Mall Playland Part 3 - Big Boys

Today at the mall playland, one of my favorite places to take Baby J, two older boys, I'd guess ages 10 or 11, took off their shoes and joined the little tykes in the play area. They were really getting a kick out of how ridiculously small everything was for them and played unashamedly for a good, long while. Baby J was fascinated by their behavior and quickly made her way over to meet these two big boys.

Big boys are typically much more physical than toddlers so there was a bit of apprehension on my part going into this encounter. Part of me was upset that these big kids were playing in an area designed for little kids and usurping all the fun stuff from the hapless toddlers.

But I saw how they truly were enjoying going down the pitifully small sliding board and leaping from the caterpillar climber. They were at an age where these sorts of shenanigans would soon become scorned as childish. In a few months even, they'd probably start thinking having fun in this way wasn't cool. Perhaps they'd even adopt that wondrously dour, disconsolate disposition adolescents seem to exude at all times. Part of me felt sorry for these big boys. This fun time was almost up for them and once it was over it would never return again.

But still, what about the babies that were being displaced by the rough-and-tumble big boys? What are they to do? Well, first off, no one got hurt so I suppose it's a non-issue. And even if they had, it probably wouldn't have been a big deal. It might have even created an opportunity to talk about how we could share resources. Secondly, the babies in the playland seemed quite content to drool on themselves and watch the big boys cavort. They didn't need to use the caterpillar climber at that very moment.

So, in the end, I guess two big boys in the baby area isn't really a big deal. Teens and tweens often marginalized. Discouraged, admonished, and mistrusted for basically being themselves. As long as everybody plays safe with each other, I suppose everything is fine.