I guess the excuse you could make while sitting in the children’s section of your local bookstore reading various things for three hours could be, “Oh I am totally shopping for someone. And they’re very particular. Yes.” But if you have a toddler in your lap, nobody looks at you twice.
The age limit for playing on a playground is late teens- depending on what time of the day the equipment is being used. But if you’re encouraging a 3 year old down the slide, nobody scoffs at you for being a weirdo.
Unless you’re an artist, sitting in the break room with a box of colors and a My Little Pony coloring book will cause various muttering about your maturity level. But anyone meandering past while you sit with a small child, crayon in hand, will not be able to tell whether you’re coloring or coaching.
There’s a reason we like to do these activities: they’re fun. It’s too bad that society tells us it’s not okay to have fun like a kid once we reach a certain age. Good children’s books are cute, informative, amusing, and a good time to sit around and read. I am one of those people who can spend three hours in the children’s section (in fact, I enjoy it more without my children). And swings are a good time (I’m not usually terribly excited about slides, though, it depends what they’re made of; I have opinions of slides). My mom still has various crayon collections from when I was in elementary school: including the 96 piece crayola set, used lovingly and arranged according to shade. My daughter’s coloring books have her two year old scribbles on every page, but lots of the pictures are completely colored (if you ever want to get me a cheap gift, get me a coloring book; coloring is a good time).
I am very thankful that I get to teach my children how to have fun like a kid. They’ll be able to have a good time on their own until they’ve outgrown it... and then again when they have children of their own.
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