"We don't create a fantasy world to escape reality. We create it to be able to stay."

Having two boys is great, especially two adventurous boys. Ever since Seth was a little boy he has wanted to recreate all the stories I have told him about my own childhood years. He cant get enough of my past adventures, favourite toys and movies and music I loved while growing up. I do everything I can to fully embrace their ideas and being a big kid at heart myself I love that feeling like I am reliving my adolescent years. Building a den was always top of my list when i was at home playing alone. I didn't have the greatest home life at times with parents that were at each other throats a lot and I remember that throwing a sheet over two chairs or hanging blankets off my top bunk to build a cocoon gave me a chance to disconnect from what was going on around me.

'The base' is something I have integrated into our play times on many occasion but this time around these makeshift hideaways have a much more positive impact on the boys development. There is no need to hide away from anything upsetting and they are something we can enjoy together. Of course they are there for the boys to play pirates or soldiers, pretend they are cowboys camping out with their horses but they are also there for us all to cosy up, read, books and catch up on our favourite shows on Netflix. 

When it comes to the way we entertain the boys, many of our experiences of our own upbringing is recycled and I believe its a lovely thing to pass on as it shows a real connection. The boys had been introduced to Dr Seuss early on as his stories were my favourite growing up and Mrs M has installed her love of Dick Bruna into them too with her huge collection of Miffy books. Thanks to Netflix there is an ever growing catalogue of cult shows that I remember rushing home from school for. Although its not in their catalogue at the moment, I got to re-watch the X-Men animated series which was one of my favourite shows growing up. Danger mouse has now been added which the boys are getting into over dinner (I'm hoping Count Duckula will also appear at some point too). This evening I noticed Pete's Dragon is also there too (I loved that film as a boy), So I'll be looking forward to showing them that too.

 The effort we put in as parents and the way we communicate with these little versions of ourselves is so important. The experiences we have gone through, our hobbies and interests and the things that made us happy growing up can build some pretty strong foundations for an amazing parent/child relationship. 

Build a base, go on an adventure, share the TV shows you loved as a child because as a parent whatever effort and love you put in you will get back tenfold.