The perils of playing with kids, like a kid

Anybody who remembers playing hide-and-seek as a child with their neighbours or cousins was probably born in the years BC. That’s Before Cellphones.

I must admit, I had forgotten all the wonderful fun times I spent as a child discovering new places to hide or camouflaging my favourite spaces so that I could remain undetected for what sometimes felt like hours. And honing my sleuth skills in order to find the others when it was my turn to be “on”.

All these memories flooded back recently when childhood memories were shared by strangers at a function I attended as my wife’s plus one.

The conversation centred around children, as often happens, and the fact that kids today grow up in a world very far removed from the one my generation grew up in.

Today, bicycles are no longer a mode of transport for children. They are only used on weekends under strict parental supervision with compulsory safety gear in dedicated cycle lanes.

And ketties aren’t made with car tubes and a leather shoe tongue. Now it’s a wire or cheap steel contraption imported from China and sold to people over 18.

But, fortunately, there are still a few boere around who make a plan and teach their children the art of playing. And what better way to teach them than by example.

That’s how I learnt about the perils of playing hide-and-seek with the little ones.

Now I don’t intend to spoil the game by giving away all the details about all the hiding places, but believe you me, if in the near future there’s a television show titled “hide-and-seek sent me to the ER”, I won’t be surprised.

Trying to convince a wife that she can’t hide behind the curtains like she did three decades ago, without using the word “big”, is life-threatening.

And no matter what the mirror says, the days of cramming oneself into a laundry basket end long before a man buys his first car.

I’m not saying one shouldn’t play with your kids, but if you hear a little voice ask: “Mommy, why is daddy hanging by the coat rack behind the door?” know that the game is over.

Danie Toerien.

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