Sticks
I have a 10-year-old son and I'm endlessly fascinated by the way boys play. It's so different from the way girls play. For example, take that necessary piece of equipment required by boys for effective play: the stick. Boys love sticks. Girls don't. I'm not saying that girls won't play with sticks, but it's different. They play with them because the boy they are playing with is using a stick. Or they may grab a stick to draw in the sand. But they don't have an intrinsic love of the stick. Boys do.
Boys need a stick to poke things on the ground or each other. They become swords or magic staffs or baseball bats. A boy cannot walk past a stick without checking it out. And, as I learned last weekend, boys can't walk for long distances without a stick. I'm not sure why, but this was confirmed by the 43 year-old, 2 10 year-olds and the 4 year-old male children I was with over the weekend. I was perfectly capable of traversing the walking paths without a stick but the 4 males I was with could not wander more than 15 feet from the house without a stick!
Boys need a stick to poke things on the ground or each other. They become swords or magic staffs or baseball bats. A boy cannot walk past a stick without checking it out. And, as I learned last weekend, boys can't walk for long distances without a stick. I'm not sure why, but this was confirmed by the 43 year-old, 2 10 year-olds and the 4 year-old male children I was with over the weekend. I was perfectly capable of traversing the walking paths without a stick but the 4 males I was with could not wander more than 15 feet from the house without a stick!
Mr. T (in the orange hat) and Monkey Boy display their hiking sticks which were used later that night to poke at a bonfire.
posted by Peach Pod at 8:53 AM
6 Comments:
My boys are also fascinated with rocks, but then, so am I so I guess that may be genetic!
You are so right, they never outgrow it.
I threw a stick at Cedie and Duke today. I had a cool stick in St Croix.
Oh I don't know about that - there is the occasional little girl that likes walking sticks and such. I used to make bow and arrows with them and stalk the cows on our farm.. :)
I just picked up 5 sticks out of my den floor---and 2 rocks!
I get to observe 100 boys and girls at a time playing on the playground at school. For the most part boys and girls play differently. Girls are into role play and emotions. Boys jockey for position, push, yank, and yes....poke.
My Brook is very happy digging in the dirt, throwing rocks and stuff like that. She plays with more boys than girls. She is also into taekwondo. I have seen her many a time pin the boys she is sparring with against a wall. She is 9 now.
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