spend 30 minutes being active outside together (and don't melt)

and then I will take home the Gold Medal for this week.

Be the Fathers God wants you to be and the Daddy your children need you to be.

I have included a picture of our playtime as well as the first picture of our upcoming arrival.  Brighton waved at the screen when we saw him or her.  Until next time...