Bicycle riding made easy
HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU SEEN out-of-condition dads puffing around the park, pushing their small kids along on their bicycles in an exhausting attempt to teach them to ride? There is an easier way. The problem is that riding a bike requires two separate skills: being able to balance, and being able to turn the pedals […]
Flying buttresses
WHEN MY SON JOE was young we passed a particularly ornate church, and I pointed out the flying buttresses on the outside. Naturally, being of a curious nature, he asked what they were for. So I showed him. We both stood up and I got him to raise his arms and grasp my hands above […]
The rubber band trick
AN IMPRESSIVE trick that makes a rubber band appear to jump off your hand all of its own accord. Loop the band over your index and middle fingers, then fold all your fingers down so that the band goes across your topmost knuckles. When you open your hand, the rubber band will jump away as […]
The ring climbing trick
TAKE A WEDDING RING and a rubber band. Cut the rubber band and place the ring on it. Put the ring on the rubber band and hold it between your fingers so that one end is held in your upper hand, with the lower hand holding it about half way along. The trailing end should […]
Easy chopsticks
YOU MAY BE PROFICIENT at picking up pieces of sweet and sour pork (Hong Kong style, naturally) at your local Chinese restaurant, but the chances are your children will find chopsticks hard to handle. Here’s an easy way to make chopsticks child-friendly. First, roll up a piece of paper about 2cm wide into a tight […]
Mind reading for kids
ONE OF THE BEST ways for kids to impress adults, which works especially well if you’ve never met the child before. The child stands in front of you, and you hold up your hands behind their heads. ‘How many fingers am I holding up?’ The child thinks for a moment, concentrates, and answers ‘Seven.’ ‘How […]
Saying no
EVERY PARENT HAS EXPERIENCED the problem of being ground down by persistent nagging. The very worst phrase you can use to your children is “Oh, all right then.” It may have taken them ten minutes to get you to cave in. Next time it may take twenty. Or half an hour. They don’t care. If nagging […]
Lying to kids
WE SHOULDN’T LIE TO OUR CHILDREN. Obviously. It goes without saying. And yet we do lie to them, with the full approval of society. Father Christmas. The Easter Bunny. The Tooth Fairy*. In fact lying to children – or, at least, teasing them with false propositions – helps them to grow intellectually, and to realise […]
Instruct, don’t humiliate
NO CHILD LIKES TO BE TOLD what to do, especially in public. If your child has a habit of eating with their mouth open in restaurants, then drawing attention to it – especially if it means doing so in front of grandparents and other children – will simply make them feel bad. Instead, try a subtle gesture, such as pinching […]
Distraction beats anger
ONE OF THE MOST FRUSTRATING behaviours for an adult to cope with is a child’s tantrum, especially in a public place. They’re embarrassing for the adult, and the recourse is often to get more and more stern until you end up with a yelling, furious adult and a screaming child. Tantrums may be a bad experience […]
Stick to the point
WHEN TRYING TO PERSUADE an adult to do something they have an aversion to, we try to come up with as many reasons as we can why they should follow our instructions. It doesn’t work that way with children. Here’s a typical series of instructions: Eat your dinner, before it goes cold. Eat it now, it’s […]