This Dad Shared How He Taught His Kids Spatial Awareness In Public
Before they learn the rules of the road, they must first learn the rules of navigating grocery store aisles.
Growing up, my little sister could not, for the life of her, walk in a straight line. She was known to walk off sidewalks, and into polls and the legs of unsuspecting strangers when her hand was not in the firm grasp of a more attentive chaperone.
Kids are not well-known for their spatial awareness. Some might say it’s one of their worst qualities. But, one dad found a way to make learning about your surroundings fun, that he’s calling “Spatial Awareness and Environmental Class.”
Katie Gonzales shared a video on TikTok of her husband, Ben, giving their daughters a lesson on spatial awareness on a family shopping trip to Walmart.
“Somebody's walking towards you. Which side do you go on?” he quizzed the girls.
The answer: you go to the right of them! Now, everyone write this down so we don’t ever have to do an awkward hallway shuffle again.
“The next thing, do you see that pole over there doing this?” Ben asked, walking while looking down at the floor. “Do you see the pool if you're dancing around and jumping around?”
“You need to keep your head up and focus on where you’re walking, not this,” he said, dramatically demonstrating by veering off course into a wall of shelves.
Ben managed to make this lesson funny and educational, without giving his daughters a lecture on how to behave in public, and the comments applauded him for taking the initiative.
“I really support this as a teacher! You have no idea the things you have to explicitly teach kids!” one user wrote.
“Normalize teaching kids (aka your CHILDREN) how to act in the world” said another.
“I swear kids don’t learn how to see until they’re like 8💀” another user added. “‘Look where you’re GOING’ is top 3 in what i say most in a day.”
Most of the comments, however, pointed out that more than a few grown-ups are probably in need of a similar crash course (or should we say, anti-crash course).
“Do you offer adult lessons? I see tons in public that could benefit,” said one user.
“Should take them to Costco as the final exam (bonus points if they identify adults who'd fail the course) 😅😂” said another.
Honestly, I have to agree. Can we make “Spatial Awareness and Environmental Class” an online course or something?
