I mean, unless it’s absolutely necessary, try not to kick your dad. What happens when you make things fun and turn power on its head?
TLDR: Putting your child in the driver’s seat while tackling a teaching moment can make it fun and memorable.
Teaching your kid to use a swing shouldn’t be this much fun
To this day, one thing is certain. If there are swings at the park, at least ONE of my kids is going to ask… “Can we play ‘Don’t kick your Dad’!?!” Luckily this isn’t code for inflicting indiscriminate harm on a family member, but a game we play. Let me take you back…
William was probably two and he loved the swings but kind of like how rulers of old liked to eat grapes. Only interested if someone else was doing all the work. I tried a lot to get him to “pump” is legs forward and backwards countless times but he just wasn’t interested. He was too tired all of the sudden or he just ignored the command. Heck, he was only two, maybe he lacked the understanding to follow my instructions. But, you know what he could do? He sure could laugh when I pretended that I didn’t want to get kicked.
I decided to stand in front of him, just out of reach of his outstretched legs so he would try harder and harder every time to kick me. Each time, I’d move JUST a little farther. The result? He learned that if he leaned back and extended his feet, he might get a little closer to kicking dear old Dad.
Now, we could have stopped here and it would have been a breakthrough kind of moment. He learned the lesson that I wanted to teach him and he had a little fun. But why stop when you’re just getting started? We kept the game going. I would dodge side to side. I’d go behind him and he’d tuck his little feet underneath (thus leaning forward and learning to “pump” his legs) and try to hit me again. Finally, I’d set myself up to get kicked and I’d ham it up for all I was worth!
“You’d never kick your Dad right? I mean, we’re pals aren’t we!?! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” I did my best Chevy Chase/Jim Carrey/three stooges slapstick-over-the-top fall. I took a knee and pretend-heaved and asked for a minute of rest while he giggled himself silly.
Since then, I’ve learned that if I can find a way to put my kids in the driver’s seat and if I feign inferiority, that they feel empowered and relish an opportunity to showcase their knowledge or physical abilities.
This works for so many different things.
- “Oh, no! I forgot how to get to the store! If only we could get there, I’d be able to buy you ice cream… oh well, guess we don’t get any ice cream today.”
- “Guys, I need help remembering how to make pancakes, any chance you can help me?”
- “Oh, man, I can’t seem to inflate this bike tire. Guess we just have to ride it with a flat!”
