This is so good. I feel the pressure so much to buy things for my kid, especially now that he has friends who’s houses he goes to that are riddled with toys. But my kid plays outside a lot, loves a stick and since he was wiggling around prefers household items to toys. He has a small play kitchen with a few toys in it and he throws those on the ground and grabs our pots and pans instead. Like you said, he wants to be involved in the world around him.
Yes! There’s so much pressure from everywhere isn’t it. But the more you think about it the weirder it is! There are so many real world things that serve the purpose of helping kids develop, because that’s what we’ve been doing for hundreds of thousands of years! Love that your boy goes for your pots and pans instead 😂 they won’t be fooled. Sticks are a child’s gold! 💛
This one is a great reminder and I agree with so much of it. Making me think that maybe there have been some positives to being so tight on money during this time because otherwise I too would have a house full of pretty unused kids furniture/toys that would then need rehoming !!
A lot of the advertising and marketing has me forgetting that my actual favourite childhood memories were ones that involved long days spent outside building forts and fairy gardens until I was probably too old to be building forts and fairy gardens haha 🤷♀️ (but also, we’re never too old to build forts and fairy gardens).
We are high in the sky In an apartment right now and, myself aside, I really feel for the kids not having access to being able to play outside all day. And the balcony is a no go zone unfortunately.
I wish for Barefoot in the backyard at least, although we always dreamed of more land for our little family.
The beach close by helps
I look forward to when they can have endless hours outside again though. ☺️
Yes definitely, My favourite memories were of doing things like that too. Just because thing are made of wood or felt doesn't mean they are needed or even wanted!
Oh high rise living must be so difficult. Having the beach close is good, but nothing quite like letting the little ones roam outside while you can be inside getting things done. Your time will come x
Yes I so agree with this! I would let River crawl around in the mud and chew sticks when he was a baby, but I’d be around other mums who would stop their kids doing that… once I even went to the park with a mum who kept hold of her baby the whole time and when I asked if she wanted to put him down she said ‘oh no because he’ll immediately start chewing the leaves’ and I looked guiltily at my son, who was sitting in the mud, happily chewing leaves!!
You’re so right that we are sold so much bullshit and led to believe this makes us ‘good’ parents who love our kids, but actually they just need to be outside playing in the mud, and getting involved in our normal, day to day lives.
Wish we were at the park together back then! Mud is a child’s joy! It’s such an easier way to live too, more washing that’s for sure, but it’s definitely less time consuming than constantly trying to stop them doing what they are naturally drawn to do, explore nature.
You're literally speaking from my heart with this article, it's so spot on!! I started backpacking with my daughter full-time after she turned 1 year old so she never had any fancy toys or gadgets to stimulate her but yet, she is such a clever girl and whenever strangers meet her, they can't believe she's just 2,5 years old! (like go figure haha) Kids don't need to hang out on an actual playground the whole time, because they turn every surrounding into a playground if we just let them. <3
Oh I’m so glad it connected Sarah. I was a bit worried about offending people with this one. I love that you’ve been backpacking with her from when she was so tiny. What an incredible experience for you and her. And yes! It’s all about just allowing them to play with what is around. Let them move the chairs at a cafe if no one else is using them!
I really felt this one, Tansie! I'll never forget the day our shipment from Pakistan arrived in Fiji. I'd been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the boys' toys - we even had that tiny kitchen! - and when the toys finally got to us, all the boys wanted to do was play with the empty boxes!
Fiji was a good lesson for us in finding the beauty and fun in nature. Who could possibly need more than a beach, sand, trees, rocks and sticks?! 💕
Hahaha empty boxes are actually the best aren’t they! What a beautiful experience they would have had growing up in Fiji. As I’m writing this I’m watching my two yr old engrossed sitting with some scissors and trying to prune a tree! It’s the simple things!
Couldn’t agree more with all the sentiments in this article!! The only “class” I did was baby swim with my first, which was also for some kind of social outlet as this was during the pandemic still. Now choosing to have my children at home because (shocker) THEY want to be with me (my oldest is 3.5) I get bombarded constantly with how I’m not enough … that the oldest will not develop and learn how to behave among others (as if I keep her locked at home?!?!)
This concept of not enough is definitely extendable from things to settings and ironically my daughter has already lived in 3 countries and travelled to plenty more. She joins me for groceries, daily walks, her dad to the garage or the bank - where we go she goes and that’s more than enough ❤️
It’s wild isn’t it, the predominant message out there is that kids need to be away from you from an early age for their socialisation and development! As if they are, like you said, trapped at home with you! Your kids will be experiencing such a rich world by being a part of yours x
This is so good. I feel the pressure so much to buy things for my kid, especially now that he has friends who’s houses he goes to that are riddled with toys. But my kid plays outside a lot, loves a stick and since he was wiggling around prefers household items to toys. He has a small play kitchen with a few toys in it and he throws those on the ground and grabs our pots and pans instead. Like you said, he wants to be involved in the world around him.
