Fun for Nothin' Challenge

Hand in hand with our family's Summer '08: Local Destinations Project is Meg's Fun for Nothin' Challenge. After daily admiring the indigenous children of Mexico make toys and games out of what we adults might call "nothing," she is challenging us to encourage our children to do the same. (I added the challenge button to my sidebar; get yours at Meg's site) Her challenge comes at just the right time as I have been trying to get myself to focus on this very subject with my own little bored gringos.

Somehow my children have gradually slipped into the trap of awaiting entertainment. Since I am occupied a good part of the day with my own happy housekeeping pursuits--to which they are welcome, but rarely interested in joining--that leaves them moping about the house with "Nothing. To. Do." The "Nothing to Do" complaint is followed by one of several memorized parental lectures: a) the "how can you say there is nothing to do when you've got a closet full of toys" lecture or b) the "when I was a child, my parents didn't entertain me with jigs on the coffee table, I found plenty to do and didn't come back until dinner" lecture, or, most effective c) the "if you haven't got anything to do, I've got a long list of things you could do" lecture followed by a litany of household tasks that sends everyone running and diving into closets.

Who am I kidding here? Everyone knows these lectures don't ever inspire childhood imagination. They didn't inspire me when I was a child and why would they work with my own savvy kiddos? So why do I continue to dole out these dull little replies? They are easy. They are pre-programmed and memorized. Basically, I don't have to engage myself in the children or disturb my own thoughts to give these humorless speeches.

So this morning as I pondered my own tasks for the day, I gave a glance across the family room. There was an eleven year old sprawled thoughtlessly across the couch, a six year old rolling meaninglessly back and forth across the floor, an eight year old in some sort of yoga-like position re-reading a favorite book for the umpteenth time and a wandering two year old whining senselessly to herself. Dull, I thought. A dull morning ahead. Already some not so subtle "how will you entertain us today, Mom?" hints had been played and I could faintly here the "Nothing. To. Do." choir approaching through the fog. So, I issued an edict. Everyone go find something to do. No books, no moping around. Go do something interesting. Build something. Create something. Play something. But don't let me see you until lunch. The answer to all of your inquiries is "Absolutely. Yes, you can do that."

In other words, "Go get lost in some childhood adventure! Now. I mean it."

The children gawked at me in disbelief. And I shooed them outside with the final reminder, "Not 'til lunch, I tell you! Find an adventure! Tell me about it over bay scallops and linguini in two hours"

The hammering began. Then coloring. Water in the tub. Water outdoors. Eldest played with youngest. Sister with brother. There was alone time and group time. But a good time was had by all. Best of all, everyone had Something. To. Do. It was cost-free and lecture free. We rose to the challenge.

I'll post pics of their creations on Meg's flickr group soon. Join us in the challenge and link in the comments to your posts, otherwise we'll see you over at the flickr pool.