As a child obsessed with water and water-based activities, Aidan absolutely adores our hosepipe. This simple garden tool provides literally hours and hours of fun for him! Whether he’s spraying plants, creating Peppa Pig-like muddy puddles, or messing around in our pool, full control of the hosepipe makes my boy so, so happy!
Aidan himself indicated his interest in it months ago when he observed Monty using it to wash our car on a Sunday. He kept hand leading me outside to the tap and requesting that I turn it on. As soon as I did so, he ran to the business end of the hosepipe and waited for the water to spray out of it. When it did, his whole face lit up with pure, unadulterated joy! He dragged it around our driveway for hours, before requesting my help to bring it through to our garden. Once there, he held it out to the flowerbeds, just as he’d seen his dad do countless times on a weekend. He was mesmerised by the spray, the effervescent rainbows, the cause and effect of it all, and he didn’t want to let go of it.
We also use the hosepipe to top up the water level in our pool on hot days in summer. This past summer, Aidan became obsessed with wading on the big step in the shallow end of our pool to the point where he would wait patiently be the veranda door for up to an hour on the weekends, hoping to initiate some pool time fun! We only ever took him out at 4pm, once the sun was a little less ferocious, and there was a shadow over part of the step. We don’t know whether he was reading the clock on the wall, or watching the shadow begin to creep over our deck, but he always seemed to know when it was time to swim! His excitement built to a crescendo, when he was changed into his swimming trunks and towels were taken out of the linen closet. And oh boy, nothing made him happier than seeing that the hosepipe was already in the pool!
The first time we ran the water through it while he was wading and jumping around, a magnificent and beautiful peel of laughter rang out. Aidan was absolutely delighted by it, and he got busy in the shallow end spraying everything he could – including his dad. This simple tool provided him with the greatest possible joy, and it was as much a delight for us to watch, as it was for him to play with it. He’s always enjoyed sprinklers in the garden, but a hosepipe in the pool is still top of the list of things he loves to play with! If you haven’t already given your little one carte blanche to mess around with one, I highly encourage you to do so! It might just make their day!
