Men At Work

15 Oct 2008

by Todd Christopher

in Benefits, Play, Parenting

I can tell you, unabashedly, that I am a "cool dad" -- at least if you take my son and daughter, 7 and 4, at their word.

It's a serious job, requiring the building of stick forts, the handling of strange bugs, the climbing of trees, the jumping into of leaf piles, the building of snow forts, the answering of questions, and the taking apart (and the putting back together) of things.

It's the work of being a dad, but for all the world it sure must look like play. (Shhh!)

So it was that my favorite Father's Day card of all time bore this message:

Walk in the rain,
smell flowers,
stop along the way,
build sandcastles,
go on field trips,
find out how things work,
tell stories,
say the magic words,
trust the universe.

These words are attributed to Bruce Williamson. It turns out that they're excerpted from his "Certificate of the Right to Play," which surely must be the greatest thing since the Magna Carta for anyone who's ever felt themselves too old to blow a grass whistle or splash in a mud puddle.

But the truth is, the moment you become a parent, your certificate is waiting for you. To claim it, all you need to do is take your child outside, and let wonder follow. After all, it's never too late to have a happy childhood!

Todd Christopher is the National Wildlife Federation's Director of Online Family Media.