Playing House

Posted by Beardo on Jul 17, 2010 in Blog | 5 comments

Playing House
By: Raakin Hossain

When I was a child, I remember playing a game called ‘House’. In short, it was our premature and innocent perspective of the marital life. The game basically is a simulation of a full-fledged dramatic family, as seen on TV.

Some doctors and parents encourage such practices, assuming that this is a head start on life skills. As a matter of fact, they’ll purchase Fisher-Price kitchen sets and cash registers to enhance the experience. The most practical question to ask at this point is, do your kids benefit educationally from this experience?

Well, let’s take a look at what we would do as members of the family. I’ll be speaking from the father’s standpoint, as that was my most popular role. (Perhaps that was because I’d always wear formal clothing regardless of the occasion.)

The women would always be at home raising the children, cooking the meals and cleaning the mansion. As the father, I’d drive the Mercedes to and from work. We were a happy couple, living life as if it were a blank check. It was our own world, where all dreams would be fulfilled and all opportunities availed.

I remember bellowing “G’bye Honey! Gotta dash off to work!” and rush into another bedroom. After a few seconds of solitude and loneliness, I’d barge back in with the most familiar phrase known to man: “Honey, I’m home!” How was I to know she was preparing a surprise dinner for me at the time? My wife quickly shoved me out the door, giving me barely enough time to grab one of my sons to accompany me back to work.

Because we would only reenact what we observed from the television, our game would be never-ending. Our children would continue to attend their academic institutions and graduate with top marks, my job would constantly be offering me promotions and salary raises, and my wife’s food would only continue to increase in plastic flavor as each day flew by within seconds and minutes, depending on our mood. Failure or losing was not a familiar concept to us.

The positive component was that our morals remained steadfast. I’d never have any physical contact with my spouse or children. We’d learn how to adapt to each others’ opinions and respect their viewpoint on life. This was unusual because all our other games consisted of fighting and shouting, arguing that the next person was being unfair and unreasonable. We learned to have compassion despite disagreement, even though we were unaware of this trait at that time.

In the end, however, I think we learned more about wishful thinking than anything else. We shaped our lives on false hopes and unattainable dreams. It’s certainly important to aim high but there’s a matter of practicality behind it as well. The game of house is simply a fairytale and a fantasy experience. These types of games are shaped by what they watch on TV as well as what they observe at home.

Kids will be kids. If we cannot show them alternatives, then we should oversee their games to a certain extent. Subconsciously, these minute details will be instilled within them as they phase through life. When reality will strike, it’ll only be a cause of depression and frustration.

The realty of life is that all our goals must be attained through honest earnings. Without that, the element of contentment will not exist. Passing through the avenues of life, we are destined to cross obstacles and thorns in our path. Overcoming them is not a simple matter. The journey of life begins at the time of conception. Everything around us from that point onwards leaves an imprint in ourselves whether we ever realize it or not.