I have school age children who are still working on their problem solving skills with each other. After a day spent with toddlers and an afternoon/evening with my three, I have to wonder, when in the hell do kid's problem solving skills develop?? Pre-kids I would have thought that school agers would problem solve with sensibility. Turns out I was wrong. Sometimes there's not much difference between a toddler tantrum and a school age freak out over something ridiculous (today's was one child pressed the wrong button on the Blu-ray player and the other lost it on him, which resulted in child number one chucking the disc across the room). Here's how (or so it seems) kids go about problem solving....and if you have a child who can solve problems without a single break down, just don't even read it. I kinda don't want to hear from you right now.
How To Solve A Problem (If You're A Kid):
1.) Identify the problem (ie: someone, somewhere in the world moved wrong/told you something you didn't like/did something/looked at you in a way you didn't like/took a toy away/said you were wrong/is using the red cup when you wanted it/is playing with the toy you wanted to play with).
2.) Screech, scream, and howl as loudly as possibly. If no one seems to be paying attention, do it louder and add flailing into the mix.
3.) If flailing and screeching aren't working, obviously throw yourself on the floor as hard as possible. If someone doesn't think you harmed yourself, you didn't do it hard enough. Stage a repeat. Also be sure to keep up with the screaming. It totally helps.
4.) Throw things. Anything. Whatever is closest to you (if you're my child, a DVD disc aimed at your brother's head does the trick).
5.) Calm down just enough to tell someone what the problem is.....but keep up with whimpering just to show you can go back to screaming and flailing at any moment.
6.) Once they're interested enough to help, stop being upset. Just stop. Immediately. Act like whoever came to your rescue is insane by offering a calm and simple solution. Promptly walk away and give them a glare. They must learn their sensibility has no room in your life. Assholes.
I'm always eager to hear what others are giving their kids for Christmas. We're big on experiences in our house, as my minis are accustomed to new toys/games/books/etc. throughout the year, on account of the daycare. We're continuing with the experiences theme and gifting them a 12 day trip to Florida (taking place in a few months). Their gifts include beach related items and various other things that will be used during the trip (tickets, beach toys, car entertainment). We're also doing a few other non-vacation-related toys and such that they've had their eyes on.
Still looking for ideas?? Here's what we're getting our three and other ideas for Christmas:
1.) What Florida vacation is complete without a trip to Disney World? While our main destination are the Keys, we're taking some time to enjoy the magic of Disney. Those tickets are not cheap, so I'm relieved to give them as one of their big Santa gifts.
2.) The thing I'm looking forward to the most is our day at Dry Tortugas National Park. As one of the remotest Parks, it requires a ferry ride to get there and back, which also makes it a fun Christmas gift.
3.) In keeping with the beach theme, Lego is helping us out too, because we can't go a Christmas without some kind of Lego to unwrap.
4.) Nothing to do with our travels, but I couldn't pass up these pajamas for the kids. I can almost guarantee these will be played in more than slept in.
5.) How do we pass our time in the car? With books of course! On the reading list for this trip: Freckle Juice, The Fabled Fifth Graders of Aesop Elementary School, Fourth Grade Rats, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Wonder, and She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed The World.
6.) Water Wow! is perfect for car trips (other than needing to fill up that damn pen every so often).
7.) The oldest is currently obsessed with music. He has requested a number of things: an electric guitar (he has an acoustic....we're not quite ready for an electric), another instrument he can learn to play, an Echo Dot (we already have numerous devices around our house), or a record player. We chose to go with the record player and his favorite Beatles record.
8.) These warm socks are perfect for winter and for a stocking stuffer for the Hubs.
9.) Starbucks gift cards are filling up stockings this year since the minis have discovered the joys of cake pops and refreshers.
10.) My husband works long days during the Christmas season. For a special date night in on a weeknight in the middle of December, I'll have our favorite Pizano's pizza delivered all the way from Chicago! It's the perfect surprise when we're both worn down and ready for Christmas to just get here already.
11.) Any beach getaway requires new beach towels, especially Disney ones!
12.) This magnetic word board should keep the three minis busy for quite a while. I haven't decided if this will be a good car activity or if we'll spend more time searching for dropped pieces than actually keeping busy.
13.) I couldn't pass up the Step 2 Christmas tree for the daycare littles. So far they love it in our Christmas corner.
Other Great Gifts for Kids
- Apparently Fingerlings are a hot toy this year. I snagged one as a stocking stuffer. We'll see what all of the fuss is about.
- Passes to local museums, zoo's, science centers, art centers, etc. are our usual go-to's. They can be used all year round, it helps support the local economy, and they can be enjoyed by all members of the family.
- Gift certificate for a class (or classes) or activity. Check out kids cooking classes, painting or drawing classes, bowling, movies, etc. These things keep us active during the winter months when it's much too cold to spend any length of time outdoors.
- Equipment or items used for an extracurricular activity. Have an athlete, budding artist, or a ballerina in your life? Soccer cleats, a new baseball bat and/or glove, sparkly tap shoes, a new paint brush set, a hockey stick. These are great gifts because, while simple, they'll be well used.
- Donations made in a child's name.
- Games. We stick with games that can be played as a family and/or with friends. Some of our favorites are Pie Face, Hedbanz, Guess Who?, and our National Park Memory game we grabbed at Badlands National Park.
