Let them win! Creativity in parenting from a mom on wheels
A woman is smiling from inside a car, while taking a selfie of her and three young men. A smiley emoji is blocking their faces. In the background, we can see the crystal blue ocean of Hawai’i.
We all have enjoyed a family road-trip at least once in our lifetime.
We certainly all have done it once. Only the crazy ones have done it more than once, lol!
On road-trips we sing, we talk, we take in all the scenery, as it passes us by.
Recently, my family and I went on such a road-trip: four adults, three teenagers, and two children.
Road-trip on the east coast of Oahu
Even kids can only do so much on a beach. After spending a couple of days in Waikiki, we knew we all needed to get out an explore the island a little more. We rented two cars, that were low enough for me to get in, using a transfer board, and we took the show on the road!
My car was driven by my mom, and included the three boys, and myself. The second car was driven by my sister and included the three girls. The plan was simple: drive up the coast, take pictures, enjoy our time together, eat lunch and spend the afternoon at the Polynesian Cultural Center. A busy day!
By the time we were done our activities, it was almost supper time. Thankfully, we had some granola bars we were able to hand over to the kids. The drive back could be challenging as traffic also occurs in Hawai’i!
And here it goes: a tired little man is tiring us all!
At first, they ate their granola bar. It was quiet!
Then, they listened to music and watched some Youtube videos on my son’s phone.
But then, we needed his phone for the GPS as my phone’s battery was almost depleted.
This is when it became somewhat challenging.
Ben and the boys had run out of things to do and talk about. And we had still about 20 minutes of car ride left to go.
So I invented a game!
The LAST person to speak, would win 1$! Go!
(no one spoke)
(we could only hear everyone breathing)
I broke the silence first! Darn!
“Maxime, did you notice the crater? You can take a great picture from here!”
Maxime was next, obviously.
“Thanks! I will!”
Ben was beaming! For each of our words, his smile was getting bigger!
My mom asked what we were going to eat for supper, and with that, there were only two men left standing and about 5 minutes to the drive.
I kept nudging Thomas, and asking him questions. He obviously didn’t want to lose the game either. But I got him to speak. And there it was: the little guy so incredibly happy he won the game!
I was happy to reward him for it!
Conclusion
In a situation like this one, being abled or disabled would not have mattered! We were all in the car together. Walking would not have impacted my ability to intervene.
Every parent will resort to their creativity to ensure they are able to go through the day. In this story, we all needed a bit of peace and quiet for the reminder of the trip. A simple game gave us that!
written by
Marjorie Aunos, PhD., is an internationally renowned researcher, adjunct professor, clinical psychologist, and award-winning inspirational speaker from Montreal, Canada.
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