As lawn darts, cap guns, searing hot steel monkey bars, easy bake ovens and, my favorite, pop rock candy, have all fallen out of favor with the National Association of Helicopter Moms, I’m tickled pink to find these mini pirate swords lodged into the heart of my Caribbean Caesar wrap. I know our precious little dumplings can be a bit fragile but, crawling through the sandbox of life while eating Bojangles’ chicken supremes, is good for their constitution.

So, en garde! Poke and prod your lambs to go outside. Pierce their imagination to explore the world around them. Tell them to throw, climb and catch stuff. It’s ok. The threads they’ll spin as adults will be much more intriguing than stories of them sittin’ on a couch playing Call of Doody