Allen Wolf is the author of You’re Pulling My Leg!: The Ultimate Storytelling Game and You’re Pulling My Leg! Junior: The Ultimate Storytelling Game.
By Allen Wolf
My wife and I helped our five-year-old boy, and seven-year-old girl ride their bikes when a stranger approached us on the street.
“Are those your grandkids?” he asked with a smile.
“No, I’m their dad,” I said with a shrug. The stranger chit-chatted about his grandchildren before moving along.
After he left, my daughter turned to me with a wry smile, “I told you that you’re super old!”
She certainly had. A few months earlier, she told me she thought I was “a million, thousand years old.” I’m in my late 40’s. I didn’t scold her for saying something that is horrifying to hear for people living in Los Angeles where youth is revered. At first, I did want to mount a convincing defense about how young I look for my age. But, I realized she had not yet learned the cultural norm of suppressing her thoughts. I held a rare position to hear her unbridled opinions.
I created the You’re Pulling My Leg! Junior game so parents could hear those same unfiltered opinions of their children – the good and the bad. Typically, if you ask your kids direct questions, they might feel a little intimidated to answer. But, in the context of a game, I’ve discovered that kids love sharing their thoughts, and they get a kick out of crafting their stories.
When The National Parenting Center reviewed You’re Pulling My Leg! Junior, they wrote, “Knowing your audience, playing to that audience and selling your ideas are some pretty heavy things to find in a simple game, but that is just what testers reported witnessing in their children as they played this game over and over. Along the way, you’ll be surprised how much you learn either about your own kids or about others.” Are you ready to be surprised at what you can learn about your kids?
Here are five questions I think will help you get a deeper glimpse into your kid’s hearts and imaginations:
Tell me about a time when you worried about something.
This question will give you a window into how your kids perceive their world. They might share about a time you knew nothing about, and you can use this as an opportunity to speak into their fears.
Tell me about something you would do if someone paid you a lot of money.
Children usually light up at this question. It’ll help you get a glimpse into their dreams for the future.
Tell me about something you would bring if you moved to another country.
Their answer will give you a window into what they feel like they can’t live without.
Tell me about a time when you acted like one of your parents.
Get ready to find out how your children perceive you.
Tell me about something mean that someone said about you.
Here’s an opportunity for your child to share about a time that might have been hurtful that you might be new to you.
You’re Pulling My Leg! Junior features these questions mixed in with many others throughout the game, and kids get to choose which three questions they’d like to answer. The best that can come out of playing You’re Pulling My Leg! Junior is that you and your family will get a lot closer, and you’ll have a lot of laughs along the way.
Allen Wolf has won multiple awards for his storytelling as an author, filmmaker, and game creator. He is a producer, writer, director, and a communication specialist.
