When I was a young mom, I HATED balloons! I mean, REALLY hated them. They were DANGEROUS – downright injurious, and the rest of the world seemed asleep at the wheel in protecting children from balloons. Can any of you relate?

So, whenever our children were at a party with balloons, I would become Eagle-Eye Mama who could see almost literally behind my back, in every direction simultaneously, to make sure one of our children didn’t put a balloon in their mouth where it could pop and be sucked into their throat, causing instant loss of breathing and death.

Hey, that kind of tragedy really had happened, and reading the first news story about it vibrated my mama antenna and cemented my combative attitude toward balloons early in my parenthood.

But they’re so FUN!!!!! And Educational! And they stimulate creativity! What an ingenious invention!

I learned that it’s impossible to balance safety vs. fun; safety vs. creativity; and safety vs. education. And that I have to live with potentially “injurious” in order to benefit from “ingenious.”

There’s SO much to learn from balloons:

• Scientific principles galore
• Colorful artsy configurations and ideas
• Mathematical principles
• Even historical events

OK, it looked like in order for my children to have fun, be creative, and learn new things, I’d need to sacrifice my hatred of that dangerous childhood wonder and stop seething about the nitwitted, reckless inventor.

So, I relaxed a bit (still keeping my alert eagle eyes, but not panicking about it), and I watched as our children – and now our grandchildren – played with balloons.

But as all grandparents know, we are even MORE cautious with our grandchildren’s safety, so I have been elated with the newfangled gadgets that automatically load and tie water balloons. I can actually participate in a balloon activity instead of standing guard! It’s fun!

But the most creative use of balloons I’ve seen was just posted by a Colorado grandma — an Ice Balloon Igloo! This far exceeds my unsophisticated childhood practice of tunneling into snowbanks to hollow out forts. An ice balloon igloo is more like a scientifically built structure that you’d see on a blueprint. It is awesome! (Apologies to you southern grandparents; you’ll have to come up north to try this.)

The grandma that built this ice balloon igloo for her grandchildren said it was EASY! Just fill balloons with water, tie shut, and set them outside to freeze. Preferably on cement, as snow insulates and it will take longer to freeze. (You also can optionally add your favorite colorful tints to the water and then peel off the outer balloons when frozen.) Then assemble the igloo, using snow to pack in spaces between the iced balloons. Use a spray bottle with water to wet the snow for hard-packing and hardening. You can curve the design into an igloo with a ceiling or leave the top open to create a fort for snowball fights.

Whether you want to surprise your grandchildren and build this before their next visit, or wait till they come and build it together with them, either way, you will be the rock-star grandparents of the year in their eyes!

Oh, and, ummm …. this eagle-eye, safety-conscious Mama/Gramma is returning for one more caveat: Make sure you’re present when they play in the igloo if it has a covered ceiling. Because ICE-FILLED BALLOONS that come crashing down can be DANGEROUS!

There. I said it.

Have fun!

— Barb Heki, for Grandparents of Homeschoolers™

Join the “Grandparents of Homeschoolers” Facebook page for a variety of information, resources, and ideas:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1000573393148