Posted by Keith | Posted in Play Stories, Ty | Posted on 18-08-2009
I absolutely enjoy introducing my favorite childhood experiences to my kids. This ranges from games to cartoons, or even crazy traditions that my parents did with me. Sometimes the ideas go over really well and the kids love it, and then there are those times when things don’t click just right. Yesterday was one of those days. I introduced Ty to the game of “Hot or Cold” and it was a disaster.
I’m sure that you all remember this game right? It’s the game where you hide an item and then tell the person searching for it if they’re hot or cold, depending on how close they are to the object. I used to love playing this game as a kid and just knew that it’d be something fun to play with Ty. Boy was I wrong; it was one of the most dreadful experiences of my life! Okay, well it wasn’t that bad, but it was bad enough to make me tuck “Hot or Cold” away in the Daddy memory banks for the next few years.
You see, one problem that I have with introducing games and activities from my past is that I can never remember exactly how old I was when I enjoyed it. Typically, things get introduced because I’ll have some random thought of a childhood memory and a light bulb goes off that says “Hey you, remember how much fun we used to have playing that game? Well, let’s play it right now, and since you have kids you can pawn it off on them so you won’t be a weirdo playing children’s games”. See, I told you guys that I was a big kid at heart, but at least now I have an outlet (kids) to rationalize my behavior. So the thought comes in my head, but it never occurs to me that maybe I was a little bit older when I partook in this activity as a child. Maybe that’s the reason it was so fun, because I actually understood how the game worked. Yesterday, Ty was not so lucky. Unfortunately he has a Dad that is determined to relive childhood through him & he has to suffer the consequences.
We start off by explaining the concept of the game, which Ty expressed vehemently that he understood. Ty is so full of energy and gets so super excited at the thought of a new activity that he can’t risk the chance of additional instruction if he didn’t understand because that would delay the getting started. If you don’t know, kids HATE waiting when it comes to playtime. Therefore, he’d rather play it by ear and learn as he goes, rather than learn it up front. This is normally perfectly fine, but during a game of “Hot or Cold” not so much.
I get the privilege of hiding the item first. Ty is so excited that he could barely keep his eyes closed long enough for me to get the thing hidden. He must have asked me a zillion times if I was ready and if he could open his eyes. Finally I tell him that I’m ready and BOOM he’s off! Totally forgetting the fact that I would be giving him clues to where the item was by using the “hot” & “cold” cues. Instead, he started searching the entire house regardless of how “hot” or “cold” he was. I called a quick time out to remind him that I would be leading him to the item and we were back on track. He eventually found it, never mind the fact that he was “so hot that you’re burning” for about 5 mins. The point is that he found the stupid thing.
So now it’s his turn to hide the object and things got really ugly. I don’t know if Ty got fascinated by screaming the word “cold” or what, but that’s what he did. No matter where I went, I was “cold”. Clearly Fefe knew where the item was and found great amusement in the fact that even when I was near it, I was still “cold”. It got so bad that even Tre joined in and started repeatedly screaming “I’m Cold”, at least he threw me a few misguided “Hots” out there as well. After Fefe had her fun laughing at me, she decided to help Ty out & coach him on how to efficiently guide me to the hidden object. When I found it, I have to admit, it was hidden very well. At least I know if Ty commits a crime, he’ll be able to get rid of the evidence effectively.
We played a few more rounds of the game; things got a little better as we went on, but not much. It helped that I started peeking while Ty was hiding the item so at least I’d have some idea of where to look. Ty had a great time, and really enjoyed the game. I feel bad for Fefe today because I know that he’s going to want to play again. Good luck babe!
What are some of the games or activities from your childhood that you enjoy sharing with your kids? I’d love to hear your ideas, maybe it’ll help provide a suitable replacement for “Hot or Cold” in our household.
Don’t forget to check out Ty’s Tuesday Toy Review today.
LOL, I got a kick out of watching you look for the item while Ty just kept yelling cold. I definitely thought it was cute when Tre joined in. It was just too funny not to sit back and laugh. I always enjoyed the game of Simon Says & hide and seek when I was a child but Ty isn’t ready for hide and seek yet. We tried that already and he just hides in the same place that you hid in. Then when you start looking for him, he starts laughing & saying I’m right here. Please people give us more children games!!!!!
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I remember that game!!! At least you all put in a good effort, Lol. I wish I had some ideas for you both….but I really don’t……especially since Hide & Seek are out now…lol Red Light/Green Light was always fun!?!?!?
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Keith Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Yeah Ty loves Red Light/Green Light. We’ve even gone as far as to combine it with Simon Says.
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I was easily entertained as a child since I was artistic so I would either draw from my Disney books and videotapes or stare at some abstract wallpaper and try to find pictures or stare at the popcorn ceilings and try to find pictures.
I also made up songs like you have already shown that you can do. I still remember them and they are so wack beyond belief. I was making Christmas decorations one time and the candy cane fell behind the entertainment center and I made a song about that.
Four square is fun. Which can be condensed to two square. You have chalk so now all you need is a ball. Tag is cool. I have worked at a camp, but all the games are for a group of kids. Good luck with your childhood game quest.
Deborah´s last blog ..*Theatre Spotlight* – Enoch King – At The Theatre
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Keith Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Great ideas Deborah. It is kind of hard since we don’t have a group, we tried duck duck goose not too long ago and used teddy bears as filler. It was actually pretty fun, every person had a bear “partner” if your partner got tagged you had to run with them. I’d like to hear that christmas song some day, lol.
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Well my favorite was a simple made up game that we played. Its gr8 for lazy parents!!!! It was called “Save the Planets”. You, the parent get to sit on the couch, chair or whatever while your child runs back and forth trying to catch one of those big oversized colorful balls while u yell out random things. The object is that he/she must catch the ball as u yell out something and if he/she drops the ball, or does not catch it, the object yelled out is destroyed or broken. The broken or destroyed object can be revived with the next throw if the ball is caught. We used planets, so the child understood that they were solely responsible for saving the planet earth from being destroyed if they dropped the ball. When the ball is caught, the child throws it back to u and u start over again. It was lots of fun!! But Ty is younger, so u can yell out things that mean something to him, like his toys etc. U get to sit down and throw the ball while your child goes crazy running back and forth trying to catch the ball without dropping it. But make sure u have a LOT of running room for your child. This is also a gr8 way for the child to burn off some of that energy with all the running. U can use a smaller soft rubber ball if it is more convenient.
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