The other day, my wife took the kids to the New England Aquarium. Supposedly, they had fun. They told me about penguins pooping on the rocks, and about the sharks. Officially, the sharks never eat the other fish in the tank. (Here, the woman saying this wiggled her eyebrows.)
But what my kids will remember from that day is their visit to the Rose Kennedy Greenway. You paid for it, so if you haven’t heard of it, it’s part of the Big Dig project. Thanks for your money. It turned a really ugly stretch of highway into a really ugly underground stretch of highway, and then deposited some delightful little parks right into the heart of Boston.
The main attraction from a kid’s perspective is the water display. I’d call it a fountain, but that’s too passive. It’s one of those series of jets of water that do different things, and that kids (mostly) use for tactical soakings.
My daughter played in this water for well over an hour. I recorded an interview. My wife and son got wet at different times (though my 3 year old wasn’t really into it once he got a face full at an inopportune moment).
In the end, this is what they will remember. They will remember the moments of pure, unbridled fun. Learning is great. Experiences are great. But if you don’t look for pockets of pure fun, you’re missing the finer things, at least from a kid’s eye view.
Agree?
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Damn skippy. It’s made my weekend to read this. Got 2 kids of my own. And like, you I try to remember to see the world from a kid’s eye view now and then, especially when things get tough.
Well said Chris.
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Chris: I absolutely agree with you. We often over-complicate our lives in trying to give our kids what we think they want.
In our world of technology and media, it’s nice to remember that often times when a child opens up the latest gadget given to him or her as a gift, they will set it aside and play with the box it came in.
While I think computers and technology can aid in learning and development, what is most impactful is to send our kids to the backyard, to the woods to explore nature, use their minds without the aid of chips and 1s and 0s. Thanks for the reminder of the simplicity of life as seen through the eyes of our children.
@bruceeric
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It is the simple things kids remember, they learn from everything, giant sponges soaking in experience. My kids always learn best in unstructured, fun experiences. Nice post.
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I’ve always been the guy people seem to wonder at because I’m playing with something no “grup” should be. I have the busyness apps and the fun apps on my iPod Touch. I’ve got the fun puzzles, slinkies, and juggle-ready tennis balls in my office. If I didn’t look for the fun in my day, I’d probably go mad… and those days I get caught up in the busyness and don’t take the time to flex the brain a bit are days I’m doing less well. Thanks for the reminder, Chris.
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If you remove this “at least from a kid’s eye view”, then I agree.
For some reason, pure fun is for kids.
I think it is (or at least should be) for everyone.
If we just forget to be proper, busy or whatever is holding us back.
Tally
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Great idea this site is Chris! As a dad i find myself enjoying the simplest pleasures as well. There is nothing quite like seeing your child’s eyes light up in excitement over something us “adults” often take for granted.
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You’re absolutely right Chris. Life is full of opportunities — some good, some bad. However, there can be fun in just about anything, especially when kids are involved. The benefit of being a dad is the lifetime of fun you enjoy via the experiences of your kids.
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We can learn a lot from our kids… as you noted, they had over an hour of “pure unbridled fun” yet only a few adults actually participated in the enjoyment. That’s too bad – just think of how relaxed we could all be if we just stopped being adults for an hour and just had fun like kids again 🙂
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The best days of my life are when I stop to enjoy life with my kids.
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Damn skippy. It's made my weekend to read this. Got 2 kids of my own. And like, you I try to remember to see the world from a kid's eye view now and then, especially when things get tough.
Well said Chris.
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Damn skippy. It's made my weekend to read this. Got 2 kids of my own. And like, you I try to remember to see the world from a kid's eye view now and then, especially when things get tough.
Well said Chris.
#
Chris: I absolutely agree with you. We often over-complicate our lives in trying to give our kids what we think they want.
In our world of technology and media, it's nice to remember that often times when a child opens up the latest gadget given to him or her as a gift, they will set it aside and play with the box it came in.
While I think computers and technology can aid in learning and development, what is most impactful is to send our kids to the backyard, to the woods to explore nature, use their minds without the aid of chips and 1s and 0s. Thanks for the reminder of the simplicity of life as seen through the eyes of our children.
@bruceeric
#
Chris: I absolutely agree with you. We often over-complicate our lives in trying to give our kids what we think they want.
In our world of technology and media, it's nice to remember that often times when a child opens up the latest gadget given to him or her as a gift, they will set it aside and play with the box it came in.
While I think computers and technology can aid in learning and development, what is most impactful is to send our kids to the backyard, to the woods to explore nature, use their minds without the aid of chips and 1s and 0s. Thanks for the reminder of the simplicity of life as seen through the eyes of our children.
@bruceeric
#
It is the simple things kids remember, they learn from everything, giant sponges soaking in experience. My kids always learn best in unstructured, fun experiences. Nice post.
#
It is the simple things kids remember, they learn from everything, giant sponges soaking in experience. My kids always learn best in unstructured, fun experiences. Nice post.
