Long weekends are great, aren’t they? You get to sleep in, don’t have to pack lunches or argue with the kids to get up and get ready or they’re going to miss the bus. Everyone can relax and enjoy the wonders of…oh, who am I kidding?
Long weekends equals late nights (this weekend the kids stayed with grandparents, who don’t believe in bedtime anyhow), so when they were with me, they were—how can I put this kindly?—squabbly. As in:
One kid copyrights a signature dab (by writing out the exact sequence of arm movements on a napkin and signing it. Yes, seriously).
Other kid thus does “copyrighted” dab…repeatedly. Because that’s what siblings do. It’s like the best live-action video game out there. Button Pushing 101. And this kid is a Master Level prodigy.
Copyright holder proceeds to stop Dabber, as we’re trying to leave the house, by tackling him. Because that is, of course, a
reasonable response to copyright infringement.
We manage to make it into the car, with Infringer seated behind Copyright Holder. Infringer continues to dab signature dab. Copyright Holder continues to get angry. Reaches back to whack Infringer, who retaliates by—you guessed it—dabbing.
This is by no means the only source of conflict between my children. Their strong sense of fairness in all things real or fictional, reasonable or ridiculous, is just one of the many things that astound and challenge me. Indeed, I find myself in a world of parenting I never imagined. Just yesterday I was explaining to some friends that I don’t mind if the kids swear as long as it’s used appropriately (grammatically and situationally).
In case of a zombie apocalypse, for example, my kids are totally allowed to cuss away. Because frankly, if they’re focused on what words they can or cannot say, they’re in big trouble (that said, they must also understand the meaning of the words, and why certain words are totally off-limits). And my kids also know that they’re never to use unforgivable curses against each other.
But speaking of words, this weekend I drew on the wonder of word games to prevent them from finding yet another squabble to engage in.
Piggly Wiggly. It’s not just a Southern grocery store, you know. I learned this game back in the days of yore (when I was in Elementary school), and introduced it to my younger two boys this past weekend as we were driving to yet another soccer game. The rules of the game are simple, the rounds are quick, yet it was challenging enough (and rewarding enough) that the boys not only wanted to keep playing, but introduced it to the rest of the family the next time we were in the car together.
The rules are simple: Take turns coming up with a riddle where the solution is comprised of a pair of rhyming words. That’s it. Depending on the skill level (and the mood of the players), you can either have the winner come up with the next riddle, or just take turns. Keep score or don’t (we didn’t), and the game lasts as long as you like.
Here are a few Piggly Wigglies we came up with to get you started:
Q: A home for tiny creatures
A: Mouse house
Q: A large farm animal
A: Big pig
Q: A company that sounds like you’re cheering for a person who’s focused on cleaning
A: GoJo
Q: Another name for a gas station, or where cars go to get their favorite drinks.
A: Car bar
Q: A semi-trailer filled with deer
A: Buck truck
Q: A large vehicle for birds
A: Duck truck
Q: A sound slumber
A: Deep sleep
Q: A large vehicle for males
A: Man van
Q: A produce wind storm
A: Tomato Tornado
There you have it. Easy peasy. Sound like a fun one? Play away. That said, it’s just a few weeks until they’re home again for a long stretch, so if you happen to know of other games that I can add to my parenting grab bag, I’d love to hear them. Please!
