Running out of options to keep my three daughters physically active indoors during the recent monsoon that hit Sacramento, I Googled "kids birthday party ideas" to get inspiration. With my two-year-old, Demi, in tow I had one local option, Wacky Tacky, a warehouse style jungle gym that is part playground and part warzone (especially on a school holiday.) I made one mention to Demi about a ball pit and the record started skipping for the next 24 hours..."ball pit, ball pit, ball pit." There was no backing out at that point and here they are.
Source: Drever's phone that totally blew the horizontal vs. vertical aspect ratio so forgive the formatting.
Here is where the story gets good. As my sixth-grader, Claire, and I tag-teamed lifeguarding, we realized what a blessing this simple concept was for parents and how the kids were in heaven. It sparked a nearly two-hour business planning session between us as we shared a tub of popcorn and soda on a concept we could create together as a life project.
She turned into an entrepreneur right in front of my eyes and it was the best $50 I ever spent to "talk shop" with my progeny. Made me think, it's time to read Eric Knopf's new book titled "Raising Entrepreneurs" and I hear ya Danny, this is rocket fuel for a parent like me. Amazon link below:
About the book: "What determines whether someone will become an entrepreneur? Contrary to popular belief, an entrepreneur needs neither innate genius nor extreme grit to succeed. The secret is found in childhood experiences that can be created and fostered by parents. Parents hold the keys to creating the entrepreneurial spirit within their kids that will influence them to become entrepreneurs one day."
Eric is spot on. When we got home, Claire was still talking about our El Plan de Ataque for our project, so now we business plan. Luckily, I have a head start on this one. And if nothing ever happens, what a joy to engage in a strategy session with a kid...it's the small things.
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