Developing Your Child's Interests
Ever since my children were little, they had strong bents toward certain activities. I think it's important to develop these things in your children. Generally, when a child is bored and has nothing to do they will gravitate towards electronic media. I really feel that especially when they are young and their brains are developing, allowing a child to sit for hours in front of a television set or video game is the worst thing for them!
I didn't want my kids parked in front of the television or video games all day so I made sure that we had a lot of different, creative type activities for them. There were legos, puzzles, books, craft items, educational games, music, and lots of opportunities to interact with these things. I read to them constantly. Even as teenagers I'll bring a book or something to read on long car trips. We just finished Corrie ten Boom's, "The Hiding Place."
In all the years we've had children, we've had cable hook-up for about 4 of those years. I found that when the t.v. was around and on creativity flew out the window! We have VHS/DVD hook-up and when they were younger many of the videos we got were on nature and different things along those lines. Even now as a 20, 19 and 12 year old, they enjoy videos on nature, art or travel.
We also tried to take them to museums, zoos, art shows, concerts, hiking, and places where they were learning something as well as having fun. Don't get me wrong, my children love amusement parks and video games and a good show as much as everyone else, but I've seen their interests expand much further than I think they would have if we gave them unlimited access to electronic media when they were younger.
It's been interesting to see that as they have gotten older their interests have solidified and really developed.
Providing a child with a rich, eclectic environment really does go a long way in helping expand their experiences and interests.
You can check out more posts about loving our children at my friend Kate's blog by clicking on the button below.
Great post Terri! :-) Colleen A.
ReplyDeleteEXCELLENT!! I hope everyone who reads this begins to follow your example! Thanks so much for sharing this, sweetie.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Terri.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that you mentioned "The Hiding Place". I had read it years ago. My friend lent me the sequel called "A Tramp for the Lord". So I thought I would read the first book again before I read the second. Saturday I went to a sale at our library and found "The Hiding Place" for $1.00. Can't wait to read it. Have you read the sequel?
Hope you are feeling better today.
Debbi
I did read, "Tramp for the Lord" and it was quite good. And yes, I am feeling much better. Thank you for asking.
DeleteIt is a joy to watch my grandchildren develop their interest and hear about their days through your eyes, Terri. I wish that I were closer so that we might be more proactive in their lives but I guess this is the next best thing. You and Dan have done a great job instilling in your children a sense of values and adventure not to mention a sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteLove Mom
Thank you for sharing Terri! This is an area that we struggle with in our home. We have lots of games, puzzles, legos and creative stuff, but they seem to always be drawn back to the electronics; they would prefer those over anything else. I'm ready to just get rid of it all (or most of it anyway), but my husband is a very "techy" guy. I am happy to say that he did make a comment today that he thinks they are too "electronic dependent" so maybe he will come around. Do you find that boys are more into the electronics than the girls? What electronics did you allow in your home and what were/are some of your rules and guidelines regarding electronic use? Thanks for your input!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
DeleteOne thing that may help is just having a set time each day that they can use those things. It could be a couple of different times, but have a cut-off time for them. Actually, in our home, my daughter is more into those things than the boys are. We have a computer with internet access in a central place in the living room and there were certain sites they could go on. My oldest is hardly ever online because he is autistic and has severe learning disabilities. That makes it difficult for him to type and spell to use the computer.
Stephen, my middle son, really isn't that interested. He goes on facebook a very little and mostly just checks his email or different college websites.
Emily would go on it all the time if I let her but I don't. ;-) She basically plays a couple of games and that's it. Emily has a DS player that she got for Christmas last year and will play that. She manages herself pretty well on it, but I do have to watch otherwise she can spend a long time.
We don't have television hook-up - just a t.v. with a DVD player so they do watch things they get from the library but it's only in the evening. During the day the t.v. is not on (for me or them). Hope that helps!
Thank you Terri!
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