Over the weekend, I was caring for a young child I know. The child had learned to walk in the previous months and so powering about on his feet was still very exciting to him. This child loved to climb the stairs in his house – just for fun. And I was watched him climb, making sure he didn’t tumble backwards to a painful crash, I was amazed at how much work it was for him to climb the stairs.
Each step just about came up to just below his waist. There were 13 steps leading from the ground floor to the next. So, this little fella was pulling and scrapping his way to the top, time and time again, for fun. He was giggling, laughing, talking and singing on each trip. It was a hoot.
As I watched on, I began to think about whether or I would climb proportionally sized steps for fun. I am 6’3″. Would I repeatedly climb 13, three-foot steps just for fun? For that matter, would I go back up almost 40 feet (close to a 3-story building) in stairs to collect whatever it was I forgot this morning as I ran down the stairs this morning, late for work? Could I even run down the stairs if each step was half my height?
I was thinking the same thing this weekend!
One of my nephews was pulling himself up onto a couch over and over. His shoulders were just above the cushion tops, so getting up involved some scrambling, pulling, jumping, and squirming; still, after getting up on the cushions he quickly dropped back down to start all over again. I have to think that the pleasure I get out of plopping down onto a comfortable couch and lounging must be completely missing when it takes so much effort to just get on top of the cushions.
I’d probably find myself on the couch a whole lot less often if I had to climb up to a shoulder height platform!
Makes you wonder – is it a case of “do the kids know what they’re doing?”, or is it that “the adults don’t know what they’re missing?”
Thinkers with a far more philosophical bent of mind than mine may spout stuff about the childlike ability to find joy in little things…..but not me – I am a shallow guy!
Cheers,
Quirky Indian
http://quirkyindian.wordpress.com
Hi QI – It’s got to be a case of the excitement of something new. A challenge conquered. A skill mastered.
The question then is: do we adults not find that same level of pleasure in physical exercise? Or maybe we only get that kind of rush from expensive physical hobbies like sky-diving or downhill skiing and so can’t afford to repeat the activity over and over until it’s nap time.