#
I've always been the guy people seem to wonder at because I'm playing with something no “grup” should be. I have the busyness apps and the fun apps on my iPod Touch. I've got the fun puzzles, slinkies, and juggle-ready tennis balls in my office. If I didn't look for the fun in my day, I'd probably go mad… and those days I get caught up in the busyness and don't take the time to flex the brain a bit are days I'm doing less well. Thanks for the reminder, Chris.
#
I've always been the guy people seem to wonder at because I'm playing with something no “grup” should be. I have the busyness apps and the fun apps on my iPod Touch. I've got the fun puzzles, slinkies, and juggle-ready tennis balls in my office. If I didn't look for the fun in my day, I'd probably go mad… and those days I get caught up in the busyness and don't take the time to flex the brain a bit are days I'm doing less well. Thanks for the reminder, Chris.
#
If you remove this “at least from a kid’s eye view”, then I agree.
For some reason, pure fun is for kids.
I think it is (or at least should be) for everyone.
If we just forget to be proper, busy or whatever is holding us back.
Tally
#
If you remove this “at least from a kid’s eye view”, then I agree.
For some reason, pure fun is for kids.
I think it is (or at least should be) for everyone.
If we just forget to be proper, busy or whatever is holding us back.
Tally
#
Great idea this site is Chris! As a dad i find myself enjoying the simplest pleasures as well. There is nothing quite like seeing your child's eyes light up in excitement over something us “adults” often take for granted.
#
Great idea this site is Chris! As a dad i find myself enjoying the simplest pleasures as well. There is nothing quite like seeing your child's eyes light up in excitement over something us “adults” often take for granted.
#
You're absolutely right Chris. Life is full of opportunities — some good, some bad. However, there can be fun in just about anything, especially when kids are involved. The benefit of being a dad is the lifetime of fun you enjoy via the experiences of your kids.
#
You're absolutely right Chris. Life is full of opportunities — some good, some bad. However, there can be fun in just about anything, especially when kids are involved. The benefit of being a dad is the lifetime of fun you enjoy via the experiences of your kids.
#
We can learn a lot from our kids… as you noted, they had over an hour of “pure unbridled fun” yet only a few adults actually participated in the enjoyment. That's too bad – just think of how relaxed we could all be if we just stopped being adults for an hour and just had fun like kids again 🙂
#
We can learn a lot from our kids… as you noted, they had over an hour of “pure unbridled fun” yet only a few adults actually participated in the enjoyment. That's too bad – just think of how relaxed we could all be if we just stopped being adults for an hour and just had fun like kids again 🙂
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The best days of my life are when I stop to enjoy life with my kids.
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The best days of my life are when I stop to enjoy life with my kids.
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You hit it here Chris. As a dad of two (ages 8 and 10) I’m blown away by the simple things that kids delight in. Time spent together enjoying these moments is money in the bank for an incredible relationship later in life. Thanks for bringing our focus back when it’s so easy to get distracted today. Best to you in the days ahead.
-Joe Bruzzese
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We couldn’t agree more. We love to do things with our kids and repeatedly find that the simplest ones tend to be the ones they enjoy most. That’s why we did park day (13 parks in one day)- just for the sheer joy of runnig around and having fun. At our kids’ birthday parties, we find that our best activities are the ones that took the least effort to put together. For example, we had a pirate party for one of our boy’s 5th birthday party and kids had to “walk the plank” for cake (the plank was a fence board that we propped up on our stairs and a box so it was about 1.5 feet off the ground). The kids loved jumping off the end of it and onto the ground- they must have spent 20 minutes doing that and coming up with creative ways to go off the end of it. Keep it simple and look for the joy in things!
Thanks for reminding us of this!
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Chris –
And isn’t that what we (hopefully) all remember? The “moments of pure, unbridled fun.” True that from a kid’s POV those ARE the finer things in life. My question would be – what’s happened to so many “grown-ups” that they have given up on that? Whether it’s having a hot-fudge sundae or french fries for breakfast or getting up in the middle of the night to look at shooting stars and pretend they’re people flying through outer space – it’s all about the fun. The old cliche about taking time to smell the roses never has been so true. Everyone should try to view things from a kid’s eye view at least twice a day. The new perspectives it gives you can’t be measured – only enjoyed and they will make your life so much richer.
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I completely agree! If we get into too big of a hurry we can forget to give them the space they need in the day to have and enjoy those pockets.
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Thank You for your comment about what the children will remember the most, the fun. Today I’m taking my two kids to 6 flags and your comment is a great reminder of why we do these things for our kids…for the memories and the fun. Today the kids will make a lot of memories and have a lot of fun.
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You hit it here Chris. As a dad of two (ages 8 and 10) I'm blown away by the simple things that kids delight in. Time spent together enjoying these moments is money in the bank for an incredible relationship later in life. Thanks for bringing our focus back when it's so easy to get distracted today. Best to you in the days ahead.
-Joe Bruzzese
#
You hit it here Chris. As a dad of two (ages 8 and 10) I'm blown away by the simple things that kids delight in. Time spent together enjoying these moments is money in the bank for an incredible relationship later in life. Thanks for bringing our focus back when it's so easy to get distracted today. Best to you in the days ahead.
