Having a Ball

Which games did you love playing as a child? A little while ago we stayed in a holiday cottage with a Swingball, and a quick game reminded Mummy and Daddy how much we’d loved this as children.

I can hit it much harder than you!

We bought James a Swingball for his birthday this year and last night we set it up in the garden. It quickly drew in a gang of James’s friends, who all wanted a go.

Small children are immensely funny. Despite their often uncoordinated efforts, they are supremely confident in their ability. You, of course, are hitting it gently, so that they don’t end up getting the ball in the face all the time. You might even pretend to miss, so that the ball slows down and becomes easier for them to hit. But they don’t realise how gifted you truly are. They think they’re really winning, and they say things like, “You see? I knew I was better at this that you!” or “I’m so fast that you couldn’t get that one, could you?” Before long you are giggling so much that you really are missing the ball.

Play was finally interrupted by some of the crowd coming onto the pitch.

And some of the crowd are on the pitch... they think it's all over...

Another member of the family didn’t understand it either: a tennis ball that flies through the air without actually going anywhere. How can that be any fun?

My turn now this is no fun Mummy and Daddy grew up with Swingball, so how could we have forgotten it so easily? It made us wonder what other much-loved toys and games are waiting to be rediscovered. What should we all rediscover this year?