Your Family:
The Value of Experiences
What do you get the kid who has everything? Ask parents raising children in the age of technology (apps, texts, and Facebook, oh my!) and they're likely to flash a familiar eye roll. Gone are the days when kids killed eight hours with just their imagination. Yesterday's parents used to decipher the rules of Monopoly; today they navigate gadgetry that no adult over 40 can reasonably use without the assistance of a 10 year-old. Little, it seems, can compete with computer graphics that dance-even Park Place. As stepmother to 8 year-old Mackenzie, this question has puzzled me (and her dad, mom, aunt, and both sets of grandparents) more than once: A room full of toys and none of them keep her interest longer than five minutes. For many reasons she has "too much," and we can trace the over-indulgence back to ourselves. (The last time I checked, Target doesn't consider magic beans or marbles as acceptable forms of payment, so it must be us.) And yet, Mackenzie would rather spend time with her wacky family than with anything in her room-and by "anything" I mean "everything." As it turns out, maybe what your child really needs isn't a 'thing' at all, but a quality experience with those she loves most.
Time is currency
It's heartening to realize that even bells and whistles have a shelf life. Never was this clearer in our house than last year, when cable tv was replaced by two popular back-ups, Taco Nights and Monster Mondays. A playground romp that casts me in the role of "Beasty" and Mackenzie's dad as "Crusty," together we chase her through tires, over swings, and up rope ladders while yelling incomprehensively at the tops of our lungs. She squeals with delight at how ridiculous we look, which only amps up the lunacy. Yes, it has its humiliations (the tires are a tight squeeze), but it's also become the best, most reliable part of our week.
Making memories
Given that Mackenzie favors her Dad and me over Super Mario Bros. any day-but especially Monster Mondays-we decided to give her the gift of a memory for her birthday. Her initial reaction to receiving an "experience" was certainly less than thrilled. No bouncy house? No presents thrown into a cubby never to be seen from again? Boring! Still, we stuck to our guns, planning a ziplining adventure for our girl who's always wanted to fly.
Priceless bonds
We needn't have worried that the two hours in the car one-way would be too long a journey for Mackenzie to endure, even though that's what the five-minute trip to Safeway has become. Not relying on a portable device for entertainment opened up a gateway to imagination. We sang silly songs, had whistling contests, and actually talked-out loud and in sentences! And, as she whooshed through the air yelling "Supergirl!" at a pitch that only Beastie and Crusty could appreciate, I knew we had finally given Mackenzie something her equal in preciousness. It lit up her smile from within, stirred her interest in the world around her, and brought us all closer together.
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