Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Games You Can Only Play With The Kids Once

I’ve observed lately that my kids are way smarter than I give them credit for when I try to get away with something.  Conversely, they’re, uh, not-so-bright when it comes to them thinking they can get away with stuff.  But I won’t dwell on that last point – that’s for a future post.  I do have to admit that even my best scheming usually fails to trick my troops.  Usually I will try to get them to do things that I want them to do by making it a “game.”  In this case, “game” is a nicer way of saying that I’m trying to manipulate the little creatures. 

Last week, alert-reader, Ken in Paris, sent in a great writing prompt to the HTF mailbox along these lines.  He sent over this cartoon that hit very close to home, except for the part where the dad has Alien Donald Trump hair.

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If you’re a dad and haven’t tried that game, you’re simply not trying hard enough.  Here are a few other “games you can only play with your kids once” (let’s be clear, I haven’t tried ALL of these . . . yet)-

  • “Whoever does the dishes will get a surprise” – the surprise usually being like an apple or something.  I kinda screwed that game up and it doesn’t get much traction at our house anymore since the last “surprise” was a . . . hug from daddy.
  • “Pin the tail on your sister” – this was pretty funny for a few minutes, until, well, you know, puncture wounds.
  • “Throw your brother’s clean underwear into the shower while he’s showering” – this is hilarious right up until someone tries to play the game with daddy
  • “How long can you project the sun through a magnifying glass onto your hand” – hands shouldn’t smoke, so this one only worked once
  • “I know you don’t like asparagus, but if you dip it in ketchup it’s actually super-fun to eat!” – this one works with MANY other deadly green foods, but not so much with asparagus
  • “Who wants to take this cup of cold water and go wake mommy up with it?” – again, a fun game to watch from a REALLY safe distance.  Once.

Those are just a few, but I’m sure my wise readers have a bunch more to add.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very funny! I wish I could contribute, but I'm drawing a blank. Let's play a game (you and I) and see who can come up with some really good ones the next few days and try them out on our kids. :)
One I just thought of: let's put a rubberband around the kitchen spray hose on a Sunday morning right before Church and see if Mommy notices. :)

Emmy said...

Too too funny! My husband does the surprise game all of the time, but it still works with my kids.. though occasionally he will vary it out and actually give them some candy, so it keeps them guessing and the game working :)

Roopa said...

Cool games..cant wait for sun to grow up so I can try some...
Magnifying glass on hand can get tricky. I tried it as a kid not because my dad asked me to play BTW ;). I didnt feel a burn or see any smoke come up but after 20 minutes when i took the magnifying glass off I had a burn on the back of my hand. I live with that burn scar still :(

CM said...

The "Let's see who can go the longest without talking!" game

The "No Complaining" game (every time someone complains every one else points and laughs)

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