Tag, you're it!

I spent an afternoon with Aidan, Reese, and my nephews, Levi and Guy at the park. Guy and Levi started a game of "Tag." After watching them for a few minutes, I made two interesting observations.

1. Kids make friends with other kids very quickly, no questions asked. The boys started their game and a few other boys joined in and there was an understanding that everyone was welcome to play. No one wants to know the other's background, where they live, what their parents do, what school they went to, etc. When and why does this change? Why does it matter anyway? 

2. The rules and jargon with the game of tag are passed on to each generation. How does this happen? There is still a "home base." The boys quickly established the location of "home base" and the game could go on.  I don't remember how I learned to play tag, but it was a huge part of my childhood and now my son was learning it from his older cousins who learned it from someone. Amazing.