The Pied Piper of Rome

Today was a beautiful perfect spring day and so we decided to take a picnic to the Villa Torlonia near our house. We wanted to take full advantage of this weather before the tiger mosquitoes woke up from their too short hibernation and we're forced once again to take one of the following measures: either constantly drenching ourselves in geranium and citronella oils (which are effective for about 5 seconds), wear long sleeves and long pants and closed shoes (and if you know what Rome is like in July and August that's a big - "yeah, right"), stay inside or - what we have done for the past several years - leave Rome.

The park was jam packed with children and one thing that struck me was, "Where are their parents?" There were children playing everywhere, but no adults to be found. They were all enjoying their post-lunch coffees and desserts at the restaurant located in the park - a good plan in nice weather like today because restless children can just run and play while you enjoy your meal. That wouldn't work too well with our children who always want an adult around - namely Steve.

My husband is a magnet for children. For whatever reason, they just gravitate towards him - perhaps finding a mutually immature and juvenile kindred spirit who also loves to play and can relish a good poop joke with the best of them. The things he comes up with to do are often not very complicated and can take no effort on the part of the adult. Today was no different. The girls asked Daddy for a race. Rather than Daddy getting all hot and sweaty taking part in a race with his high-spirited children again and again and again - Steve said he would time them using the timer on his phone to see how fast they could go, and then after the first go to see if they could beat their previous times. Oh -he is fiendishly clever that husband of mine! The girls went for it and after seeing our children do this several times - immediately up popped a few other children asking if they could take part in the race. Our three children, then suddenly turned into 5 children and as he walked around the park looking for other places to do a race, five children turned into 6 and then 7 and after just a few minutes there were about 10 kids surrounding him.

The races didn't last very long - the parents started straggling out of the restaurant area and calling for their children. They thanked Steve and probably thought of him as that "crazy American" as they walked away whispering amongst themselves. But the kids loved it and I think it was that structure and just the fact that an adult, a parent was actually involved was an enjoyable and important experience for them.

We often see here in Rome how parents go the park or other public places and hide behind a newspaper or chat with their friends and let their children run wild, creating utter chaos and disruption with misbehavior that is not corrected. When our children were younger, we dreaded going to the park and at some point just stopped going because we were tired of always having to do battle with children- battles that could have been prevented if their parents had taken more of an active interest in what they were doing.

I think a lot of it often has to do with boredom because children do appreciate sometimes structured play and some inspiration of what to do. It's not that you have to physically do it with them or for them, but provide a bit of help and guidance in their journey. In play or in life in general - I think a little involvement goes a long way in building bonds between yourself and your children.