With such rapid technological advances and prolific marketing campaigns around the holidays, it can be challenging to purchase both an appropriate and fun toy for children of varying ages in a family.
As a child, growing up with three sisters, I can clearly remember how important it was on Christmas morning to first find my own stocking of goodies aside my own pile of gifts, but also, how exciting it was to discover the more subtly displayed, shared gift.
Some years the shared gift was a yard game while other years, it was an electronic, such as Atari. The shared gifts were often the ones I enjoyed the most, most likely because we used the gift together. It is because of these fond memories that today, as a grandparent, I try to make sure that the grandkids receive ONE toy or item that they, too, can all use together.
This year, the gift we chose for the kids was a very cool remote-control car. The car came with a rechargeable battery, which supported its lights, sound, speed, direction and movements. And since my husband also purchased one for himself/us, we got to try it out and discovered that, as far as remote-control cars go, this one seemed a bit unique in its design and controllability and — to be blunt, super cool and lots of fun. I bordered on certainty in my consideration that this gift would certainly be fun for all the kids. Therefore, it was surprising for both of us to see that the remote-control car was the last gift to be taken out of its box.
However, and with some gentle nudging, as soon as each child got a turn at controlling the car, the laughter and giggles and smiles were immediate. The youngest felt some frustration in trying to make the car go in the direction intended, but soon, her frustration was replaced with pride in being able to figure it out. The oldest may have been able to make the car go in a straight line the fastest, but the middle child mastered a signature spin and beamed ear to ear whenever the request came for a demonstration of the move. And when she asked me to come up with another trick she could try to master, I decided that it was now time for them to see how they could, indeed, all play with the ONE car, together: It was time for a race.
The rules for the race were simple; a short starting/finishing line was created on the floor and the large dog bed was placed in the middle. Each child needed to drive the crazy car around (not over or through) the dog bed three times with the fastest time indicative of the winner. I kept the time and my heart filled as I watched each child take their turn. The oldest helped the youngest, confident that his time would hold while the middle child delighted in not being the fastest but, perhaps, demonstrating the most stylish ride. They all laughed and cheered each other on while still maintaining a watchful eye in staving off any cheating. Three times around may have sounded, at first, like it would be but a momentary task, but in the end, the three kids proved that the experience would carry them, happily, throughout the rest of the day.
Again! Again!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!

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