Every year my children’s amazing pediatrician measures their height, weight, and developmental growth, but he has been “missing” the Kings Island Growth Indicator. So, okay…I have made this up, but at our first trip to KI this year, I realized how much the park can show me how much my kids have grown.
Kings Island has height stations for ride wristbands for kids. This year it was fun to see how much my kids have stretched vertically since last year. My son grew quite a bit as he just made the 48” band last year, but didn’t quite make the 52” band this year. My daughter went from the 40” wristband last year to the 42” one this year. She was excited to be able to ride a new ride this year.
My kids were excited to go to the park with their mom and dad this year, but kept asking if we could invite a friend or two to meet us…another indicator that they are growing up! They enjoy the company of their parents, so I think, but would much rather have some friends to play with. I promised them that the next time we go they can invite some friends to meet us there. As much as I want to keep them to myself, I will share them with their friends sometimes.
The biggest indicator of growth that Kings Island helped me discover is their growing independence. In one day BOTH of my kids asked to ride coasters alone! Yep! Alone!!! My daughter asked to ride the Great Pumpkin Coaster independently and my son asked if he could ride the Flying Ace Ariel Chase alone. I immediately wanted to pull them close and tell them, “no” as they are still my “babies”, but I took a deep breath and told them both, “Yes!” Part of me was hoping they would get scared last minute and ask me to sit with them, but then the other part of me understands that it is my job to raise them to be independent and strong. They both rode their coasters alone and rocked it! When they both walked off with BIG smiles on their faces, I fought back some tears and realized how much they have grown in the last year. I look forward to seeing how much they grow over the summer with our Kings Island “Growth Indicator.”