-Joe Bruzzese
#
We couldn't agree more. We love to do things with our kids and repeatedly find that the simplest ones tend to be the ones they enjoy most. That's why we did park day (13 parks in one day)- just for the sheer joy of runnig around and having fun. At our kids' birthday parties, we find that our best activities are the ones that took the least effort to put together. For example, we had a pirate party for one of our boy's 5th birthday party and kids had to “walk the plank” for cake (the plank was a fence board that we propped up on our stairs and a box so it was about 1.5 feet off the ground). The kids loved jumping off the end of it and onto the ground- they must have spent 20 minutes doing that and coming up with creative ways to go off the end of it. Keep it simple and look for the joy in things!
Thanks for reminding us of this!
#
We couldn't agree more. We love to do things with our kids and repeatedly find that the simplest ones tend to be the ones they enjoy most. That's why we did park day (13 parks in one day)- just for the sheer joy of runnig around and having fun. At our kids' birthday parties, we find that our best activities are the ones that took the least effort to put together. For example, we had a pirate party for one of our boy's 5th birthday party and kids had to “walk the plank” for cake (the plank was a fence board that we propped up on our stairs and a box so it was about 1.5 feet off the ground). The kids loved jumping off the end of it and onto the ground- they must have spent 20 minutes doing that and coming up with creative ways to go off the end of it. Keep it simple and look for the joy in things!
Thanks for reminding us of this!
#
Chris –
And isn't that what we (hopefully) all remember? The “moments of pure, unbridled fun.” True that from a kid's POV those ARE the finer things in life. My question would be – what's happened to so many “grown-ups” that they have given up on that? Whether it's having a hot-fudge sundae or french fries for breakfast or getting up in the middle of the night to look at shooting stars and pretend they're people flying through outer space – it's all about the fun. The old cliche about taking time to smell the roses never has been so true. Everyone should try to view things from a kid's eye view at least twice a day. The new perspectives it gives you can't be measured – only enjoyed and they will make your life so much richer.
#
Chris –
And isn't that what we (hopefully) all remember? The “moments of pure, unbridled fun.” True that from a kid's POV those ARE the finer things in life. My question would be – what's happened to so many “grown-ups” that they have given up on that? Whether it's having a hot-fudge sundae or french fries for breakfast or getting up in the middle of the night to look at shooting stars and pretend they're people flying through outer space – it's all about the fun. The old cliche about taking time to smell the roses never has been so true. Everyone should try to view things from a kid's eye view at least twice a day. The new perspectives it gives you can't be measured – only enjoyed and they will make your life so much richer.
#
I completely agree! If we get into too big of a hurry we can forget to give them the space they need in the day to have and enjoy those pockets.
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I completely agree! If we get into too big of a hurry we can forget to give them the space they need in the day to have and enjoy those pockets.
#
Thank You for your comment about what the children will remember the most, the fun. Today I'm taking my two kids to 6 flags and your comment is a great reminder of why we do these things for our kids…for the memories and the fun. Today the kids will make a lot of memories and have a lot of fun.
#
Thank You for your comment about what the children will remember the most, the fun. Today I'm taking my two kids to 6 flags and your comment is a great reminder of why we do these things for our kids…for the memories and the fun. Today the kids will make a lot of memories and have a lot of fun.
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Those parks were one of my kids’ favorite places to visit while we were out there with my parents this summer.
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My children once built an entire city out of appliance boxes that stayed in our basement for a long time. Children help to remind us of what we forget as we grow up; simplicity, joy, in the moment-ness and that learning almost anything new is what keeps us young. Sad that most of us either routinely forget or ignore these lessons. Gotta go now, heading out to play in the sprinkler.
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Chris, I totally agree. Some of my own faves with my son… Making cupcakes and going crazy with the sprinkles — no holds barred. Slip ‘N Slide in the back yard to the point where the grass under the thing is completely flattened — and not caring. Skipping the diet for a night and having family movie night in the den with a large pizza, then snuggling up together on the couch. Good stuff.
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Those parks were one of my kids' favorite places to visit while we were out there with my parents this summer.
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Those parks were one of my kids' favorite places to visit while we were out there with my parents this summer.
#
My children once built an entire city out of appliance boxes that stayed in our basement for a long time. Children help to remind us of what we forget as we grow up; simplicity, joy, in the moment-ness and that learning almost anything new is what keeps us young. Sad that most of us either routinely forget or ignore these lessons. Gotta go now, heading out to play in the sprinkler.
#
My children once built an entire city out of appliance boxes that stayed in our basement for a long time. Children help to remind us of what we forget as we grow up; simplicity, joy, in the moment-ness and that learning almost anything new is what keeps us young. Sad that most of us either routinely forget or ignore these lessons. Gotta go now, heading out to play in the sprinkler.
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Chris, I totally agree. Some of my own faves with my son… Making cupcakes and going crazy with the sprinkles  no holds barred. Slip 'N Slide in the back yard to the point where the grass under the thing is completely flattened  and not caring. Skipping the diet for a night and having family movie night in the den with a large pizza, then snuggling up together on the couch. Good stuff.