Tickle Fights

My dad, brother, sister and I used to have "tickle fights" all the time when we were little kids. These events consisted mostly of my dad tickling us until we laughed so hard we couldn't breathe. All three of us would be jumping all over him trying to tickle him, and he pretended for our benefit that it was actually working. (Anyone who has had a little child try to tickle them can attest to the fact that they have underdeveloped tickling skills.) So, with his arms swinging around wildly and alternating between us, our dad would rapid-fire tickle us while we screamed with delight. "Stop! Stop! Stop, Dad!...... Do it again, Dad!" I don't know how he kept up with us. It must be one of those special Daddy Skills.

But when I was older, maybe 9 or 10 years old, I developed a valuable skill: I could, at times, control my ticklishness when threatened with unwanted tickle attacks, or if I just wanted to frustrate the person. But I have to see it coming in order to prepare my defenses. I'm still quite ticklish by nature, but if I set my mind to it, I can thwart any attack.

Tickling is a funny thing, if you stop and think about it. (You'd have to stop, because it's hard to think clearly when you're being tickled.) It would be interesting to read some sociological research on the topic: "The Role of Tickling in the American Family", "Ribcage vs. Foot: Sensory Differences in the Tickling Experience", etc.

What made me think about this? KTaber tried to tickle my foot the other night and she got frustrated because she wasn't getting anywhere.