Parent Corner: Earn your Dirt \ stacker news ~mostly

1107 sats \ 23 comments \ @grayruby 18 Jun mostly_harmless

Earn your Dirt

It was an unseasonably hot and humid day in my neck of the woods yesterday and my daughter had a bit of a stomach ache, so we were pondering whether to take her to her Tball game or not, but she was adamant that she wanted to go. We gave her a little medicine to settle her stomach, packed a lot of water, a small towel and her and I ventured off to the game.

We arrived at the field and the first thing we noticed was many parents had opted to keep their kids home as there were only about 6 kids from her team and 5 from the other team. You don't need a pitcher or catcher in Tball and the ball doesn't go very far so this is good enough to play a game.

I usually volunteer to coach one of the bases but that job was already filled so I sat on the bench and reminded kids to drink water when they came to the "dugout" and not to forget their gloves when they go back to the field. My daughter came in a couple times and each time I wiped her face with a towel, gave her some water and checked "how are you feeling"? Each time she said "ok daddy".

Near the end of the game while running the bases she tripped and fell in the dirt. She was fine, got up and kept running to the next base.

The game ended and the teams celebrated with well deserved freezies. We grabbed all our stuff and started walking back to the car. While we walked I said, "You hit the ball well. Did you have fun?" and she responded with a resounding "YES". My next question was "How are you feeling?", to which she replied "HOT".

We arrived at the car and I dumped some cold water on a towel and wiped the sweat and dirt from her face and neck. When I was done she pointed at her pants and shoes covered in dust and said "Daddy, I got very dirty", to which I replied "that's ok baby, you earned your dirt".

Thanks for reading.

Sats for all, GR

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175 sats \ 5 replies \ @Undisciplined 18 Jun

We've been going on afternoon walks in the woods, while our daughter rides her little scooter or just runs around us. At some point on most of these walks, she just stops and stands in place. When we ask her what she's doing, she says very softly "I'm all out of energy." Then I carry her on my shoulders for the rest of the walk (or until her energy is back).

53 sats \ 2 replies \ @grayruby OP 18 Jun

They tend to get a second wind pretty quick. I am sure those daily family treks are planting many positive seeds with the little one. Appreciation for nature, physical activity, spending time with family. Individually and in the moment they might not seem like much but I firmly believe when you compound these positive experiences on top of one and other it does wonders in the long term.

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 18 Jun

I certainly hope so. She's not always a very good sport about it.

102 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 18 Jun

I think the time together and the experiences are wonderful. But I wouldn't have strong expectations about kids developing a love of the outdoors from treks organized by parents. I've seen too many examples of parents who love hiking/backpacking, taking the kids along (dragging the kids along is what some kids would say) and then the kid turning totally against anything outdoor related.

But maybe that's a temporary thing, and it comes back. Teenage rejection of parental values, something like that...

119 sats \ 1 reply \ @Signal312 18 Jun

That reminds me of some of our longer treks with kids. Sometimes a bit of encouragement from one little Skittles candy would give them a burst of energy. Of course, it helps when you call them "energy pills". I'm not sure if it's setting a good precedent, though!

I also remember at another point when trying to wear out a kid...cherrios. One (single, solitary, plain) cheerio was the "payment" for running around a large outdoor bandstand. Of course it was the fun and novelty of it that made it exciting.

So do team sports work work well for your kid(s)? They're kind of a given nowadays in the US, backyard play has mostly disappeared. But I still remember the days when a group of kids got together and played kickball in a backyard. Or you would have a ping-pong tournament in somebody's garage, and play all afternoon. I wish that were still happening, I think kids miss a huge amount of fun/socialization/agency/responsibility/organization skills, etc, compared with the standard parent-organized team sports that are the only "game" in town now.

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 18 Jun

My daughter's only four. We tried flag football last summer and she didn't have the focus for organized activities. Her dance class ended recently and she did better with that, but she's still a bit too unruly for that kind of thing.

110 sats \ 4 replies \ @Undisciplined 18 Jun

Do you have a military draft in Canada?

I just found out that the Democrats are trying to automatically register young women for the draft. Talk about "fuck around and find out." I don't think American dads are going to tolerate this.

42 sats \ 3 replies \ @grayruby OP 18 Jun

No but they did during world wars and I believe there is some emergency powers the government could claim to bring it back but I don't think it would hold up against a court challenge.

Besides our military strategy is to hide behind big brother USA.

100 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined 18 Jun

This is why I had often been interested in moving to Canada, until recently.

My wife's reaction to the draft news was "I guess we're moving to Canada."

143 sats \ 1 reply \ @grayruby OP 18 Jun

Finally embracing communism?

20 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 18 Jun

At least commies are too poor to wage endless wars around the world.

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @gnilma 19 Jun

Thanks for sharing. Some well earned dirt indeed.

Speaking of getting dirty, it reminds me of the days when my kids would jump into any puddle they see; clear water or muddy. I guess they learned it from Peppa, and would run and jump into a puddle whenever they see one. The older 2 have outgrown that stage, but the little one still purposefully walk into deep puddles whenever he sees them; although he is not as an aggressive puddle jumper as he used to be when he was younger. At first, my wife would try to stop them, but with me encouraging them to jump in every time, she eventually learned to just roll her eyes and let them do their jumping. After the first few jumps, she did always keep a towel and a change of clothes in the car though.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby OP 19 Jun

My daughter loves puddles too. I don’t let her jump in the muddy ones like Peppa though. Clear ones she can have at it. We bought her a pair of rain boots just for puddle jumping.

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coinsreporter 19 Jun

As a kid I used to play 'Kabaddi' which is only played in Indian subcontinent. It earns a lot of dirt because it's played in dirt. There's no second to Kabaddi for warning dirt Only Beach volleyball can resemble a bit in terms of dirt acquired.

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @BitcoinAbhi 19 Jun

My son is currently 5 years old. It happened yesterday, he was running on the ground. then one person seeing him says, son, run slowly, you will fall. But my son does not listen to him because I have always taught him that nothing will happen by falling. Then get up and stand. But never lose your speed due to fear of falling. am I right or wrong

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby OP 19 Jun

You’re right

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @Satosora 19 Jun

That is good. Im glad you arent one of the parents who is afraid to let their child live.

50 sats \ 2 replies \ @MANI 18 Jun

My baby girl is only 7 months old and she just started sitting, can't crawl or walk atm so eagerly waiting for her to start crawling and walking so I can take her out and have outdoor sports or go for our short walks with her.