Dads being dads
"We are not raising grass here! We are raising boys!" This quote is from a book (sorry don't have the title) that my friend was telling me about.
This is how I raise my boy who is now 8 months old. I love to wrestle with him and throw him around, I have since he was only a few weeks old. One of my favorite memories with my dad was when he would try and round up all my brothers and sisters and trap us all in the bathroom. The first floor of our house was laid out so you could run from room to room in a complete circle. In the middle of the rooms underneath the stair case was a small bathroom. All 5 of us would run around the downstairs and my dad would round us up and try trap us all in the bathroom at the same time. What great fun.
There was nothing gentle about the game; carpet burns, bumping heads, running into doorways was all part of the game. Moms ask us, "why" and as dads we must say, "We are not raising grass we are raising boys (or girls for that matter)."
As a dad; do you have any dad created, mother disapproved games that you play with your sons and daughters?
It's out of control!!!
When I was a boy, my brother and I would be roughousing, and when my mom had enough, she'd call to my dad, "Would you talk to these boys?" Of course, when my dad came over, he'd wrestle us to the ground - completely not what mom had in mind. I have great memories of that.
Another favorite from my dad that I now do with my kids is having one hand start to twitch and then shake a little bit, followed by "Oh no. It's out of control. Oh no! I can't control it!" and then having the out of control hand launch into all out tickling. I don't know if that's so much a mom-disapproved activity, but it's so specifically dad.
One that I do with my stepson now that I don't think my wife is very keen on is going forehead to forehead and pushing against one another. It's so very male and very refreshing for both of us. I have a daughter from a previous relationship, and my stepson, until my wife and I had a son in January, had 3 siblings by blood...none of them brothers!
Love it
Man, I love the out of control hand. I have seen it done but have forgotten about that. I will have to implement that activity starting today.
the daddy monster
My boys love when I become the "Daddy Monster". I'll make monster noises & chase them around the house. Then they'll "lure" me into my own bed, where they cover my entire body with blankets, pillows, stuffed animals...etc, to "hold me down". I'll grab at them through the openings between the blankets/pillows. It's great fun for them & me. Mommy doesn't disapprove, but she definitely shakes her head at it :)
re: the daddy monster
My son LOVES when we play "daddy monster"! He squeals with delight and runs around like a wild-child. I love it!
throw 'em up in the air
my wife always cringes a little (and sometimes my in-laws) when I throw me-me up into the air (just like the savvy daddy logo). but me-me loves it, of course.
or how about those games where the whole point is to fall? I'll help me-me to stand precariously on these work-out blocks, and he loves it when the blocks topple over and me-me laughs "fall down! fall down! again! again!" gotta love it...
I do wonder if I'd be more careful if I had a girl?
Body Slams
My son loves it when I pick him up and FAKE body slam him, then I tickle him and roll around on the floor wrestling. My wife freaks out when she see's me running around with him in the air and then down to the ground quickly, but then when he erupts into hysterical laughter she just shakes her head and says, "Boys!"
water fights
While my wife and I agree that playing with toy guns is out, I'm good with water fights on summer days. Full-scale sessions in the driveway with super-soaker v. nozzled hose allows for some roughhousing, exercise and cooling off. My six-year-old and I love the adventure, strategy and silliness of it. We get soaked and almost always come in the house laughing.
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