I've spent some time recently theorizing about kids and their hats and mittens. If you're in a cold climate like we are, then likely you've come to similar conclusions, all of which concern the physical connections children have with their winter apparel.
It seems to me that there are three distinct types of relationships kids have with their hats and mittens. These I have named the "intimate", the "distant" and the "adverse", each exclusive of the other. No child can have traits from more that one grouping.
I would categorize my 3-year-old daughter Willa as having an intimate bond with her mittens. She had misplaced them at the shopping mall the other day. And as we returned to the scene, Willa's face showed her concern. She was genuinely worried that she wouldn't again have her mittens.
My 4-year son Milo however belongs in the distant grouping, as more often then not, within minutes of going outdoors, both his hat and mittens are no longer on his person, they are, in fact, nowhere to be seen. Only later do we find them under the snow.
Now my 7-year-old falls into the last grouping: adverse. She's coming to that age where hats and mittens are more of a fashion statement then a necessary item of clothing to protect oneself from the elements. She's the child that wears them only when she is around us, opting to remove them at her earliest convenience.
So, as I sit here writing this story in my warm and cozy office, I took the opportunity to don my own winter hat and scarf.
Happy sweeping!
Bob Gunther
Webmaster, ContestHound.com
