One of the things you learn when you have children and start participating in play groups is that there is a certain code of etiquette that parents are expected to follow. There are many subtle facets, but one of the biggies is that if your child starts tussling with another child over a toy, the parents are expected to run over, vigorously remind their respective children that they need to learn to SHARE, and gently pull the kids fists away from one another’s faces.
I have a confession.
Little Ginger is not so little. In fact, she is very, very tall for her age, and she walked before many of the other kids in her play group. So when a tussle over a toy ensued, she could either beat the crap out of the other kid or, in the ultimate toddler flip-off, pick up the toy and walk away.
Take that, you scrawny, non-walking play group loser!!
Worse than that, I enjoyed watching this. I always put up the “now Ginger, you need to learn to share” facade, but part of me took of delight in her ability to stomp all over other kids’ dreams to play with a particular toy, especially since I’m not a very tall person myself.
Now that all of her peers walk, I enjoy watching her get into it with 4-year-olds, who on a good day might have half an inch on her. We once went to a childrens’ play place filled with kids we’d never met before. At one point, Ginger started a tug-of-war over some toy with a little boy who clearly was much older than she. No matter what he did, the little boy could not get Ginger to let go of the toy.
This all happened only feet away from me, but I let it go because I wanted to see how Ginger handled being bullied like this. Gotta toughen ’em up young! I also just wanted to see this young girl whup this older, bigger boy. But that wasn’t my main motivation, I swear! No, really, I promise!!
The little boy’s mother suddenly noticed what was happening, ran over, and broke up the tussle, admonishing her little boy for not SHARING. Ginger still had the toy in her hands when this happened, so she kept the toy. YESSSSSSSSSSSS!
Fast forward to my darling Fred. Now 16 months, he isn’t walking yet. The kid can talk up a storm, more than Ginger ever did at this age, but he hasn’t found the confidence to take that first step.
Nevertheless, and despite being incredibly tall for his age as well, Fred now is on the receiving end of those Toddler Flip-Offs. He gets a lot of practice while fighting with Ginger at home, and some of those experiences have paid off – no one puts a death grip on a small, inflatable ball like my little Fred!! But he still gets stripped of the ball on a regular basis, and other children his age giggle as they run off with Fred’s toy. Take that, you scrawny, non-walking play group loser!
BEEP BEEP, there goes the karma bus!
But all of those toy-stealing kids had better prepare themselves. Once Fred finds the courage to put one foot in front of the next, those long legs are going to outrun the other, pathetically small kids. Take that, you short-legged, slow play group losers!