Up on My Shoulders “Déjà Vu” (Ages 3-8)
“Eat all your vegetables and you will grow big and tall like this,” I suggested, as I hoisted my youngest child up on my shoulders. I heard only hysterical laughter as my child reacted to the new adult perspective (or to the balding spot on the crown of my head).
Rarely do children have such an opportunity to see, manipulate, maneuver, and experience the world as we do, at our level. With this in mind, help them enjoy our point of view, so they can:
EXAMINE:
• The whites of our eyes (instead of the underside of our chins)
• Brownies baking in the upper oven
• The other side of the fence
• Who’s in the picture on the fireplace mantel
• What the large crowd is looking at
• What the Pharmacist is doing.
MANIPULATE:
• The items on high shelves and in cabinets at home
• The light bulbs in or out of a socket
• A basketball into the basket
• The fruit from a tree
• The food items on the high shelves at the market.
RIDE:
• To bed at night
• To greet people at the door
• Around the neighborhood for a walk
• In a circle as a lighthouse beam
• Around in the swimming pool.
Of course, with this broadening of horizons can come potential headaches, so . . .
WATCH OUT FOR:
• Door jambs
• Low-hanging branches
• Hanging lights
• Clotheslines
• Ceiling fans (especially those in motion).
The seemingly trivial amusement of raising your child up on your shoulders might have even greater significance as a metaphor for validating your child. The contrast of being up versus down is worth examining.
• To LIFT your children up is to INSPIRE.
• To SUPPORT is to ENCOURAGE.
• To ELEVATE is to give PROMINENCE.
• To make them HIGH is to EXCITE.
Conversely . . .
• To keep them DOWN is to OPPRESS.
• To let them DOWN is to DISAPPOINT.
• To look DOWN on them is to HUMILIATE.
• To be DOWN is to be DEPRESSED.
You might imagine that someday, when your children are grown UP, they might stop in their tracks and experience a contented feeling of déjà vu.
Rex Bowlby is the father of two boys. He is the author of the book, Why Would I Want the Toy, When I Can Have the Box? (101 Ways to Make the Most of Your Children, With the Least from Your Wallet*) *For parents with children ages 3-8. He lives in Los Angeles, California, USA.