Fun in the Sun: Rules
and Tips
Summer is back in Santa Barbara! While our Summer is nowhere near as hot as it
is elsewhere in the state, it’s nice to keep cool and have a good time. If your kids are ready for some fun in the
sun, water play is common. Graduating
from their water lab, my children received their first water guns this year as well as a quick trial
with water balloons. It became clear
that we needed rules to avoid some unnecessary tears.
Rule 1) No spraying the face. This seems obvious, but perhaps only in
retrospect.
Rule 2) No spraying someone that is unarmed. An important corollary to the rule – if one
is armed but out of ammunition, they are essentially unarmed.
Rule 3) No spraying someone filling their gun/balloon. Similar to Rule 2, it is important to clarify
for optimum fairness and fun.
Tip 1) Fill up as many balloons as possible. Once you get throwing, it really ruins the
pace to have to refill every three minutes.
Tip 2) Fill into several buckets. Place these buckets around the yard for
strategic toss and grab.
Tip 3) As you are filling up the balloons, bill your bucket
with water as well. This prevents the
balloons from spontaneous explosion while filling and playing.
Tip 4) Use a small-head nozzle at the end of a hose for
fill-up. A number of water
balloon-filling devices have come onto the market recently. While I have had high hopes, they have yet to
meet expectations.
Tip 5) Consider filling up a water balloon half-way and
fully filling a regular balloon in order to keep everyone on their toes.
Most important of all, stay safe and have fun. The summer is never long enough, so make
every day count.
