Hey kid,
Yeah you, running around on the playground playing games. You’re doing it all wrong. You’re calling your game Tag, but it isn’t. If it was, you would have designated a Base before the game started. Just one base. You wouldn’t be running and then stopping at the nearest slide, swing, or monkey bars screaming out “Base!,” ensuring that you never get caught. One Base, called out before the game starts, and that’s it.
When you play Hide and Seek, or Hide and Go Seek as I called it growing up, you need to be a bit smarter about where you hide. Standing behind a pole isn’t the best spot. And when the person who is “it” finds you, you have two choices, get tagged or make a mad dash to Base. (See Tag rules about picking Base). Another good tip is to choose a different spot to hide next time. If you keep choosing the same spot, you’ll get found quickly.
And here’s a very important part of playing games that kids have been playing forever—there is usually only one winner, which means that you will lose often. But that’s okay, in fact, that’s what makes winning more exciting. If you win all the time, what’s the big deal about winning? Nothing. Don’t be a sore loser, don’t end the game just because you’re not winning—that’s wimpy. Just play and have fun just playing.
With Love,
A grown-up who played Red Rover, Tag and Kick the Can most days of her childhood
(Photo: Flickr)
