I think focusing our energy on providing our girls with a childhood similar to what hubby and I enjoyed growing up in Africa, is paying off. I saw it firsthand today.
Did you know that most six year old kids attending this field day have never jumped rope before? They've never thrown a frisbee or tried to hula hoop either! Teachers were pointing at our girl Caramel and her hula hoop in awe saying "You should enter her into the school's talent show! That is amazing!"
It is hard to believe but in this day and age it is pretty common. Kids never learn to jump rope, roller skate or ride a bike because they are carpooled from swimming practice to taekwondo after school. There is no time left for potato sack races.
We can be brainwashed into thinking our kids need to be exposed to as many opportunities as possible before reaching a certain age; or is it more a case of us lavishing things on our kids for not being there as much as we would like to be, or is it because we think we are providing our kids with experiences that are imperative to their overall development? And what impact do these things have on our children? I've asked these questions myself while reading this book by Kim John Payne.
Try out a few things in this book. I did not believe that it will make much of a difference but experienced changes I did not expect. I learned more about myself than my kids implementing suggestions from this book.
Childhood is precious and fleeting. We as parents should protect it as fiercely as we protect our children from getting in harms way.
