Wednesday – Flower Child

[ninanevermore]

.
.
.
Even when boys and girls gravitate toward the same toys, they play with them differently. For example, research has shown that if given a pile of Legos, little girls tend to build houses while little boys tend to build machines (in my son's case, machine that either fly, produce honey so the bees don't have to, or both).

My son has a pair of plush flowers that he plays with, which seems kind of innocent and sweet at first glance. He does not, however, play with them the way a girl would. At least, not the way I would have played with them as a little girl.

They are kind of like plush animals, except they are plush flora rather than fauna. They have fuzzy plush stems over a wire base, and their heads are yellow smiley faces surrounded by soft sculpture petals. The one with orange petals one is named Mrs. Flower, and the one with purple petals is Super Flower. There is a plush bunny rabbit that came in one of his Easter baskets that is constantly trying to eat Mrs. Flower, and Super Flower has to come in and kick this rabbit's ass from time to time.

"Here, you be the bunny," my son said to me last night.

I agreed to be the bunny.

"Now, try to eat Mrs. Flower."

I held the bunny in the direction of Mrs. Flower and bounced him up and down to show he was talking. "Come here, Mrs. Flower. I'm hungry and I'm going to eat you up!"

My son held Mrs. Flower, who tried to run from the bunny, and began speaking in a falsetto. "Help! Help! Don't eat me!"

He brought around Super Flower in his other hand. Super Flower speaks in a gruff growl. "Hey, you bunny! Get away!" Super Flower began ramming himself into the bunny.

I got into the fight. "No, you get away, you flower! I'll eat you both!"

He bent the wire stem of Super Flower to a sharp angle. "No you won't! Look! I'm an ax! I'll chop you up!" He brought the "ax" down on the rabbit's head over and over, until I dropped the toy.

I looked down at the bunny lying motionless on the couch. Super Flower was still hacking him to imaginary bits. "I think he's dead now," I said softly.

"Good!" growled the voice of Super Flower, "Come on! I saved you!" Super Flower swooped down, wrapped the bottom of his stem around Mrs. Flower's stem, and flew off with her. He not only can turn himself into a weapon, he can fly, too.

The Easter bunny never had a chance against such a tough, versatile, and enterprising blossom.

I don't really remember what kind of games my own plush toys played when I was little. Probably they had tea parties and stuff like that. I was a girl. I'm pretty sure none of my toys ended up hacked to bits by the other toys, though. Apparently boys play a bit different. If you don't believe me, you can ask the Easter bunny after he's done recovering from his massive head wounds. Provided he does recover, that is.



* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * # * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Comments

[starpush.livejournal.com]

I love this!

I've seen both sides with our boys, though. Our youngest, in particular, can shift from playing with GI Joes and wrestling figures to his stuffed animals without missing a beat and usually his stuffed animals have kinder, gentler adventures. I think your son's play shows a wonderful range of emotions: Aggression, yes, but also heroism, kindness, and defending those who can't defend themselves.

Poor Bunny... I hope he recovers.

[neanahe.livejournal.com]

The bunny seemed fine by bedtime. A little dazed, but otherwise okay.

[simplecity2htwn.livejournal.com]

For a split second I was wondering if your participation in hare-icide could possibly contribute to anything negative in his upbringing. Then I decided the whole thing was too cute to have any possible negative outcome. Then again, I'm not the bunny.

[neanahe.livejournal.com]

I didn't participate, so much I played the role of the villain. As a villain my job, as defined by the rules of childhood set forth at the beginning of time, was to be defeated.

He explained to be that the bunny was bad. Very bad. It wanted to eat ALL the other stuffed creatures that were smaller than it, including a dog and a miniature aardvark. I tried to argue that rabbits don't eat meat, but my son told me this one did. Such an aberration of nature can not be allowed to live.

[drippedonpaper.livejournal.com]

It's SOOO boys.

I used to really worry at the "violent" tendancies of my son's playing and his writing (he has a livejournal too and it's full of well, an older version of the story you wrote. Characters who chop each other to bits)

But I really think it's boys. He does explain WHY the bad guy is so bad and the good guy has to win (as your son did)

This story really made me laugh. So much like "my baby"

[neanahe.livejournal.com]

I agree: it's just a boy thing. If he were murdering "innocent" characters for fun, I'd worry. His need is to fight evil and protect the innocent, which is kind of noble. ^_^

[drippedonpaper.livejournal.com]

Which reminds me we used to have those "stuffed flowers" too and you're right. My girls played "sweet" things with them (had them dance, etc) and my son used them to like wrap up other animals "chaining" them up and things like that.

We have a very small house for the 5 of us plus a puppy. Those flowers were something I discarded along the way. Sounds mean but...it's so hard to fit everything. I try to keep the toys they play with often.

[trillsie.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHAHAHA

That sounds like something Colin would do!

I'm glad bunny survived to fight another day.

[neanahe.livejournal.com]

Funny: I spent the first part of my life - as a lone girl with 3 brothers - thinking that little boys were stupid, smelly, cootie-infested creeps, and the games they played were dumb. Now I'm the mother of a little boy, and I find them utterly charming, and the games they play are creative and fascinating.

I guess your view really changes, depending on where you are standing in life. :)

[jenelycam.livejournal.com]

Too funny!! My girls play with boy toys differently than boys too. But I love the way your son plays with flowers!!

[neanahe.livejournal.com]

His play isn't very flowery, is it?

[jenelycam.livejournal.com]

Nope. Sounds like the way most of the boys in my daycare would do it too. Except Brandon...sometimes he's a little TOO girly...then he hits another kid and reminds me that he's all boy. :P

[neanahe.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. Maybe little Brandon is gonna grow up to be bi...

[jenelycam.livejournal.com]

Maybe...he's sure got that head waggle down. >.

[renewedme.livejournal.com]

Too cute!

I can just see the poor little bunny going down! LOL

[neanahe.livejournal.com]

Funny thing is, the rabbit is fine. It's the poor flowers who I keep having to sew up because someone so mercilessly bends the wire inside their stems so that their plush seems rip out. Both Mrs. Flower and Super Flower had to have surgery last night, and are recovering nicely. :)