In a process that could be called growing up together with my own son, I found myself regularly betraying my own pedagogical resolutions. My mouth, seemingly independent of me, kept producing those beautiful phrases in which I could hear the intonations of my own parents, kindergarten caregivers, and schoolteachers: “shut your mouth and eat,” or “when you grow up, then we’ll talk,” and so on — and even worse.
That’s how the idea came about to create a game similar to Bingo — only the best phrases, only the most traumatic experiences of my Facebook friends who responded to my call to send me the “best” things they had ever heard in childhood, or were already saying themselves as parents to their own children.
In the end, I collected one hundred and fifty phrases, which I edited into more or less universal formulations, preserving the original spelling of names and other small details — for some, Pushkin supposedly knew everything; someone had to take the blame for Dasha; someone else’s only fault was being born a boy. Feel free to step over these differences and start the game. Although, to be completely honest, it’s hard for me to call this a game — it’s more an opportunity to laugh ironically at oneself, to see your father in your own reflection, or perhaps to put yourself in a child’s place. In any case, with these cards I would like to remind us all how important it is to be able to express our feelings and to truly hear the person standing opposite us, even if they are five years old.
And now that the overall picture has been drawn, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who helped me with this game — who sent in their phrases, proofread the text, adjusted the layout, and reminded me that it was worth it. Yes, yes, thanks to my parents for that voice in my head, and thanks to my son for the testing ground. Enjoy the game. (:
Parental Bingo
