We tried for ages to get Big Sis riding the hand me down bike, which in all fairness was too big for her. I finally admitted defeat when our normally even tempered little angel attacked the bike with hands, feet and even a stick, screaming “Stupid Bike!” - as other kids whizzed past! I decided our lesson in frugality was at the expense Big Sis’ sense of mastery. Asking ourselves what Martin Seligman would have to say - DSO took her to the bike shop the same day!
The result was a very nifty bike of exactly the right size and neutral coloring so its ready for Little Bro when the time comes (there was a concession of a pink removable bell).
Today Big Sis took a giant step into independence by riding her bike all the way to and from Kinder! I felt very proud of our little compliance officer when she stopped at the driveways and discussed in length whether the cars she could see were moving, and whether it was safe to go!
Little Bro was in the pram. He was desperate to travel on his trike (one with a big stick out the back that I hold onto) but I knew that would be too much, with Big Sis being trained in car awareness and Dog by our side. Dog sulks all day if he misses the Kinder run! Little Bro adjusted to the disappointment very quickly and as exploring language is his new hobby spent his time shouting out words (I use the term loosely) as they occurred to him.
At one stage he stumbled across the word “bum”, which every parent knows is one of the funniest words in the world for the under 5’s. It only gets funnier if paired with another word of equal humour - such as “poopy bum”, or even better “poopy bum head”!
Anyway, Big Sis heard him and all but fell off her bike in laughter, which encouraged Little Bro to yell, “bum” louder and laugh like a maniac! We had to stop for 5 minutes while the kids recovered themselves and Big Sis regained her focus.
I’ve always wanted kids with a sense of humour - to keep me laughing well into my old age! So I was left wondering whether this new turn in their relationship was a promising sign? Let’s just hope they develop through the toddler humour to something a little more sophisticated? Here’s hoping John Cleese, Woody Allen and Ricky Gervaise were all early adopters of the bum gags at Kinder.
Bike, humour, kids independence, kinder
Little Bro is starting to feel better. I could tell when he marched past me this afternoon enunciating his first three word sentence on the top of his (not so) little voice, “Ride my bike”, he shouted! Of course, being 19 months old it is only his mother (or father) who can easily interpret his words.
I knew I had interpreted correctly however, because ride his bike he did - around the courtyard for half an hour. He repeated the words “Ride my bike!” at 10 second intervals the entire time! Each time it was at the same volume and with identical intonation, each syllable equally emphasised. It was like a politician with a sound bite at election time!
Just another example of a lesson in life my kids have taught me - never be afraid to repeat yourself (again and again if necessary)! Eventually someone listens, and even if they don’t, there’s always the simple pleasure of the sound of your own voice!
Bike, toddlers speaking
Unfortunately for the kids I’m reading Affluenza at the moment - and dwelling on the outrageous level of our consumption. I mean, the stuff we buy, how miserable we are working so hard to buy more stuff, throwing out that stuff and then buying more stuff but still not feeling any better!
Anyway, if the kids were a bit older they would be rolling their eyes going, “Uh Oh, mummy is reading one of those books again”! So when faced with the issue that Big Sis is ready for a real bike (with trainer wheels), I sourced one that a neighborhood kid had finished with rather than joining the annual festival of plastic at Toys R Us!
The only problem is that said bike is blue and looks a little, well, masculine. In my day it wouldn’t matter but these days little girls seem to require totally pink bikes, with flowers, Bratz branding all over it and a matching outfit before they can be seen in the park.
DSO discussed this long and hard, we both agreed that the bike we have sourced is a good bike - but there is some niggling feeling that unless you have handed over your plastic to buy the one everyone else has you are some how short changing your kid. You are not living up to your obligations as a successful and insatiable consumer!
Big Sis loves the new bike and at this stage doesn’t care what colour it is.
My only concern is that some delightful 4 or 5 year old girl will approach her and tell her she is riding a boys bike! But I figure that is a good opportunity to reinforce that we march to our own tune in our family, and let her practice telling those not so nice people in the world what they can do with their Bratz dolls!
Bike, Consumption, Gender Differences, shopping
