I taught my nephew how to crochet!!!

[donnalynn2]

One of the only bright spots in my Thanksgiving over the in-laws was that one of my nephews asked me to show him how to crochet!!! Now, let me start by saying that Justin is very rambunctious and even though he's 14, he's very hyperactive, loud and more or less like a bull in a china shop! His brother, on the other hand (who is 15) is tall, skinny, well mannered (very good looking), polite, calm and you really never know he's there he's so well behaved. Anyway, I was excited because I had heard crocheting was a great thing to teach hyper-active kids.

 

Mind you, my DH, his brother and all the other men there were laughing at him calling him a girlie girl even though I kept telling everyone that more and more men crochet. When I mentioned "The crochet dude" nobody believed me! (Hey Drew, you should make personal appearances and show that men can crochet and still be cool!)

 

Anyway, I sat down showing him how to chain and he started slowly, but within an hour (it took him quite awhile) he had a nice long chain. After that I showed him how to work into the chain with some SC's and that's a little too much for him yet as when he finished the first row, it was all twisted! (Reminded me of my first crocheting attempts!) Anyway, he was occupied for well over an hour and it was so nice and pleasant.

 

I gave him an extra I sized hook that I had (I learned how on an I as well) and you would have thought I gave him this great Christmas present. He was so excited and is begging my DH to come over for the weekend so I can show him some more.

 

Seeing first hand how crocheting can really help occupy a hyper-active kid I really think we need to get the message out! Instead of drugging our children with Ritalin and everything else, why not try to stimulate their minds?

 

I was just so touched and wanted to share this with everyone!!! P.S. I know I have seen articles about men crocheting... Can anyone remember any and where I can find them? The only one I can find was in Crochet Magazine a couple months ago. THANKS!!!

 

(Oh, I wasn't implying that Ritalin isn't a good idea for some kids. I know each child is different and some kids do need medication, but I'm referring to the large numbers of kids who don't need to be medicated but are. I didn't want anyone to misunderstand what I was referring to.)

[crochet smartcat]

I can totally understand. My youngest is so much more rambuncious than her older sister and it is sometimes hard to believe that they come from the same parents, LOL. But I taught them both how to use the Knifty Knitter (my youngest is almost 5) and she loves to sit for 1/2 hour - 1 hour and "practice" her knitting. She is making a hat for the "kids at the hospital" (I was doing a charity project awhile ago and everything I did was for the kids. Now she wants to help too. She is excited and it gives her a sense of accomplishment that she can do something that mom does.

 

 

So if he seems to get frustrated with crocheting, have him try the knifty knitter type. It goes fairly quickly and you can make hats and scarves in a day which is great for young people, since it gives a more immediate sense of accomplishment.

[auntbubbels]

What a nice story. Too bad the men had to call him names. Isnt that what we tell kids not to do!!! and I am glad that he decided to continue with what he wanted to do. Have fun with it!!!

[CarolL]

Hey Donna,

I to believe in the power of teaching young ones to crochet. I have 3 kids, 2 of which are boys. My eldest is what is classified as ADHD and is 15. He has no desire to ever crochet or knit, but my youngest who is also ADHD wants to learn but thinks he can't. We sat down one night for the longest and he did pick up the chain but when we tried to double he couldnt get that for nothing. He then got frustrated and decided he couldn't do it. This was before medicine, they are both on Adderall. He came to me last night and asked me to teach him to knit which I barely know how to do. I told him this weekend when everything settles down we would work on crocheting again. I think I will start him on a dish towel I think he would like that.

[melectric]

In the latest Bust magazine they have an article about a couple of groups of guys that get together and crochet and knit. It was a pretty good article. There must be something about thanksgiving that just makes people want to learn how to crochet. I taught my sister-in-laws and their daughters this thanksgiving and 2 years ago I learned on thanksgiving. I also realized how hard it is to teach.

[pb&j]

That's great, Donna! I love to hear when young people tap into their creative side! Sounds like you nephew found a great way to do something constructive and creative thanks to you.

 

I see a there's a group of men who crochet at Yahoo groups. Looks like the Crochet Dude is a member.

 

Here a link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/menwhocrochet/

 

You'll probably want to check it out first.

[Lowrancer]

been a member there since 2001 and the board is a lil on the slow side... thats why I like it here.

[thecrochetdude]

Hi Donna! Tell your nephew that I think he rocks!!