The other day, I was mowing the back lawn at my house. It was a rather warm day. I was entering the phase where the constant hum of the engine keeps you from falling into a stupor, so you start to wonder about random things. As I pushed the bagging, mulching mower over unclipped grass, I glanced through the chain-link fence that separated my yard from my neighbor's. The neighbor's three year-old was pushing a plastic toy lawn mower.
Here is where I reach my point. Mowing the lawn is not fun. It is dull, monotonous work. The only enjoyable part about mowing the lawn is the sense of accomplishment you get after finishing. This child was pretending to mow the lawn. Thus robbed of the sense of accomplishment. I could only wonder how much fun the child must be having.
I could go on and rant about how this is just preparing the child for a life of standing in line, learning to love work, etc. But I won't. I have productive things to do.