One birthday party down, another to go. We didn’t really think that far ahead when we planned our pregnancies around the same time, and now our kids’ birthdays are three weeks apart. Close enough together that we don’t forget, but close enough together that they don’t forget either. Miss P turned two on Sunday, and we had her Mickey Mouse-themed party here at the house on Saturday. It turned out to be a pretty fun and laid back fete. The ten or so kids that were here had fun trashing every room in the house. At one point, all four of the little girls that were here and crawled in to Miss P’s crib, along with every play baby they could find, and had an impromptu slumber party. It looked like some of the college parties I’ve attended heard of. Miss P seemed to enjoy the limelight and attention that surrounded her that day, and would have had us all sing Happy Birthday in a constant loop if we’d allowed it.
However, big brother Mr. B also knew that with the passing of Miss P’s birthday came his around the corner. And since Miss P hasn’t developed quite the same zest for ripping opening presents as he had, it was a struggle to get him to slow down and let her enjoy opening presents yesterday. And, of course, what she had, he wanted. And that he anxiously wanted his birthday gift requests fullfilled. I purposely had my father get them both keyboards for their birthdays, which they opened on Saturday morning. Two. That way they would both have one to play with which would eliminate fighting. Thus giving Mommy less of a headache. And yet, AND YET, they still found a way to fight about them. Oy. That being said, I think Miss P enjoyed herself and has had a ball playing with her new toys.
Now I’m on to Mr. B and his toy requests for his upcoming fifth birthday. There are some things that are perfectly appropriate and doable. He wants a 5-gallon aquarium for his little Betta fish. Fine. Perhaps a telescope that he can bring camping with him in the summer to check out the stars and planets. Awesome. We also have Twister, a tennis racket and books lined up from family. But the big thing he wants? A toy gun. Probably like a Nerf thing. And this one? I’m sooooo resistant to this.
While I think by nature Mr. B is a pretty gentle and compassionate kid, he’s been age-appropriately violent lately. Hitting his sister, fashioning guns out of legos and swords out of sticks, wanting everything to be a play fight. I do believe this is the handywork of a buddy at school, who’s parents let him do and watch whatever he wants. This kids is a bad influence, but there’s not much I can really do about it. The teachers have banned this kind of play at school, and in a more relaxed fashion, we’ve I’ve banned it at home. And while I know that the more I get pissed when Mr. B spouts off his requests for a gun, the more he probably wants it. My husband is not on the same page as I am. He thinks that because he grew up playing with toy guns and that kind of dramatic play and he turned out fine, that our son will too. But I’m not convinced. It seems we live in a more violent atmosphere than we did 30-40 years ago. Or maybe it’s more readily accessible. I know that Nerf guns in and of themselves aren’t horrible. But he’s 5. My cousin’s husband, a hunter in his spare time, accidentally hit me in the eye with one of those Nerf dart thingies. This is a man who has killed elk! So, why would I want to hand over a spongy weapon to my preschooler who can’t even aim his urine in to the toilet 3 times out of 5?
Yes, I know the day will come when my voice won’t get heard any more, and Mr. B will head to Target with his own gift card, purchase the entire selection of Nerf products and have at it. But while he’s still interested in naive little things like space, paper airplanes, dogs and coloring, can’t we just hold on to that for a little while? Does he have to start playing more adult things so soon? Is this more my issue than his?
