Sunday, October 11, 2009

Fun with pretend

Ralph loves hats. He loves looking in the mirror. He loves looking in the mirror when he puts on (and takes off) hats. 

Strangely, I can't recall ever playing dress up with him, though. I think that he understands the concept of pretending, based on the way he plays with phones and things that resemble phones.

So today I'm thinking about the value of dress up in response to Barbara at TherExtras. She is holding a blog carnival on the topic of the developmental benefits of costuming for Halloween.

Over the years I've been a bit ambivalent when it comes to the celebration of Halloween. I so want my children to remain innocent of evil (Rom 16:19). Anymore, I let the kids dress up and collect candy. We just don't make a huge deal out of it. 

Why should we put on costumes only one night of the year anyway? If it is so fun, why not wear costumes more often? I decided to explore costuming with Ralph this week .

Rose and I have been known to drag out my massive collection of makeup just for fun. (I'm a recovering makeup artist.) I hope that this is beneficial to her development. What does it mean to be a grown up woman? Wearing makeup plays a huge part in the mind of a little girl. My guess is that this kind of play helps to crystalize a child's identity while stretching their imagination at the same time. 

Here is Ralph, the scaliwag! Don't you wish you were this happy while looking at your mostly naked body in the mirror?


I'm a pirate!

Showing off my sexy chest

Completing the look with a little facial hair.

Time to clean up and get back to reality.

We had fun costuming today! I've been looking for some new activities to keep him busy and learning while the big kids are at school each day. I'll be dragging out the duck and dog costumes tomorrow for some non-human dress up experience. I wonder if I can get Ralph to sign "I'm a dog?" 


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I LOVE how you express some gender differences, Stephanie! Subtle but true, in my book.

Protecting our children from the evil and downright disgusting parts of this particular holiday is not easy. But each year I see more and more creative ways to celebrate the change of season, the colors of nature and the fun of pretend.

Now the candy - that's another thing I worked to protect my young from. ManChild did not even taste candy until he was in preschool. It's true! Of course, it was much more difficult to hold back Younger Teen for that long.

Costuming goes to another level when a young child sees family members or familiar people dressed-up, too. Play dress-up everyday (Ralph wants) I say!

Thanks for entering my contest!
Barbara

Stephanie @ Ralphcrew said...

Oh, the candy! Several years ago I heard of a was a dentist in town who offered $10 per pound to kids who would give up their Halloween candy. Candy makes my kids insanse, so I would gladly cash it all in!

Beverly said...

love his pirate photo!too cute

Matt Pfingsten said...

Well, if I'm going to lose the contest I'm glad it's to a cute pirate! There's just no way to compete with that.

I, too knew a guy who did the cash thing (I think his deal was $5.00/lb). I think its a terrific idea. The kids are happy and mom and dad get to eat all the sweets in secret while they are sleeping!

Candace said...

Hi Stephanie, I found you from Dr. Boucher. I loved your post and Ralph is precious. My daughter, Faith, is going to be Laura Ingalls for Halloween. She is going to Boo at the Zoo tonight. SO excited!

Candace said...

Hi Stephanie, I found you from Dr. Boucher. I loved your post and Ralph is precious. My daughter, Faith, is going to be Laura Ingalls for Halloween. She is going to Boo at the Zoo tonight. SO excited!

Mrs. Mac said...

Ralph is the cutest pirate! I echo your sentiment about Halloween; for years we didn't do anything on 10/31. We honor God each day of the year so in His name we dress up and play. I have a son, Nathan, the possessor of an extra chromosome. I pray each of the 'angels in need of rescue' find good loving families.