from Chapter 1: Instant Fun

The year my son Kevin was 8, one of our car pool drivers was often delayed picking the kids up from school. One afternoon, when Kevin was dropped off at home particularly late, I asked him what happened. He said that school personnel had asked him to wait for his ride in the room next to the principal’s office. Hadn’t he been awfully bored for that half hour? “No,” he said, “I kept busy finding the pictures in the wallpaper.”

That’s what “instant fun” is all about: keeping creatively occupied when a wait is unavoidable. Following are a multitude of ideas you and your child can use when the doctor or dentist makes you wait, when a car trip seems endless, or anytime you have minutes to spare.

FOR YOUR MIND ONLY

* Make up stories about the people around you. You can either take turns, one sentence or idea each, or just improvise together and see where the story goes and who wants to contribute the next bit of information or plot turn. Say there is a man with a briefcase seated across the room. Perhaps he is a spy or a counter-spy. Perhaps he is on his way to deliver the secret of how to make a new type of weapon, one which causes people’s shoes to become untied so that they trip on them. And so on.

* One of you chooses a person or perhaps an object such as a sofa or a cluttered desk, then both of you look hard at it for a short period of time. Then you both close your eyes, or turn in the other direction, and take turns telling everything you can remember about the chosen person or scene. This is more than a memory game, as it sharpens visual perception. You’ll find yourselves improving with repeated play.

* Play a version of “I Spy.” Think of something in the room and have the other person guess what it is by asking five yes-or-no questions about it. Or think of something not in the room and allow 10 or 20 questions. For example, you are thinking of a frying pan. Your son asks you questions like, “Is it larger than a salt shaker?” “Is it hard?” “Is it in our house?” “Do I ever use it?” “Is there more than one?”

* Play “Opposites.” Say a word and your child has to come up with an opposite. Light, dark; happy, sad; angelic, devilish; compete, cooperate.

* Play “Connections,” or “No-Connections.” Say a word and your child tries to think of a word that is in some way related to it, however far-fetched. Then he has to explain the relationship or connection. For example, if you say “mind,” he might say “walk,” explaining that you use your mind to command your legs to walk. A more complex version: your child says a word, such as “book.” You name a word that seems to be completely unrelated, such as “squirrel.” His task is to make a connection. Such as, when you cut down trees to make paper to make books, squirrels are left homeless.

* Make up “New Year’s Resolutions” for famous people or animals. A porcupine might resolve to “stick to it from now on.” Can you imagine a penguin deciding to “dress casually?”

* While stuck waiting in line, closely investigate the passing people parade for individual details. For instance, what is the most outstanding quality of each person? One may be dressed fashionably, another may look unusually positive. You might also assess trends: do most of the young men have short hair? Are most of the young women wearing dangly earrings? What percentage of the females is carrying a handbag? Of the males? How many people wear glasses?

* Play “Firsts and Lasts.” Choose a category, such as geography, people, animals, foods, or plants. You can choose a more limited, challenging category with an older child. One of you names an item in the category and the other person names an item that begins with the last letter of the previous player’s item. For example, if the category is animals, and you say “dog,” your child may then say “goat.” “Turkey” might be next.

* Look around and pick out a common object and invent new ways to use it. Then imagine it many times larger, or smaller, and think of ways to use it. Could its parts be rearranged to multiply its uses? Now, imagine what a space alien would think of doing with it.

* Outside at night, a new world is available for exploration. Look up, try to count the stars, notice the shape of the moon, see if there are any visible clouds.

* Take turns coming up with thought-provokers like, “List 10 ways to complete the statement, ‘I am...’” or “What would you do if you had only six months to live, or six months with no obligations whatsoever?”

* Play “What’s the Question?” Someone makes a one-sentence statement which gives the answer to an unknown question. The other person or persons try to find a question that fits. Encourage creativity and humor. For example: The answer is “Play marbles in the rain.” A possible question: “What should a child made of sugar never do?” An answer: “Rusty screws.” One possible question: “What did you eat for breakfast?” Here’s an answer which very much needs a good question: “A sheep with a wig.”

PAPER AND PENCIL QUICKIES

* Draw a squiggle or a part of a picture. Then you each alternate adding pieces to the picture. The final drawing will probably look entirely different from whatever you originally had in mind, if you had something in mind.

* Teach your child to make lists, and brainstorm different kinds. How about a list of things to do next summer when your school-age child will have lots of free time? Call it a Why-Not List. Why not milk a cow or watch a sunset? Other lists might include healthy snack foods to stock up on, friends to invite to the next birthday party, chores your child can do to earn extra money.

* If you’re secure enough, invite your child to write up a “report card” for you. If you’re lucky, you’ll get an “A” for Effort. Ask him to grade you on such abilities and achievements as Knowledge of Parenting, Learns from Mistakes, Generous with Allowance, Has Dinner Ready on Time, Helps with Homework, etc.

* Play “Finger Pool.” Fold a piece of paper into a compact chunk and take turns flicking your fingers at it to make it cross a table.

* Make a fist with your thumb outside. Use a pen to draw eyes, a nose, and hair on the outside of your forefinger. Move your thumb to turn your hand into a puppet. Or draw on your child’s hand instead, or on yours and his, and let the two “hand puppets” have a serious conversation.

* Together, design exercises you can do wherever you are, while you wait. Show your child what isometrics are (tensing and relaxing various parts of the body). Create an exercise for each part of the body, from wrists to toes. See if you can wiggle one eyebrow; one ear.