Outshining Mommy

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Posted by Dharm

Being a Dad is never easy. Kids always seem to prefer their Mom. I suppose I can understand that in some ways. After all, I’m the one that is the disciplinarian. I’m the one that does all the nasty things like pointing to the corner and telling them to go stand there. How many of you remember the old cartoon series Wait till your father gets home? Yeah, some things never change. My Lovely Wife, although playing a large role in disciplining the kids, still leaves the bulk of it to me and the phrase “Shall I tell Daddy what you did?” is often the trick in getting the children to behave.

There is one thing however where I will always outshine Mommy. There is just no comparison when it comes to this. Somehow, the Lovely Wife just cant do this well – even when she tries, the kids will just shake their heads and say Daddy is better! If your thinking it's cooking, you couldn't be more wrong!




So what is this magic that I have? Nothing more than Silly Games! The kids know they are nothing but silly games -but they love them! The Lovely Wife can't figure out what makes the kids laugh so much and have a whale of a time. She thinks the games are - well, Silly!

Here are five silly games that I play with my kids that they thoroughly enjoy.

The Boat Story
Lie on the bed with the knees raised and together with the soles of your feet on the bed. Place your child on your stomach and let them lie back on your upraised knees. Grasp their hands in your’s and tell this story.

(I pause at the parts in Italics and get the kids to say it themselves – It lends to more participation and of course more fun!)

Once upon a time, there was a girl called Sarah. One day she decided to go to the harbour. She got into a Boat

(this is where you would wiggle a little to simulate the movement of getting into the boat)

The girl started to row the boat out into the sea. (now you move her hands forward and back in a rowing motion). It was a lovely day with the sun shining brightly and the wind blowing in her hair.

Suddenly… it began to rain! The waves became larger. (your rowing action would become a little crazy now and you’d start swaying and bucking your body to toss your child around a bit) The sea swelled and the waves crashed into the boat. The girl was thrown overboard! (you’d jerk your body and tip your child off of you and onto the bed.)

They will be in fits of laughter at this stage and asking you to do it again! The Boat is sometimes varied to an Aeroplane or a Train - anything really.

Sleepy Daddy
Call your child over and ask for a hug. As you are hugging them, rest your chin on their head or shoulders and then pretend to fall asleep. Start snoring while hugging them really tightly. Your child will start squirming and asking you to let them go. Pretend that you are fast asleep. They will start calling out your name, trying to wake you. Let them call out your name for a while and then suddenly ‘wake-up’ and look around you as if startled. “What, what?” you cry out. “What’s worng? Why are you shouting? I fell asleep….”

You’d be amazed how something as silly as this makes them laugh so hard.


Time Machine.
This game is probably the most fun of all as the whole family can play together! Lie in bed pulling the covers over your and pretend you are in a time machine. Flick imaginary switches as you go through an imaginary checklist.

Engine Oil – All okay
Food supplies – yes, okay
Temperature – good
Oxygen supply – check

Finish off with “set the time for the time machine” My son used to love going “back in time” to the Jurassic or Triassic period. After the “Time” has been set, make a hissing sound and lot of bumps and groans. Then make another hissing sound as you lift the covers off and pretend you are in another time period. Let your imagination run wild and try to ‘see’ things that you would in that time period. If Mommy isn’t playing and she happens to come into the room, make her the ‘dangerous dinosaur’ and quickly get back under the covers and set the time machine to present time – returning home to find Mommy!

Stop Running
This is a great game to play when out shopping. First, as you walk along holding your childs hand, tell them in a rather stern voice (but friendly manner, so they know you are playing) “Don’t run around okay? I don’t want you running in the shopping centre”. Walk along slowly and then speed up a little so you are a few steps in front of your child. Pull your hand forward quickly so they are forced to run forward to keep up with the momentum. Then you ‘scold’ them – “I thought I told you not to run!” Keep doing this until your arms gets tired – which it is bound to do! My kids absolutely love this game! A variation to this game is to walk really fast while holding their hands so they are forced to run - or at least jog at a fast trot - to keep up. Then you ‘scold’ them again for running! This is where they break out in a huge grin and say “Daddy, you are the one making me run!”


Kids Rides
Pretend you are a kid ride – you know, the coin operated kind you find in shopping centres. Place your child on your knee and as them what ‘machine’ you are supposed to be. Then ask them to put a coin into the machine (all make believe of course) Once the ‘coin is deposited’ start a rolling, rocking motion with your legs, while holding the back of their shirts of pants – so that they don’t fall off!

All really quite silly games aren't they. I have fun though and so do the kids - and I guess that's what is important. I hope that when the kids are all grown up, they will remember these silly games that we played and how much fun they used to have with Daddy.

I’m sure all of you have your own ‘silly games’ to entertain your kids. What are some of yours?



Are you interested in contributing to The Daily Tiffin? Drop us an email: blogmeeta@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing your ideas.

This Post was written by Dharm from Dad ~ Baker & Chef



9 comments:

Hey Dharam I always enjoy reading your posts and your style of writing.Most of all your desserts are the best....I'm kinda scared of baking though I'd love to.
My daughter is 9 months old and its so nice playing with her....right now her fav games are peek a boo and Hide and seek.

Recipeswap said...
May 7, 2008 at 7:07:00 PM GMT+2  

I remember the days but my own daughter is now 21. Some day I will be playing with the grandchildren though:D

May 7, 2008 at 11:00:00 PM GMT+2  

Dharm,
First of all, you don't need to outshine mum because your kids know that you have your own brand of "shine", I think.
Second, there are some kids who prefer their dads. My daughter wouldn't be able to choose between us, but she feels her Dad is more understanding most of the time!
As for really playing those games with our daughter, I'm afraid my husband scores here. I'm like your wife here.

May 8, 2008 at 11:47:00 AM GMT+2  

gorgeous article dharm!

Anonymous said...
May 8, 2008 at 2:26:00 PM GMT+2  

Thanks for the nice comments everyone!

Dharm said...
May 8, 2008 at 3:10:00 PM GMT+2  

thats a lovely article - you are right, dads win hands down in the silly games dept! the one game that she loves is the silly faces. every time she touches a certain part of his face, he'll make a new expression - a really silly one. she's still trying to figure out which part of the face is which expression. Pull Nose - Tongue comes out. Pull Ears - Eyes Roll up etc. hmm...not sure why its so funny! lol!

Arundathi said...
May 10, 2008 at 5:09:00 AM GMT+2  

Great to meet you and see your blog here......do you guys have blog groups in english.....none visit my english blogs,like the regionala languages for which we have groups.nice to meet you here, dear.

May 10, 2008 at 8:16:00 AM GMT+2  

it's been a while since i read something that made me feel so good :) i have a five year old so silly games are a norm. must try the time machine game, tho'.

by the way, in our household mummy's the silly one.

Dee said...
May 14, 2008 at 8:59:00 AM GMT+2  

Dharm i have to say i love this post. Tom, my hubby adores being a kid and fooling around with Soeren. Through him I too learned how to let go and simply freak out.

Having little ones and being so carefree with them is something to cherish.

Meeta K. Wolff said...
May 14, 2008 at 9:11:00 PM GMT+2  

Post a Comment