Driving my kids around last week I saw a sign for "Little Nippers Daycare."
I absolutely read it as "Little Snipers."
Wouldn't that be fun?
"Tommy, I saw you move. It's only been an hour."
"Sarah, I can hear you breathing. You aren't quiet enough."
"No, Billy, you can't go to the restroom. That's what your empty canteen is for."
Easiest, quietest job with kids ever. The gift shop would have little ghillie suits for toddlers. Of course, you could never take them on a walk in the park.
When my kids were little we would sometimes play a game I learned from my parents-- Hide and Don't Seek. I'd send them to hide and remind them to be extra still and extra quiet and that I would not only find them but stalk them silently. Then I would get done whatever job I needed the peace and quiet for. After that I would go look. "You guys did so good! It took me almost an hour to find you!"
I was not a good father.
At what age did they catch on?
ReplyDeleteRory,
ReplyDeleteI think this needs to be an entry in the Handbook for Fathers that you pass onto your sons or sons-in-law.
Thanks,
Kaiza
Lulz. ;D
ReplyDelete:-)
ReplyDeleteActually, it was my wife who caught on. Which is her job, I guess.
ReplyDeleteYour wife, huh?
ReplyDeleteAnd how much did THAT cost you?
;-)
My kids saw "The Sound of Music" and loved it (well, it was a really good film). For several years after, when I wanted some peace and quiet, I told them we were playing the Von Trapp family, and hiding from the Nazis.
ReplyDeleteWorked like a charm.
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteNot really related to your blog here - but I've read your article at: http://ymaa.com/articles/violence-dynamics - it is such a great description of the usual dynamics. But I really chimed in to ask you about this passage:
"In the higher level of GMD, the victim is sometimes an outsider but often an insider who is perceived in some way to have betrayed the group. The group bands together in an orgy of violence, possibly beating, burning and cutting on the victim. It is literally a contest to show your loyalty by how much damage you can do to the outsider. Some of the most brutal murders, lynchings, and war atrocities are examples of the Group Monkey Dance."
This is very close to what Rene Girard writes in 'Violence and the Sacred' for example.
ZBY-
ReplyDeleteSorry. I don't see a question.
Well, you could take them TO the park.
ReplyDeleteOut of it, however...
I love hide & seek w/my grandson. I volunteer to go hide, grab my book and get a couple of chapters read before he finds me... :) my favorite game. [almost as fun as 'tag'] ;)
ReplyDeleteSomehow, I think most of us have come up with our own version of "hide & don't seek"...
ReplyDeleteI know I have. Then he caught on -- and if I didn't seek fast enough, he'd seek me.
Sorry I did not really formulate the question - I was just wondering if you are familiar with his theory.
ReplyDeleteAhhh. Nope sorry.
ReplyDeleteMy Freudian slip...read the revised title as "Little Snippers" and thought "is there a vasectomy joke on its way?"
ReplyDelete