To offset this I proclaimed today a PJ day and took on my kids in open nerf warfare. Maybe this isn't the most psychologically sound maneuver, but it kept them from fighting for a little while. It also gave my daughter an outlet for her bossiness, because I asked her to take pictures of the event. This took time. Apparently, my pose above wasn't enough, she had to set up a scene herself. Which resulted in this other picture below.
I was surprised it took my son so long to join in the battle. He was too preoccupied with the games on his tablet. But we shot at him enough that he eventually succumbed to our game.
I admit that all of this goofing around with my kids isn't productive. It's after lunchtime already and this is the first writing I've gotten done all day. But while it's important for me to get some work accomplished it's more important to teach my kids that there is more fun to be had with imaginative play than there is in watching TV or playing with their favorite electronic device.
As I gather up ideas for the holiday season and what they want this year, I'm happy to see that the list is still topped with toys. Of course, both of them decided today that they needed to add fuzzy socks to their wish lists. I guess mine generated sock envy. Anyhow, I hope that this trend of wanting to play and have fun continues a little longer. No matter how much fun I have with them now, playing as an adult isn't the same as doing it when you're a kid. But the most important thing I can teach them on days like this, is that interacting with people, especially people they love, is time that is irreplaceable. If they can carry that idea with them into adulthood maybe they will leave this world and the people they touched along the way a little happier. Nothing can take the place of giving other's our time. Not all the toys in the world.
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