Electronic Toys
I've read several essays lately on the admonishment to live simply. One came from George Carlin. I read it on message board and it was truly breathtaking. The "live simply" message seems to be cropping up every where...and yes I do live fairly simply. I've spoken of that before, that I feel trapped in a time warp here in my tiny 1940's row-home with one car and one income. Not trapped in a bad way, but, just that are lives seem so much different than many around us. It is largely due to the choices we've made. We said "yes" to our kids and "no" to materialism. But that's an essay for another day.
What I started thinking of was this...electronic toys. They are a relatively new invention and many a well meaning aunt/uncle/cousin/friend buys them for the kids in their lives. My kids play with them for a sum total of 5 minutes before they become board. 5 minutes. We do have one kind of neat little activity table thingy that plays music. Ana will hit that one and listen to the different songs...as she's playing with something else like, socks. I've seen my kids play with socks for 30 minutes. That's right, socks, they do more stuff. You push a button on that electronic toy and it does one thing. Socks can "do" lots of things.
I think blocks are some of my favorite toys for kids. We have the alphabet variety which serve the dual purpose of play and learning letters and we also these really cool foam blocks. The foam ones are nice and quiet on our hardwood floors. My kids and I played with the alphabet ones last night after dinner. David just likes to stack them and bang them together. He also likes to knock over my pyramids. Last night, the blocks my daughter played with became, a train, a house, a sailboat and a snowman. I'm sure as she grows older and Ana's imagination expands she will come up with more inventions.
There's much talk these days about the obesity problem in America's kids. It's due in part to electronic devices. My kids are both under the 25th percentile weight wise. They do watch TV...but it's not a babysitter for me. I spend probably 30 to 45 minutes a day reading to them. Yesterday, my daughter turned the playground mulch into a snowman and then into a sandcastle. Ana has never been to the beach, or seen a "real" snowman...but we've read about them. Ana also decided yesterday at the supper table that she was a cow..."I being a Cow...MOOOO." Believe me, I'm not supermom...but I do enjoy my kids and I want them to be able to think. It's about that whole gestalt thing...so they look at an object and see not the object but the possibilities.
My Mom wasn't supermom either. But she did make sure I played outside quite a bit. She didn't worry about how dirty we became...many a time we were hosed down in the back yard before being allowed inside. I know, "times were different." It doesn't take much to pay attention to your kids outside and make sure they're safe...a little effort...a little more sacrifice. We had plenty of alphabet blocks in our home as well...and leggos and chalk boards and paint brushes and playdough and....home made cookies we decorated for every conceivable holiday. I'm trying to do the same with my kids.
I'm glad my Mom didn't park me in front of the TV and ignore me. She worked part time...I remember that. But I also do remember spending time with her...I have especially warm memories of sitting in the crook of her arm on the big green couch, covered by an afghan, with our cat "Muffin" sharing our laps and reading...The Snowy Day, The Cat in the Hat...you get the picture. I don't remember not knowing how to read. I remember Mom watching me draw pictures on the chalk board and giving me leftover cookie dough to play with and not being angry when I came in the house covered in leftover mud pie. Thanks Mom.
I look at the world and see possibilities. I look at 40 pound bag of flour at price club and don't think "flour." I think, pancakes, cookies, muffins, brownies, cake, the breading for "real" (if unhealthy) fried chicken, play dough...etc, etc. And I can save money and stay home with my kids because I see those possibilities. I can raise my babes to look at the world and see the possibilities and not the dead ends. They'll be creating the buttons that other kids will push some day.
And most importantly, when they gaze at the sky, they won't just see clouds, sun, moon...they'll see heaven.
Laura
What I started thinking of was this...electronic toys. They are a relatively new invention and many a well meaning aunt/uncle/cousin/friend buys them for the kids in their lives. My kids play with them for a sum total of 5 minutes before they become board. 5 minutes. We do have one kind of neat little activity table thingy that plays music. Ana will hit that one and listen to the different songs...as she's playing with something else like, socks. I've seen my kids play with socks for 30 minutes. That's right, socks, they do more stuff. You push a button on that electronic toy and it does one thing. Socks can "do" lots of things.
I think blocks are some of my favorite toys for kids. We have the alphabet variety which serve the dual purpose of play and learning letters and we also these really cool foam blocks. The foam ones are nice and quiet on our hardwood floors. My kids and I played with the alphabet ones last night after dinner. David just likes to stack them and bang them together. He also likes to knock over my pyramids. Last night, the blocks my daughter played with became, a train, a house, a sailboat and a snowman. I'm sure as she grows older and Ana's imagination expands she will come up with more inventions.
There's much talk these days about the obesity problem in America's kids. It's due in part to electronic devices. My kids are both under the 25th percentile weight wise. They do watch TV...but it's not a babysitter for me. I spend probably 30 to 45 minutes a day reading to them. Yesterday, my daughter turned the playground mulch into a snowman and then into a sandcastle. Ana has never been to the beach, or seen a "real" snowman...but we've read about them. Ana also decided yesterday at the supper table that she was a cow..."I being a Cow...MOOOO." Believe me, I'm not supermom...but I do enjoy my kids and I want them to be able to think. It's about that whole gestalt thing...so they look at an object and see not the object but the possibilities.
My Mom wasn't supermom either. But she did make sure I played outside quite a bit. She didn't worry about how dirty we became...many a time we were hosed down in the back yard before being allowed inside. I know, "times were different." It doesn't take much to pay attention to your kids outside and make sure they're safe...a little effort...a little more sacrifice. We had plenty of alphabet blocks in our home as well...and leggos and chalk boards and paint brushes and playdough and....home made cookies we decorated for every conceivable holiday. I'm trying to do the same with my kids.
I'm glad my Mom didn't park me in front of the TV and ignore me. She worked part time...I remember that. But I also do remember spending time with her...I have especially warm memories of sitting in the crook of her arm on the big green couch, covered by an afghan, with our cat "Muffin" sharing our laps and reading...The Snowy Day, The Cat in the Hat...you get the picture. I don't remember not knowing how to read. I remember Mom watching me draw pictures on the chalk board and giving me leftover cookie dough to play with and not being angry when I came in the house covered in leftover mud pie. Thanks Mom.
I look at the world and see possibilities. I look at 40 pound bag of flour at price club and don't think "flour." I think, pancakes, cookies, muffins, brownies, cake, the breading for "real" (if unhealthy) fried chicken, play dough...etc, etc. And I can save money and stay home with my kids because I see those possibilities. I can raise my babes to look at the world and see the possibilities and not the dead ends. They'll be creating the buttons that other kids will push some day.
And most importantly, when they gaze at the sky, they won't just see clouds, sun, moon...they'll see heaven.
Laura