Yesterday we spent the day at a beach party, which was a wonderful way to end August. ("Yesterday wasn't the end of August, Mom, today is," Tim would say if he read this, ever literal like most 10-year-old boys.) It was so great to be at the beach with a big group, most of whom we knew. The thing with the beach is that kids always have fun. My college roommate, Renee, has a house on the beach and has seen dozens of kids play there over the years, and she says as much outright: "I've never seen a child who didn't like the beach." Childcare columnist Barbara Meltz, formerly of the Boston Globe, says the same thing: every child, of every developmental level and age, has fun at the beach.
I know my kids do, and what's even better is that they always have fun together at the beach. There's something about digging in the sand, building moats, carrying buckets of water, tunneling and scooping, that makes them inherently colaborative. They never argue by the water's edge. Tim makes up complicated assignments for Holly to carry out; with a sense of purpose, she follows his instructions, and he praises her for her execution. Is it the fresh air, the sunshine, the cool water, working magic with their temperaments? Is the seashore just a primal draw for children? More than anywhere else, by the seashore is where my kids find each other and enjoy each other.
Yesterday at the party I watched about 20 kids all having fun in various groups and combinations. The older kids, even older than Tim, climbed on the rocks and searched for marine life. The toddlers squished their way through the sand. Holly's friends ran in circles, splashed, dug, ran some more. A beautiful way to end the summer.
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I have a theory about "neutral territory" ... the beach is particularly good because there is just so much territory that it is hard to bicker over piles of sand.
ReplyDelete(and, BTW, it is sooo nice to hear from another parent who has two kids and understand the perpetual bicker-fest!)