My children may not remember how I used to cross my legs, balance one of them on the toe of my shoe, hold on to their tiny hands as they leaned against my leg, and bounce them up and down, singing:

Ride a cock horse to Banbury crossTo see a fine lady upon a white horse.With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,She shall have music wherever she goes.

Sometimes they would have to hang on for dear life. The ride delighted them, and I was delighted at being a young father.

I assume parents of young children still do this. Maybe they sing another nursery rhyme:

This is the way the ladies ride ...This is the way the gentlemen ride ...This is the way the farmer rides ...

Most of us have engaged in such simulated horseback choreography. When they outgrew this nursery stage, some of our children m…