Yes! There’s so much pressure from everywhere isn’t it. But the more you think about it the weirder it is! There are so many real world things that serve the purpose of helping kids develop, because that’s what we’ve been doing for hundreds of thousands of years! Love that your boy goes for your pots and pans instead 😂 they won’t be fooled. Sticks are a child’s gold! 💛
This one is a great reminder and I agree with so much of it. Making me think that maybe there have been some positives to being so tight on money during this time because otherwise I too would have a house full of pretty unused kids furniture/toys that would then need rehoming !!
A lot of the advertising and marketing has me forgetting that my actual favourite childhood memories were ones that involved long days spent outside building forts and fairy gardens until I was probably too old to be building forts and fairy gardens haha 🤷♀️ (but also, we’re never too old to build forts and fairy gardens).
We are high in the sky In an apartment right now and, myself aside, I really feel for the kids not having access to being able to play outside all day. And the balcony is a no go zone unfortunately.
I wish for Barefoot in the backyard at least, although we always dreamed of more land for our little family.
The beach close by helps
I look forward to when they can have endless hours outside again though. ☺️
Yes definitely, My favourite memories were of doing things like that too. Just because thing are made of wood or felt doesn't mean they are needed or even wanted!
Oh high rise living must be so difficult. Having the beach close is good, but nothing quite like letting the little ones roam outside while you can be inside getting things done. Your time will come x
It’s (un)surprisingly very ungrounding and unsettling being so high in the sky so often. Must be weird for the kids too.
Might help them to appreciate the mud play and stick forts more when we get there haha x
Yes I so agree with this! I would let River crawl around in the mud and chew sticks when he was a baby, but I’d be around other mums who would stop their kids doing that… once I even went to the park with a mum who kept hold of her baby the whole time and when I asked if she wanted to put him down she said ‘oh no because he’ll immediately start chewing the leaves’ and I looked guiltily at my son, who was sitting in the mud, happily chewing leaves!!
You’re so right that we are sold so much bullshit and led to believe this makes us ‘good’ parents who love our kids, but actually they just need to be outside playing in the mud, and getting involved in our normal, day to day lives.
Wish we were at the park together back then! Mud is a child’s joy! It’s such an easier way to live too, more washing that’s for sure, but it’s definitely less time consuming than constantly trying to stop them doing what they are naturally drawn to do, explore nature.
You're literally speaking from my heart with this article, it's so spot on!! I started backpacking with my daughter full-time after she turned 1 year old so she never had any fancy toys or gadgets to stimulate her but yet, she is such a clever girl and whenever strangers meet her, they can't believe she's just 2,5 years old! (like go figure haha) Kids don't need to hang out on an actual playground the whole time, because they turn every surrounding into a playground if we just let them. <3
Oh I’m so glad it connected Sarah. I was a bit worried about offending people with this one. I love that you’ve been backpacking with her from when she was so tiny. What an incredible experience for you and her. And yes! It’s all about just allowing them to play with what is around. Let them move the chairs at a cafe if no one else is using them!
I really felt this one, Tansie! I'll never forget the day our shipment from Pakistan arrived in Fiji. I'd been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the boys' toys - we even had that tiny kitchen! - and when the toys finally got to us, all the boys wanted to do was play with the empty boxes!
Fiji was a good lesson for us in finding the beauty and fun in nature. Who could possibly need more than a beach, sand, trees, rocks and sticks?! 💕
Hahaha empty boxes are actually the best aren’t they! What a beautiful experience they would have had growing up in Fiji. As I’m writing this I’m watching my two yr old engrossed sitting with some scissors and trying to prune a tree! It’s the simple things!
Couldn’t agree more with all the sentiments in this article!! The only “class” I did was baby swim with my first, which was also for some kind of social outlet as this was during the pandemic still. Now choosing to have my children at home because (shocker) THEY want to be with me (my oldest is 3.5) I get bombarded constantly with how I’m not enough … that the oldest will not develop and learn how to behave among others (as if I keep her locked at home?!?!)
This concept of not enough is definitely extendable from things to settings and ironically my daughter has already lived in 3 countries and travelled to plenty more. She joins me for groceries, daily walks, her dad to the garage or the bank - where we go she goes and that’s more than enough ❤️
It’s wild isn’t it, the predominant message out there is that kids need to be away from you from an early age for their socialisation and development! As if they are, like you said, trapped at home with you! Your kids will be experiencing such a rich world by being a part of yours x