So this morning on The Today Show, they did a segment all about roughhousing with your kids - and why it's a GOOD THING. (Namely, playtime with the kids, physical activity, and not worrying about whether or not your kids wind-up with a few scrapes or bruises... Godforbid. John actually pulled me out of the bathroom where I was hurriedly applying makeup to watch it because he thought it was adorable. *Cute*
Then, I received a lovely note from my friend Kristy with a link to an article in The Atlantic, which to summarize, (since it's quite long), basically theorizes that the reason so many young adults are unhappy is because their parents went WAY TOO FAR protecting them from literally everything even remotely unpleasant as children, and establishing happiness as a goal, which the author describes as a "recipe for disaster." Basically, not allowing your children to experience even mild discomfort, anxiety or disappointment makes them incapable of tolerating even the most mild frustrations that are normal occurrences in life.
Makes a hell of a lot of sense to me. If we kid - I want my kid to get banged up, rejected and frustrated - and there will be lots of roughhousing.
If you want to read the article in its entirety - it can be found here:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/07/how-to-land-your-kid-in-therapy/8555/
It's a great read. Thanks Kristy!
Can't imagine a world without roughhousing. Some of my fondest memories and getting dirty during "water wars" with my cousins. Our battles were epic resulting in many a injury, but many, many laughs along the way. I toss my daughter around in similar fashion and the sound of her laughter is all I ever want.
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