Try it on.........

Canadian Icon Mr. Dress Up
circa early 60's

This is the man who introduced all Canadian kids to the tickle trunk. Mr. Dress-Up and his pals Casey and Finnegan entertained generations of children every morning for years by encouraging kids to pretend and to use their imaginations. His famous tickle trunk was filled with fancy costumes and uniforms along with wands and masks, and swords and hats......shoes for glamour, and shoes for working. His simple successful messages of community and belonging were rolled into his interactions with his buddies and his interactions with the kids sitting in their living rooms.

You can be anything you want to be.

You can do anything you set your heart and mind to.

Try it out

Test the waters

Wear the mask

See if it fits..............juuuuussssstttttt right.

And if it doesn't try another and another and another.........

Social learning, where kids of all ages (including us) acquire knowledge of how to act in a situation or how it feels to be in a situation is an enormously important component of child development. Social learning, through imitation is a chance to not only walk a mile in someone else's shoes, but to understand the way of the world.

Watch a 3 year old play. Uninhibited, stream of words billow forth while the focused little one interacts in her environment. Chances are, you'll see bits of siblings, snippets of grandparents, slices of the important people in their lives mixed into their actions, their reactions, and their words...... They are learning through imitation. Open ended play, using stuff out of the tickle trunk to test the waters and to learn how to be. The more the child's living environment is enriched with opportunities and stimulation the more enhanced the social learning will be.

Observe (without them knowing!!) a group of 8 year old boys play on the playground during recess. Very quickly teams are sorted out for whatever game is hot right then. Comfortable in their roles in their teams, they will assume names of famous sports players, will mimic commentators, set rules and boundaries perhaps like their phys ed teacher...... you can see how they are learning big lessons on the playground.....of what works and what doesn't.

School age kids.........playing house, playing teacher........ building sandcastles, spending the day in a fort, going on a lion hunt......."I'm not afraid....." Its all about trying on a different mask, to see what it's like.

Observe the bully too.......she is the one wearing a mask shrouded in puffed up bravado. Her mask allows her to act out before someone hurts her first. Her mask protects her just like the mask of a goalie. But underneath hers is a wounded little girl who has learned to act out in a bullying way most likely from an important person in her life. Eventually the bully, if she isn't helped to take off this particular mask, will end up all alone with on one to help her learn new ways.

Head over to the Mall on a Saturday afternoon.... See the group of 13 year olds swarming around the front of the arcade? They seem to be dressed the same way.......from the tips of their spiky straight hair down to their shoes. Some let their hair hang in front of their face to hide their insecurities. Some huddle closer together to talk........all standing in the same pose. Bizarre.....they all seem to look like Avril Lavigne.

Check out the boys too.......desperately trying to look cool, wanting to fit in. Some are wearing chains dangling in a loop down their thighs. Bangs hanging in the eyes......scraggly, dishevelled goth wannabes scuffing about while talking in the same intonation.

We are profoundly influenced throughout our lives by the people we encounter. Everything from our interest in different hobbies to the style of dress we eventually choose to wear to the careers we decide upon. We test the waters, try on a few different outfits from the tickle trunk and find out which is the best fit.

Somewhere along the line, we cross it...........and discover our own uniqueness. We find comfort in ourselves, in who we are. This happens at different times for different people. And sometimes, it doesn't happen ever. Have you ever met someone who seemed to be uncomfortable in their own skin? Self conscious to a point where they stammer and struggle trying to find their own voice, they never seem to be able to relax enough to just be themseves........to accept who they are. More often than not however, we all eventually cross that line.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that remained from our learning along the way but it becomes consciously wrapped and woven into our own colourful entity complete with our values and beliefs, our tolerances and intolerances. As adults, we don't tend to wear masks in the same way as children and adolescents do. We tend to wear them to hide from the truth or as a means to shore up our bravado in order to act out. Our masks may cup our darkest secrets. They cover our vulnerable scars or something we feel shameful about. Masks allow us to disconnect with reality, even if it is just for a short escape in order to flirt with fantasy. A recreation of self, a chance to try on something different, to test the waters.....

You can be anything you want to be.......

Test the waters.....

Try it on.......

Go on..............see what fun lies in the tickle trunk.

For more on Masks, check out Sunday Scribblings this week........here's the link........